DORMONT - Control the ball and you control the clock.

Control the clock and you control your opponent.

That's exactly what Knoch was able to do at Keystone Oaks Saturday in a Greater Allegheny Conference matchup, which translated into a 27-13 victory over the Eagles.

The Knights (1-3, 1-1) ran 65 offensive plays in its first seven possessions, 48 of which were running plays.

"That's the way you like it," said Knoch coach Mike King. "A couple of weeks ago against Moon, we were pass happy, but the best defense is to have a good offense."

The team finished with 260 yards on the ground, including 120 by David Bergamasco and 71 more by Jamison Dohn.

"Those two have been patient," said King. "The first two weeks we threw a lot and they never complained. That's old-fashioned high school football. My hat's off to our offensive line."

The Knights opened the game with a 14-play drive but came away empty-handed as Jordan Shoop's fade pass in the end zone from the 3-yard line fell incomplete.

The drive lasted 7 minutes, 2 seconds, but King could sense a sign of things to come.

"We felt that we could execute offensively," King said.

On its next possession, the Knights went on an 8-play, 43-yard drive, capped by a 1-yard run by Bergamasco. The highlight of the drive was an 18-yard pass play to from Shoop to Curtis Compton down to the 1-yard line. KO's Ben Holland blocked the extra point.

The Eagles came right back and took the lead when John Fuhrer scored from 3 yards out with 5:14 before halftime. Corey Baldwin's extra kick broke the tie.

Knoch, however, calmly moved down the field. A 15-yard run by Bergamasco opened the 7-play, 74-yard drive. Shoop connected on a 27-yard pass to Joel Berger with 2:16 before halftime.

Dohn's conversion run gave the Knights a lead they would not relinquish.

"Their running game wore us out," said Keystone Oaks coach Nick Kamberis. "They ran some nice plays. We had some schemes, but we're a really young team."

At the break, King challenged his defense to take over.

"I told them, 'This is in your hands.' Other than one freaky play at the end, our defense was great."

Keystone Oaks opened the second half running three plays and losing seven yards.

Knoch scored on its next two possessions to put the game out of reach.

On the ensuing drive, Shoop engineered a methodical 10-play drive, which included a 17-yard pass play to Greg Braden on a fourth-and-2.

Bergamasco scored from 2 yards out with 5:17 left in the third quarter.

Knoch then went on a 12-play, 64-yard drive, capped by a 5-yard scoring pass to Ryan Ziacik with 8:11 remaining.

Shoop ran left to begin the play, then ran back to the right sideline before finding Ziacik in the front corner of the end zone.

Keystone Oaks (0-4, 0-2) closed out the scoring when quarterback Luke McMann, who was 2-for-8 for 16 yards before completing four consecutive passes, connected on a 28-yarder to Jeff Richko.

After the kickoff, Shoop took the knee to finish the game, the only drive the Knights had that was fewer than seven plays.

Notes:

Shoop finished with 155 yards passing, 67 to Compton … Knoch limited Keystone to 2 rushing yards in the second half.