Knights feeling cool
JEFFERSON TWP — Out of the frying pan, into the fire.
One would think Knoch's football team feels that way after failing to score a point the past two games, losing tri-captain and top offensive lineman Seth Montgomery to torn knee ligaments and having to face defending Class AAAstate champion Franklin Regional on the road this week.
But the Knights (2-3, 1-2) have hardly thrown in the towel.
"They're a very solid team, but I feel that way about every team in our conference,"Knoch coach Mike King said of Franklin Regional. "They are well-coached and they play tough defense.
"We have to be patient and match their brand of football with a physical brand of football we need to play.
Running back Alex Whisler returned to action in the second half against Hampton last week, but he couldn't improve an offense that managed only 71 net yards.
Battling a hamstring injury, Whisler was deemed ready to play last Thursday, but was not involved in contact drills all week.
"I was hoping he could give us a spark late in the game, but it didn't happen," King said. "I apologized to our offensive line Saturday after looking at the film because I gave it to them pretty good Friday. But none of us did well in that game.
"As players and coaches both, we need to bounce back this Friday."
Montgomery tore knee ligaments two weeks ago against Pine-Richland and will be out for the next few games.
Franklin Regional (4-1) returns only three starters from its state championship team, but has allowed only 34 points all season. The Panthers have four offensive starters back, including three linemen.
One of those — center Alex Fleming — has missed the past two games with an injury and is questionable this week. So is quarterback Lenny Gallo, who hasn't played in two games because of a staph infection on his throwing elbow.
"We're 50-50 with Lenny right now,"Franklin Regional coach Greg Botta said of his status for this week. "If he can't go, I'm comfortable with Anthony Vendernia in there."
Vendernia, a sophomore, completed seven of 10 passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns against Mount Pleasant last week.
Lee Howatnek leads the Panthers' running game with nearly 300 yards. Joe Fox, the team's leading tackler at inside linebacker, has 270 yards rushing.
Franklin Regional's top receiver thus far is tight end Jordan Krentz.
"That's kinda funny because we never throw to the tight end,"Botta said. "We have five wide receivers we can go to."
Matt Giugliano led the Panthers with 113 tackles and 13 quarterback sacks as a defensive end last year, but moved to outside linebacker this season.
In the meantime, King is looking to retool an offense to go with a defense that shut down Hampton a week ago. Kurtis Schachner had nine tackles from his defensive tackle position while Eric Farmer and David Govan gave the Talbots fits from their defensive end-outside linebacker positions.
Hampton played nine defenders in the box against the Knights, forcing them to try to win with the pass.
While King respects the Panthers, he believes his team can beat them.
"They're a good football team,"he said. "But they're not as strong across the board as they were last year."
