Highlands runs past Knoch in season finale

By: William Whalen
Friday, October 29, 2021 | 10:26 PM

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Knoch couldn’t stop the bleeding Friday at Golden Rams Stadium.

The Knights defense hemorrhaged 445 yards rushing to Highlands as the Golden Rams rolled to a 33-13 Class 4A Allegheny Conference win over the Knights to close out the regular-season schedule.

“Halftime, we went in and looked at what was working and what wasn’t working and I said, ‘Hey, let’s just keep running the ball,’ ” Highlands coach Dom Girardi said. “That’s where the big success was in the second half.”

Clinging to a six-point lead to start the second half, Highlands (7-3, 4-3) held Knoch (2-8, 1-6) to a three-and-out on its first series.

Knoch punter Bredan Tristani got off a corkscrew punt the also was handled by the wind. Highlands return man Brayden White muffed the punt. The ball rolled into the end zone, and after all the bodies were removed from the pile, Knoch senior Keagan Fraser came out with the ball and a touchdown to tie the score 13-13 after a Tristani missed extra-point try.

“You got to have nerves of steel back there, more than any other position.” Girardi said.

Knoch had all the momentum.

“It was huge,” Knoch coach Brandon Mowry said. “The game is funny sometimes, you get a break and you get right back into the thick of things.”

The Golden Rams took the next possession and drove 59 yards on six plays before Luke Bombalski scored on a 21-yard run to give Highlands a 20-13 lead. Bombalski rushed for 168 yards on 20 carries and scored on runs of 3, 21, 3 and 21 yards.

“We were kind of preparing to throw the ball a lot,” Highlands quarterback Chandler Thimons said.

Thimons added to the running game: The junior quarterback rushed for 196 yards on 14 carries and opened the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

Knoch tried quarterback Carson Kosecki, who had missed some time because of injury.

After the first two drives, Fraser stepped in and changed the game for the Knights.

His running ability was a problem for the Rams. Fraser led the Knights on an 11-play, 55-yard drive before he called his own number from the 1-yard line to trim Highlands’ lead to 13-7 going into the half.

“We were executing up front at the line of scrimmage. The line was dominating,” Mowry said. “We were doing the things we had to do, and that’s why that drive worked.”

It was Fraser’s fumble in the third quarter that swung the tide in Highlands’ direction. Fraser was well on his way to 40-yard gain before a defender knocked the ball loose. The Rams’ Bryan Randolph pounced on it. Four plays later, Bombalski scored from 3 yards to put Highlands up 26-13 with 4 minutes, 15 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

“There’s things that we have to do better going into the playoffs, and now every week can be your last.” Girardi said. “Nobody wants to go (into the playoffs) with a loss. They’re an enjoyable group to coach, and I’m happy to have another week with them and I want to keep it going.”

Listen to an archived broadcast of this game on Trib HSSN.

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

Tags: Highlands, Knoch