BEAVER — The loss suffered by the Knoch football team Friday night was more than just on the scoreboard.

The Knights left the field battered.

Two starters left the game with injuries in a 35-21 WPIAL 4A Northwest Nine Conference loss to Beaver at Gypsy Glen Stadium.

Both running back Jim Johnston and quarterback Chase Mullen left the game at different times.

“It's a tough situation the Knights are facing right now with injuries,” Knoch head football coach Frank Whalen said.

When the Knights returned to the field following halftime, running back Jim Johnston, who had 36 yards and a touchdown on just four first-half carries, was notably missing.

Johnston entered concussion protocol, according to Whalen.

“Everything was going pretty well for us, then we lost yet another key two-way starter in James Johnston,” Whalen said.

Knoch converted on three fourth downs in the first half, one of which resulted in a touchdown, and led 21-14 at the break.

The Knights also had two of their three interceptions of the game in the first half.

But with Johnston missing, things began to break down for the Knights.

Beaver blitzed heavily in the second half and Knoch quarterback Chase Mullen, who finished the game with seven completions on 18 attempts for 97 yards, took a beating.

Whalen said Mullen did the best he could with the aid of running back Matt Goodlin, who finished the night with 61 yards rushing and 15 receiving.

“They were blitzing every single play, especially when Jim got hurt. So we were trying to get people behind them and Chase did a good job finding them,” Whalen said. “We were playing with guys in that second half on offense that really don't know the system. We were struggling to move the football.”

Whalen said the turning point came midway through the third quarter when a fumble killed a Knoch drive.

“In the second half, the play that really hurt us was we had a big first down on a rollout waggle (pass), and I think we gained 20 yards at the time,” Whalen said. “Then Matty didn't see the kid coming on his blind side. The kid just made a super play. He put his helmet right on the football (and forced a fumble.)”

Beaver tied the game in the third quarter and took the lead early in the fourth.

Knoch tried a trick play on a fourth-down pass that fell incomplete. Then Beaver converted their own fourth down with a 30-yard touchdown pass to pad their lead with 3 minutes remaining in the game.

Toward the end of the game, Mullen was missing from the action.

Whalen said Mullen's removal from the game was due to an unknown injury.

“We don't know yet,” he said. “We'll have to see.”

Whalen said the team must move on under mounting injuries.

“I've lost track of how many kids we've lost. We just have to stay together,” Whalen said. “As I told the kids, these younger kids that are stepping in to fill these roles, they gotta learn the system and gotta learn it fast, and they gotta give us all they got.”

He said their young hands may hold the future of this season.

“We just have to continue to fight,” Whalen said. “These younger kids are going to have to step up and play football well before they should be ready to play varsity football, but they're forced into playing it now.”

Knoch 7 14 0 0 — 21

Beaver 14 0 7 14 — xx

First Quarter

K — Chase Mullen 5 run (Josh Goldscheitter kick), 9:03

B — Mason Rose 9 pass from Brodie List (Beckett Connelly kick), 8:01

B — List 5 run (Connelly kick), 2:50

Second Quarter

K — Jim Johnston 8 run (Goldscheitter kick), 7:08

K — Matt Goodlin 1 run (Goldscheitter kick), :00

Third Quarter

B — List 3 run (Connelly Kick), 9:20

Fourth Quarter

B — List 2 run (Connelly kick), 5:55

B — Matt Lipinski 30 pass from List (Connelly kick), 3:00

Individual Statistics

Rushing:Knoch, Matt Goodlin 13-61, Jim Johnston 4-36, Chase Mullen 20-22, Noah Cetnar 1-1. Beaver, Gino Mavero 17-125, Brodie List 7-21, Noah Yates 4-19

Passing:Knoch, Chase Mullen 7-18-97-0. Beaver, Brodie List 11-19-211-3

Receiving:Knoch, Scott Fraser 2-33, Jim Johnston 2-28, Jared Schrecengost 1-21, Matt Goodlin 1-15, Kam Grassi 1-0. Beaver, Matt Lipinski 3-88, Mason Rose 4-71, James Finch 3-36, Charlie Zorich 2-16