Knoch wasn't supposed to be here.

There was nowhere else Moon wanted to be.

When the two high school boys basketball teams meet at 7 p.m. Friday for the WPIAL Class AAA crown at the A.J. Palumbo Center in Pittsburgh, it will be a battle of two teams that took decidedly different roads to the district finals.

"They are a very dangerous team," said Moon coach Jeff Ackermann. "They are a very confident team because they have played three excellent teams and beat all three of them to get here."

On Jan. 12, the Knights (15-10) dropped a 47-43 decision to Class A St. Joseph to fall to 6-8.

The next night, Knoch beat Quad-A Seneca Valley 80-67 in double overtime and has won eight out of 10 since.

"This isn't the same team that was playing in December and early January," said Knoch coach Les Shoop.

That's what makes the Knights so dangerous.

They beat Keystone Oaks 71-54 to set up a duel with powerhouse Uniontown, which Knoch defeated 60-52 before stunning Thomas Jefferson Tuesday night, 58-53.

Few think Knoch can pull off a fourth upset in a row.

Except for Shoop and his players, that is.

"I think a lot of people were saying that after Keystone Oaks and after Uniontown," Shoop said. "For a 15-10 team, we are very confident."

Reaching the WPIAL finals was the only acceptable place for Moon this season.

The Tigers lost in the WPIAL semifinals two years in a row before breaking through with a 63-46 win over Hopewell Tuesday night.

With five senior starters, anything less would have been a disaster.

"A lot of these seniors play football and they have made it to the WPIAL semifinals in that sport twice without making it to the finals," Ackermann said. "They had four chances and missed and this was their last chance."

Duane Compo, a 6-foot-4 senior guard, leads Moon in scoring at 18 points per game. Ryan Helfrich, who is also 6-4, is the second-leading scorer at 14 points per contest.

The Tigers love to play an up-tempo offense and have scored points in bunches this season, averaging 74.7 points per game.

"We like to force tempo," Ackermann said. "But we can grind it out, too. We'll play whatever style we need to play to win."

In Moon's three losses, it has scored 50, 54 and 56 points - the only three games it has been held to fewer than 60 points.

Moon is not unlike Uniontown, a team that likes to run the court and score but a team that was held to a mere 52 points by Knoch.

"The three teams we've played, we've held them in the 50s," Shoop said. "If we are in a game in the 70s, we're not going to win it."

The key to Knoch's turnaround has been its scoring balance.

Keith Semek scored 10 points off the bench against Thomas Jefferson as Shoop moved his son and leading scorer, Jordan Shoop, from point guard to shooting guard with exceptional results.

Ackermann used a similar ploy in the win against Hopewell, moving Compo to point guard after starter Dominic Manno was injured.

Shoop sees similar ploys occurring Friday.

"I think in this game you could see that," the coach said. "I think we can exploit some mismatches. It's sort of going to be like a chess match."

Shoop is hoping for the ultimate checkmate.

Knoch was 21-2 last year but lost two straight playoff games. Shoop and the Knights are finally able to gear up for the biggest game of their careers.

"It's as good as I expected," Shoop said. "A lot of people who I haven't spoken to in a long time have called to congratulate me. This is an exciting time for the team and the community. I just hope we don't disappoint."