Conference title in focus when Knoch, Deer Lakes renew rivalry

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, September 27, 2023 | 5:32 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Previous Next

Deer Lakes and Knoch waged a frantic, down-to-the wire battle last season at Lancers Stadium to open Allegheny 6 Conference play.

The teams combined for 38 points in the fourth quarter — 22 from Knoch and 16 from Deer Lakes — as the Lancers pulled out a 37-36 victory.

“Looking back on it from the perspective of someone who was in the crowd watching, I am sure it was entertaining and fun to watch,” Deer Lakes coach Tim Burk said. “It was fun for us as we were able to come out on the winning end. But it certainly wasn’t easy as Knoch gave us all we could handle. It was back and forth. They have some really talented athletes in that program. We were able to make plays.”

The Lancers and Knights renew their neighboring rivalry Friday at Knoch Knights Stadium. Both teams are 4-1 with essentially a new season dawning.

It is a five-game sprint for a conference title, and Deer Lakes and Knoch know how crucial it is to notch the first victory on the way to that goal.

“Our start is great, and it is good for the program and the school, but now what we’ve done before really doesn’t matter,” Knoch coach Tim Burchett said. “We have to take care of business, or after Halloween, we will be home. That all starts Friday against a really good Deer Lakes team.”

The Lancers have won four in a row since a 7-6 loss to Keystone Oaks in Week Zero.

Deer Lakes has allowed the first touchdown in each of its last three games but came back to shut each one down the rest of the way.

“Every week, we want to get a shutout and play as perfect football as possible,” Lancers senior Aiden Fletcher said. “We had a little trouble settling into games at the start the last couple of weeks, but we trusted in each other and the coaches and did what we needed to do to take care of business.”

Deer Lakes fell behind Southmoreland in the first quarter last week before authoring a quick answer to tie it on the first of two rushing scores from junior tailback Zier Williams.

Seniors Derek Burk and Ryan Cochran connected on a 35-yard TD pass, and junior Noah Shurina added a 29-yard field goal.

The touchdown toss was Burk’s 12th of the season. The two scoring runs give Williams five to go with 580 yards on 69 attempts.

“They are able to run and pass the football at a very high level,” Burchett said. “They play fast, and they play physical on both sides of the ball. We have to be ready.”

Knoch opened the season with wins over Hampton, Indiana, Beaver Falls and Southmoreland, and they scored at least 27 points in each of those victories.

However, Elizabeth Forward stymied the Knights offense last Friday in a 22-0 setback.

“Elizabeth Forward was a really physical team,” Burchett said. “They had a chip on their shoulders in that nobody was talking about them. That was something I was worried about. They’ve been a really good team for a while now. But we had our chances, and we didn’t capitalize on them. We missed three or four big plays and gave up two crazy long passes on thirds-and-forever. You can’t win if you miss opportunities like that against really good teams.

“But sometimes you need a good butt-whooping that gets you to refocus. I think we will refocus this week and get back to where we need to be. We just have to take care of the small things, the minute, detailed parts of the game to have that success.”

Junior quarterback Codi Mullen has been a centerpiece of the Knoch offense.

He said he’s excited for this game after missing most of last year’s matchup with Deer Lakes because of injury. Mullen was knocked out of the game late in the first quarter.

Aiden Jones, now a senior, came in and threw for 209 yards and three touchdowns to keep Knoch in the game to the end.

“This game is huge for us,” Mullen said. “It is our first conference game, we’re at home, and we hope to have a big crowd. We need to get this game if we’re going to have a shot at winning the conference. Some people call this a rivalry. I just think it’s going to be another great game between the teams. We have to be ready with our best game.”

Mullen was held in check in last week’s shutout loss to Elizabeth Forward, but for the season, he has thrown for nearly 900 yards and eight touchdowns against four interceptions.

“There’s a lot to digest with them,” coach Burk said. “They are sound in what they do and are very athletic. They are a good football team that has found that winning edge again.

“Mullen is an electric player who can do special things with the football. He causes a lot of problems. The kid who came in last year did just as good. They have talent, and they’ve shown it in big ways.”

Mullen has a bevy of receivers at his disposal, led by 6-foot-1 junior Kaden Spencer, who has caught six of Mullen’s eight touchdowns and 20 catches overall for nearly 450 yards.

The Knights are off to their best start since 2019, when they went 5-0 out of the gate.

The Lancers also started 4-1 in 2015. They finished the regular season 6-3 before falling to Washington in the WPIAL Class 2A first round.

Deer Lakes then waited six years before returning to the postseason in 2022.

“We’re only 15 minutes apart, and it adds to this rivalry,” Burk said. “Over the years, they got a little bigger than us (in classification) and we didn’t play as often. But we’re back together at the same level in the same conference, and it’s nice we get the chance to play. And to have close games like we’ve had the past couple of years, it makes it enjoyable for everyone.”

The series

Knoch leads, 9-5-1. Results of the last 10 meetings:

2022: Deer Lakes 37, Knoch 36

2021: Knoch 21, Deer Lakes 13

2001: Knoch 48, Deer Lakes 8

2000: Knoch 28, Deer Lakes 7

1998: Deer Lakes 49, Knoch 36

1997: Deer Lakes 28, Knoch 7

1979: Knoch 38, Deer Lakes 7

1978: Knoch 26, Deer Lakes 0

1977: Deer Lakes 3, Knoch 0

1976: Knoch 27, Deer Lakes 0

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Deer Lakes, Knoch