Model of efficiency
JEFFERSON TWP — In a seven-minute span of the second and third quarters Friday night, Knoch ran only six plays.
Four of them were for touchdowns as the Knights cruised to a 55-12 football victory over Laurel Highlands.
David Govan ran for three of those scores and Tim McNerney recorded the other as Knoch built a 55-0 lead midway through the third quarter.
The Knights started slowly, needing 13 plays before David Govan bulled in from the 1-yard line for the game's first touchdown. No other scoring drive on the night required more than five plays. No other score came from less than 26 yards out.
Knoch's Kyle Reiser intercepted quarterback Carmen Congelio on the Mustangs' second possession. One play later, McNerney charged up the middle for a 26-yard touchdown.
Two Knights plays later, Govan blew through the middle of the Mustangs defense for a 60-yard score. Two more Knights plays and Govan again ran through the middle of the defense for a 39-yard touchdown. All three of these runs were quick traps.
"The quick trap is Knoch football," Knights coach Mike King said. "Kids here have been running it since eighth grade."
McNerney finished with 161 yards on 14 carries. Govan netted 106 yards on four carries.
After that flurry, things slowed down a bit, but only slightly. Knoch took five plays to score again. Quarterback Zach Gross hit Reiser over the middle and the receiver outraced the defenders for a 66-yard score.
With the score 34-0, sophomore running back Mitchell Shaw entered the game. He had runs of 20 and 3 yards before racing around the right end for a 37-yard score. Shaw finished the game with 79 yards on 10 carries.
On the Knights' first play of the second half, McNerney ran left into a mass of defenders.
"At first I was thinking, a 10-yard gain is too much," Mustangs head coach Jack Buehner said. "But he just kept going and going."
McNerney threw off multiple tacklers, broke into the clear, then sped toward a 64-yard touchdown run.
On Laurel Highlands' next possession, John Zellhart returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown to complete the Knights' scoring.
The 55 points tied the Knoch team record for points scored in a game.
Gross turned in his typically efficient performance, completing two of four passes for 92 yards and a touchdown. He has thrown 57 passes on the season without an interception.
