Knoch holds off Highlands to earn conference victory

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, September 14, 2018 | 11:54 PM

Knoch’s Matt Goodlin walked off the field visibly distraught after fumbling a kickoff return that was recovered by Highlands deep in Knights territory in a tie game late in the third quarter Friday.

But as he went to the sideline, Goodlin thought back to advice from Knoch coach Frank Whalen.

“Coach always tells us, good or bad, you have to have a short-term memory in football,” Goodlin said. “It happened, and I forgot about it.”

Given Highlands already had scored two touchdowns to erase a 14-point halftime deficit, the fumble looked like it could allow the Golden Rams to completely seize momentum. But the Knights, aided by a couple of Golden Rams penalties, got a stop on defense and set the stage for Goodlin to make a lasting positive memory.

On the next possession, Goodlin scored on a 7-yard run with nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter for what proved to be the winning score in Knoch’s 28-21 home victory in a Northwest Eight Conference game.

“I’m very proud of our guys,” Whalen said. “(Highlands) had all the momentum, but we were able to regroup and get that next score. It was a long drive. I don’t know how many it took off, but it was just a great job there.”

Goodlin had 152 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He admitted he felt fatigued late in the game, but when the play call came in for him, he wasn’t going to turn it down.

“My legs weren’t feeling too great at that point, but coach asked me if I was OK and I said I was alright,” Goodlin said. “When I got the ball, I saw one of our linemen had a nice kickout block, and once I saw the end zone, there wasn’t anything that was going to stop me from getting in.”

Highlands (0-4, 0-2) faced a fourth-and-short near its 30 with four minutes remaining, but after a false start, it punted, and Knoch (1-3, 1-2) got a couple of first downs to seal the game.

Knoch went to halftime with a 21-7 lead after Highlands fumbled a snap inside the 5-yard line in the final minute, which negated a scoring opportunity.

The Golden Rams didn’t let that missed chance carry over, scoring on back-to-back possessions on touchdown passes by Seth Cohen. He hit Isaiah Coleman on a 14-yard corner route and found Dashawn Holley for a 12-yard score that tied the score at 21-21.

“Honestly, I think we came out of halftime thinking we had it, and you can’t do that on a football field,” said Knoch quarterback Chase Mullen, who rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown. “We came out slow and paid for it. After the two touchdowns, we brought it in at the end of the third quarter and told each other we had to step it up and give 100 percent. That’s what we got from everyone (in the fourth), and we got the win.”

Cohen finished with 261 yards passing and played the second half without his top target, Johnny Crise, who Highlands coach Dom Girardi said was held out for precautionary reasons after landing hard after going up for a reception. Crise had one catch for 38 yards.

Despite the comeback falling short, Girardi was pleased with the way his team battled in the second half.

“We really grew up tonight,” Girardi said. “We were down 21-7, and it would’ve been easy to be frustrated after we didn’t score on our first drive and not scoring at the end of the half. But our kids came out like gangbusters. I was proud of how they responded.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer.

Tags: Highlands, Knoch