New Castle stifles Knoch football’s offense as Knights look ahead to WPIAL section schedule

September 19, 2025 Last Updated: September 20, 2025 12:11 AM Sports

Knoch wide receiver Vincent DeFelice (10) attempts to catch a pass over a New Castle defender during a football game Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, at Knoch High School. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle

Matthew Brown

JEFFERSON TWP — The New Castle Hurricanes spoiled Knoch High School’s homecoming celebration Friday night with a 45-0 domination of the hometown Knights.

With the loss, the Knights dropped to 0-5 on the year.

“We’ve had a very difficult non-conference grind,” Knights head coach T.J. Wiley said. “We knew this grind was going to be tough. We knew this was going to be taxing on us, and we just have to wash it off and get ready for conference play.”

The Hurricanes opened up the scoring on the very first play of the game, as Marino Graham outran the entire Knoch defense for an 80-yard touchdown. Graham was the offensive star of the day for New Castle, finishing with 226 yards rushing and a touchdown, along with three passing TDs.

The Hurricanes went into halftime with a 20-0 lead that may have been even larger were it not for costly offensive penalties. On a second-quarter drive, two consecutive long runs were wiped off the board by holding calls, negating a potential scoring drive before halftime.

However, on its first drive of the second half, New Castle effectively sealed the win with a seven-play drive, capped off with a 13-yard touchdown run by Jermaine Walker. He finished with 67 yards rushing on the day.

Knoch linebackers Carter Worsley (11) and Ben Allen (25) bring down a New Castle runner during a football game Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, at Knoch High School. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle

Matthew Brown

The other star of the game was New Castle’s defensive unit, which only allowed Knoch six first downs throughout the entire game — two of which came on Hurricane penalties.

“We had an unbelievable week of practice,” Wiley said. “But things just show up in the games. Our tackling isn’t where it needs to be. Our blitz protection isn’t there. There’s a lot of things we need to work on.”

Carter Beres led Knoch in carries with eight, but finished with 9 yards. Ethan Rouleau ran twice for 17 yards. The offense managed just 80 total yards, including 41 through the air.

The Knights hope to finally secure their first win of 2025 against Indiana next week. Despite Knoch’s rough start, Wiley is confident the team can turn things around.

“If we can take care of business next week and get a conference win under our belt, we could set ourselves up and maybe start winning some games and go on a little bit of a run,” Wiley said. “But we have to get better in all three phases, and I have to get better.”

New Castle 13 7 18 7 — 45

Knoch 0 0 0 0 — 0

First quarter

NC — Marino Graham 80 run (Omar Thomas kick miss) 11:52

NC — Chase Lemmon 10 pass from Marino Graham (Thomas kick good) 3:49

Second quarter

NC — Kai Cox 12 pass from Marino Graham (Thomas kick good) 7:24

Third quarter

NC — Jermaine Walker 13 run (Thomas kick miss) 7:06

NC — Roderick Proctor 10 run (2 point fail) 3:39

NC — Chase Lemmon 32 pass from Marino Graham (Thomas kick miss) 1:52

Fourth quarter

NC — Maurice Moore 8 run (Thomas kick good) 3:26

Individual statistics

Rushing: New Castle, Marino Graham 10-226, Jermaine Walker 7-67, Roderick Proctor 4-26, Mardez Stewart 1-10, Chase Lemmon 1-0, Keiarie Stewart 1-5, Maurice Moore 4-79. Knoch, Carter Beres 8-9, Ethan Rouleau 2-17, Max Wiley 5-0, Brayden McGowan 3-3, Walker Robertson 2-1, Ryan McCurdy 5-1, Roman DeFelice 1-(-1), Blake Montgomery 2-9.

Passing: New Castle, Marino Graham 8-20-120-1. Knoch, Max Wiley 5-9-11-0, Kade Sundie 1-4-30-1.

Receiving: New Castle, Chase Lemmon 3-64, Kai Cox 3-44, Gianni Molina 1-7, Qualin Davis 1-5. Knoch, Vincent DeFelice 2-0, Roman DeFelice 2-4, Daniel Simons 1-7, Evan Fink 1-30.

Knoch wide receiver Vincent DeFelice (10) attempts to catch a pass over a New Castle defender during a football game Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, at Knoch High School. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle

Matthew Brown

Knoch linebackers Carter Worsley (11) and Ben Allen (25) bring down a New Castle runner during a football game Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, at Knoch High School. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle

Matthew Brown

Knoch defensive lineman Cameron Lazor (58) and defensive back Evan Fink (5) work to bring down a New Castle player during a football game Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, at Knoch High School. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle

Matthew Brown

A Knoch coach cheers from the sidelines after a play against New Castle in a football game Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, at Knoch High School. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle

Matthew Brown