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WILLIAMSBURG -- Both Williamsburg and Moshannon Valley, with no playoffs on the horizon, were hoping to end the 2017 season Friday night with a bang, more importantly, a win into the offseason. The Blue Pirates did just that as both teams finished at 2-8, thanks to a 34-22 victory for Williamsburg.
"It was very important, as I said to our underclassmen after the game. We only have a couple of seniors, and we wanted to send them off with something positive," Williamsburg coach Bob Hearn said of Rashadd Knorr, Nick Michelone and William Lykens. "But we also have a lot of underclassmen who play, too. It is something they have to live with until next season, so it was better that it be a positive going out. Been a long season. We struggled. It was nice to have something to build towards."
Knorr, the team's quarterback, had a huge night for the Blue Pirates, who led, 34-6, at one point in the fourth quarter. He rushed for 199 yards on 20 carries and caught three passes for 115 yards. He ran for two scores and caught two touchdown passes from backup freshman quarterback -- and his brother -- Peanut Wansley.
"We thought we could put Rashadd out there (at receiver) and let his brother throw to him and they did a real nice job with the long ball," Hearn said. "We played better tonight than I think we did all season."
It's been a tough year for Moshannon Valley. Coach Mike Keith started the year with 35 players on his roster. Friday night, he had 11 on the field and just seven players dressed on the sideline.
"Between injuries and other things out of our control, it has been a real struggle," said Keith, whose club trailed, 14-0, at halftime. "But we have a lot of underclassmen, and the one thing, the past couple of weeks, when the numbers got to be like this, our kids never gave up. They fought and they fought. The seniors that we have, and with all that happened, I could not be more proud of them."
Knorr scored on a 1-yard run early in the second quarter for a 7-0 lead. A big play came when Tristan DeHoyas picked off a Jake Matchock pass and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
"We got him coming back," Hearn said of the junior defensive back. "He stepped up and made a big play and we are looking forward to that next year."
Turnovers have plagued the Black Knights all year. They had four of them Friday night.
"Stuff started to snowball on us early in the year, and it kept happening like that all year," Keith said.
Even Hearn knew that with a 14-0 halftime lead, nothing was taken for granted, especially the fact that his team was in the red zone three other times in the first half and came away empty.
"When you have only one win, you know that things can happen and that can concern you," said Hearn, who also got to see freshman linebacker Shane Brantner stop a drive with a diving interception to stop a Mo Valley drive. "But tonight we got the turnovers. That put us in a position to succeed."
Knorr caught two touchdown passes from Wansley in the third, for 45 and 32 yards. Mo Valley got a 31-yard touchdown run from Jon Dale, who needed just 88 yards to reach the 1,000-mark for the season. He did much better than that, totaling 143 on 31 carries.
"That was great for him. He deserves it, but this was a team accomplishment and we told the kids that," Keith said. "This was not just about him. It was about the line. This is the first time we had two games in a row with the same offensive line, last week and tonight."
Knorr scored on a 44-yard run early in the fourth for a 34-6 lead. Nick Michelone added the final of his four PAT kicks. The Black Knights scored the final two touchdowns of the game, a 1-yard run by Dale and a 13-yard run by Matchock with one second left in the game to set the final.
"Our guys worked hard. The future looks bright," Keith said. "Things did not go the way we wanted to this year, but hey, what are you going to do?"
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Moshannon Valley 0 0 6 16 -- 22
Williamsburg 0 14 13 7 -- 34
Second quarter
W--Knorr 1 run (Michelone kick), 10:43
W--DeHoyos 32 int. return (Michelone kick), :05
Third quarter
W--Knorr 45 pass from Wansley (kick failed), 4:35
MV--Dale 31 run (pass failed), 2:35
W--Knorr 32 pass from Wansley (Michelone kick), 1:00
Fourth quarter
W--Knorr 44 run (Michelone kick), 6:03
MV--Dale 1 run (DeLattre pass from Matchock), 2:28
MV--Matchock 13 run (Dale pass from Matchock), :01
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: Moshannon Valley--Dale 31-143, Matchock 7-50, Bacher 3-1. Williamsburg--Knorr 20-199, Wansley 4-26, Mikesic 13-44, Clark 2-8.
Passing: Moshannon Valley--Matchock 10-17-2-145, Murawski 0-1-0-0. Williamsburg--Knorr 0-8-0-0, Wansley 3-6-0-115.
Receiving: Reed 3-25, DeLattre 1-2, Warholic 3-60, Dale 1-15, Bacher 2-43. Williamsburg--Knorr 3-115.
Interceptions: Moshannon Valley--none. Williamsburg--DeHoyos, Brantner.
TEAM STATISTICS MV W
First downs 16 15
Rushes-Yards 41-194 39-277
Passing (Comp-att-int) 10-18-2 3-15-0
Passing yards 145 115
Total yards 339 392
Fumbles-Lost 3-2 3-2
Penalties-Yards 2-25 3-15
Punts-Avg. 5-30 2-35.5