JEFFERSON TWP — In the eyes of the casual fan, Knoch scored a couple of touchdowns fewer than they should have in Friday's game against Peters Township.

As the Knights see it, they got something a little more important: a much-needed win.

Using a ground attack that churned out 232 yards on 44 carries, including a 186-yard effort by Tim McNerney, Knoch held off the Indians 20-7 in a nonconference football matchup.

McNerney ripped off a 50-yard run on the Knights' first offensive play to set the tone early.

"I think it was good for him," said Knoch coach Mike King. "He was just very happy to get back to his home field.

"What Tim did was understand we were kind of in a dire situation," King added. "We had a lot of guys banged up and Tim knew that."

With two road losses to open the season, plus injuries to Kevin Brodeur, Brandon Flick and Mike Gallagher, among others, some younger players have stepped in while others have moved to new positions.

That showed a bit as the Knights had a pair of first-and-goals in the second half but came away empty-handed.

With the Knights (1-2) holding a 14-0 lead midway through the third quarter, the squad marched 60 yards on seven plays for a first-and-goal at the Indians 6. Three straight runs by quarterback Jake McTighe produced only 5 yards, setting up a fourth down at the 1.

On the next play, Peters stopped McNerney for a 1-yard loss.

The Indians (1-2) decided to use their passing game to open the offense for sophomore quarterback Austin Hancock.

Hancock drove the Indians down the field, engineering a 12-play, 99-yard drive, culminating in a 4-yard scoring strike to Jace Cavanagh with 8:16 left in the game.

Hancock completed all seven of his passes for 87 yards on the drive.

Knoch responded by driving down the field on the McNerney's legs. After a 20-yard run to open the drive, McNerney carried six more times for 19 yards to keep the Knights moving.

A clutch 12-yard catch by Mitch Shaw from McTighe on a fourth-and-5 moved the chains with 4:18 remaining.

Knoch got a first-and-goal at the Peters 10, but couldn't get any closer than the 2. On fourth down from the 3, Kevin Wood's 20-yard field goal attempt was wide left.

Peters took the ball at the its 20 with 2:50 left, but Hancock threw four consecutive incompletions, giving the ball back to Knoch.

"(Hancock's) a sophomore quarterback and we have a lot of young kids in skill positions," said Indians coach Nick Milchovich. "Overall, I thought we did a decent job against them.

"Our defense was on the field a long time, but our defense didn't quit. We stopped them on the goal line and almost stopped them again,"Milchovich said.

The Knights needed three plays to cash in to ice the game with an 11-yard run by Adam Tuzikow.

"(Peters Township's) a Quad A team and they got one win under their belts against Kiski," said King. "We didn't look at Peters Township as an easy 'W.'"

Knoch took a 14-0 halftime lead on a 2-yard run by McTighe with 4:33 left in the first quarter, then a McNerney 1-yard run with 3:44 before halftime. McTighe added the conversion run.

The win should bolster his team's confidence, especially when some players return from injuries.

Still, King knows there's work to be done.

"I guess we'll be a good football team in a few weeks and we'll have to capitalize on our chances, pound it in, convert fourth-and-short, not fumble. These have to be fixed.

"We had a lot of kids in their first varsity game. I was happy they were able to rise to the occasion."

Notes: Hancock completed 18 of 37 passes for 203 yards. He was intercepted twice, once each by McTighe and Dylan Beck. ... Knoch's 1978 WPIALClass AA championship team was honored before the game.