KNIGHTDALE - A 35-7 homecoming loss to Harnett Central nixed Knightdale High School's hopes of making the state playoffs, but fans continued to fill the stadium after the Trojans (8-0, 4-0) stacked a 21-7 halftime lead on the Knights (0-8, 0-4).

With a lackluster start to the 2009 season, those fans were just glad to see Knightdale get on the board when Ben Bolling targeted Ira Tripp on an 18-yard pass for six in the second quarter.

Craig Gage's kick made it a one possession game, 14-7, but the Trojans' defense did its job from that point on and their offense systematically punched in three more touchdowns for the win.

"That was tough because it was a do-or-die situation for us," Knightdale coach Kamelio Johnson said. "And homecoming is, you know - homecoming."

Junior quarterback Brian Taylor sealed the Harnett win with an 8-yard pass to Brian Baker in the third quarter followed by a 62-yard pass to sophomore Reggie Patterson in the fourth while Knightdale was silent on offense. The two touchdowns gave Taylor a hat trick, as he rushed for another from five yards out in the second quarter.

With three games left to play and no shot at playoffs, Johnson said this season didn't turn out like he had initially expected but that doesn't mean the final three games of the season are irrelevant.

"It doesn't match up at all," he said. "Coming into year two I thought we would perform better and be capable of hammering out some wins. Our schedule was tough, but I thought with some of the people we had returning we would be contenders. Now we're just looking at the next three and wanting to end on a three-game winning streak. At this point we can't focus on them, we just need to focus on us and heal."

The second-year coach said the team made some of the same offensive mistakes against Harnett Central, and at the wrong time, it has made all season and that seems to be the story of the team's downfall.

"We've moved the ball well between the 20 and 20, but in our league it's hard to put yourself in situations where the defense has to dictate what you do. It's a tough thing to fix," Johnson said.

Playing the final three games of the season against West Johnston, Clayton and East Wake with a knowledge of no postseason life, Johnson said he and his team share the same disappointment, but many of his players have not quit.

"For a while now we've been our own worst enemy, making the worst mistakes at most inopportune times," he said. "But I don't feel like collectively, as a team, we have thrown in the towel."

He said he doesn't know if it will play to his team's favor or what effect the Knights' non-berth knowledge will have on the final games of the season and its finale against East Wake - a team the Knights have yet to beat.

"That's a rival," he said. "Any type of rival game you throw records out. Hopefully we'll be coming in there with a two-game winning streak."