NORTH FRANKLIN TWP — Scott Fraser and Kam Grassi lifted up the Knoch offense Friday night at Trinity Middle School.

A week after losing standout running back Matt Goodlin for the season, the passing game provided some levity for the Knights' football program. While avenues to the WPIAL playoffs are bleak at best, Knoch sealed its first winning season since 2012 with a 17-14 non-conference win over Trinity.

Fraser hauled in four catches for 67 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

“It's nice to spread the ball out,” Fraser said. “It really gives us a feel for the game. It opened up the run and got me and Josh Schrecengost involved.”

The Knights, who improved to 6-3, will need a lot of help to make the postseason. New Castle would have to lose to Ambridge next week for the Knights to sneak into the top four of the Northwest Eight.

Knoch doesn't have any conference games left and will close with rival Freeport next week. Adding another win is a major focus for Fraser.

“A 7-3 record would be awesome,” Fraser said. “We've been playing since we were 12 years old, to come out with wins would be awesome.”

Knights coach Brandon Mowry said however that situation resolves itself won't damper Knoch's season.

“It's not where we wanted to be playoff-wise,” Mowry said. “We have a chance to go 7-3 and that's a hell of a year however you want to look at it. I'm proud of how these kids played their tails off all night long.”

Against Trinity, which fell to 2-6 and has lost six straight, Knoch started strong. The Knights' first possession was halted after a turnover-on-downs inside Trinity's 5-yard line. After forcing a Hillers' punt, Knoch went 45 yards on five plays to take a 7-0 lead.

Fraser caught passes of 10 and 6 yards before Keith Washington scored on a 5-yard run. Trinity coach Jon Miller was unavailable for comment.

Knoch doubled its lead in the third quarter when Kam Grassi, who passed for 99 yards, hooked up with Fraser with 5:38 left.

The Hillers cut the lead in half less than three minutes later when Micah Finley scored on a 10-yard run.

Finley finished with a game-high 93 yards rushing.

Justin Tristani extended Knoch's lead to 17-7 with nine minutes remaining on a 20-yard field goal. Trinity nearly made a comeback late. After cutting the lead to 17-14 on a 2-yard touchdown run by Drew Cain, the Hillers got the ball back with 3 minutes remaining.

Trinity, starting from its own 9, marched to the Knoch 28 before facing a fourth-and-seven. Hillers receiver Marquese Lacks would be dragged down a yard short of the marker with 43 seconds remaining, allowing the Knights to survive.

“They were throwing a lot of screens and stuff,” Mowry said. “We wanted to get pressure with our ends and up the middle. We told the backers to be frosty, let them come to you. We bent, but didn't break.”

Knoch 7 0 7 3 — 17

Trinity 0 0 7 7 — 14

First Quarter

K — Keith Washington 5 run (Justin Tristani kick), :53

Third Quarter

K — Scott Fraser 37 pass from Kam Grassi (Tristani kick), 5:38

T — Micah Finley 10 run (Chris Cregut kick), 3:35

Fourth Quarter

K — Tristani 20 field goal, 9:00

T — Drew Cain 2 run ((cregus kick), 5:09

Individual Statistics

Rushing:Knoch, Keith Washington 18-53, Kam Grassi 11-17. Trinity, Micah Finley 19-93, Drew Cain 13-52, Jax Banco 7-37.

Passing:Knoch, Kam Grassi 6-9-99-1. Trinity, Jax Banco 8-12-76-1, Drew Cain 0-2-0-0, Micah Finley 0-2-0-0.

Receiving: Knoch, Scott Fraser 4-67, Josh Schrecengost 2-32. Trinity, Drew Cain 4-40, Micah Finley 1-14, Ty Banco 1-12, Marquese Lacks 2-10.