Soon after he was hired as Knoch’s new coach over the winter, Brandon Mowry was trying to find ways to get people excited about his team. The long-time former assistant has seen how football can bring the community together, and he didn’t want to wait until the fall to begin generating buzz. 

Instead, he encouraged his players to turn out and support other athletic teams. Basketball games. Wrestling matches. His guys were there for many of them, and their support was appreciated. 

“I actually had some basketball parents come up to me and talk about that because we’ve never really done that before,” Mowry said. “Folks come out and they support us at our home games and they travel away, so just to return that favor to everyone else was ... it looks good and it makes people feel good about us and about the school itself.” 

So does winning, and that’s the next step in the process for a program that hasn’t done a whole lot of it lately. The Knights have not made the playoffs since 2014 and haven’t won a game in the postseason since 2011, when they advanced to the WPIAL Class 3A championship game at Heinz Field before falling short against Montour. 

Fortunately, they have some important pieces in place to help with the pursuit.

One of the most important is running back Matt Goodlin, who had a spectacular 2018 in Knoch’s triple-option offense. His 1,461 yards — which came at an impressive clip of 7.6 per carry — put him 17th among WPIAL rushing leaders. He also added 15 touchdowns.

Mowry thinks the senior’s versatility is the key to the senior’s game. He’s equally willing to seek out holes for big plays and grind out tough yardage in short down-and-distance situations, and that’s an important reason he’s able to thrive in the offense.

His blockers aren’t bad, either. The Knights are losing two captains along the offensive front but still return a fair amount of experience.

Maison Frank is a senior who has seen a lot of action at center. Senior Cole Lassinger brings size to the group at 6 feet 3, 285 pounds. He has been getting looks from Division I college teams. Then there are juniors Hunter Roenigk and Dalton Reed who played quite a bit as sophomores last year. Together, they form what Mowry called a good but “nasty” group of kids that he guided previously as their position coach. 

On the outside, seniors Jared Schrecengost and Scott Fraser return. Neither put up huge numbers last year — Schrecengost caught 12 passes for 233 yards while Fraser had 10 receptions for 166 yards and two touchdowns. 

The plays they did make, however, were well timed game changers because they’d catch opponents off guard. 

“With our offense, everyone’s keying on the running game,” Mowry said. “So when we do throw it up to those guys, a lot of times it’s a big play. A long pass down field. And those two tall guys will go up and get the ball no matter where it is.” 

The only uncertainty for the offense can be found at quarterback, where two guys are competing to replace Chase Mullen, the dual threat who led the unit ably as a senior least year. 

Kam Grassi is the front-runner. The “cerebral” senior played mostly at the slot back spot in the triple option last year, which was good preparation to play quarterback because the position requires a lot of knowledge about blocking schemes and protections. 

Keith Washington, a junior, is also in the mix. He’s fast and athletic, and if he can stay disciplined with his reads in the offense, Mowry is confident he can unlock some gamebreaking potential. 

Defensively, the Knights will rely on a lot of two-way players. Fraser will quarterback the defense from his safety spot, while Goodlin is set to lead the linebackers. They were the team’s two leading tacklers last year. 

Their goal is to put pressure on opponents as often as possible, which they did well last season. Knoch finished 2018 with 16 turnovers, an average of almost two per game. 

Another priority is to get off to a better start. The Knights dropped their first three games last season, all on the road, before winning five of their last seven. 

The schedule is more favorable for them this year, as they’ll play three of their first four at home. Mowry hopes that can help his guys set a better tone and build on the good feelings they generated over the offseason. 

“If we beat one of those other two teams there early on [last year], I think we make the playoffs, and you never know what happens when you get in,” he said. “So getting off to a quick start, a fast start, is paramount for us.”

Adam Bittner: abittner@post-gazette.com and Twitter @fugimaster24. 

Coach: Brandon Mowry

Years at school: 1

2018 record: 5-5

WPIAL playoff appearances: 20

Returning starters: Offense 7, Defense 7

Key returners: Matt Goodlin (5-9, 180, Sr., RB-LB), Scott Fraser (5-9, 165, Sr., WR-DB), Cole Lassinger (6-3, 285, Sr., OL), Jared Schrecengost (6-1, 185, Sr., WR)

Keys to success: Identify a quarterback, be aggressive defensively.

Schedule

*Non-conference game

First Published: August 17, 2019, 10:00 a.m.