KNIGHTDALE - Trailing 7-6 at the half of Sunday's East Wake Football League semifinal Pee Wee matchup, Knightdale coaches told their players to stick to the script.

This team is no different than they were two weeks ago, coaches said of the regular season matchup with the Rams that Knightdale won 25-19.

But playing without three starters, Knightdale (9-1) didn't function at 100 percent. The Rams (8-2), on the other hand, did. The two-time, defending Super Bowl champs were able to hold the Knights scoreless on a handful of second-half attempts to preserve the 7-6 win, and advance to the Super Bowl for the fourth year in a row.

"It was so much give and take out there. It was just great to pull through," Wendell coach Len Boykin said after the game.

The give and take began after a pair of fumbles by both teams left the Knights with the ball on the Wendell 24 yard line at the beginning of the second quarter.

Chrisshaun Young rushed in from 24 yards out for a Knightdale score minutes later, but Wendell's Jacob Ellington sacked Knight quarterback Quincy Jackson short of converting and extra point - which would be the difference in the ball game.

The Ram touchdown came on the very next possession as time ran low in the half. The visitors made their way to the Knightdale 19 after surviving two fourth-down plays and benefitting from a pass interference call on the Knights.

Left with a first down on the Knightdale 15 with 1:15 on the clock, Michael Searles rushed to the 2 yard line before quarterback Blake McShea snuck a keeper under the stack to score the Rams' first and only touchdown of the night. McShea's conversion pass to Zack Boykin gave Wendell the one point needed for the win.

The second half wasn't pretty for either team in terms of penalties, and it resulted in expressions of "too close" echoing through crowds of both teams by the time the battle had ended.

Facing fourth and 2 on the opening drive of the second half Knightdale's Braxton Williams ran the ball to the Wendell 1, but the offense was flagged back to the 12 yard line. The Rams held on third and fourth downs, preventing a Jackson rush from crossing the plane.

After the Knights had eaten 7:09 out of the 10-minute third quarter, Wendell took over on offense for the first time in the half, but in the worst position possible - its own 3 yard line. Ground attack got the Rams across the 20, but a Knightdale tackle for a loss and a false start left Wendell facing a fourth-and-long on its own 12.

Wendell's punt barely took flight before the Knights took over on offense and the ball was returned to the Wendell 12 on rushes from Young and Lassiter. Again, the Rams held on defense. On fourth and 15 on Wendell's 20 yard line, Young's pass to Tauraz Williams sailed long and Wendell took over at its own 20 with 5:42 left to play.

But after hitting a fourth and 1 at 3:39, the Rams fumbled and Knightdale took back over, this time at the Wendell 30 yard line.

Again, the Rams kept the Knights from scoring as the clock ticked below two minutes and again a Wendell fumble set up another Knightdale opportunity. But when Coley Mizell intercepted Jackson's pass at the 5 yard line, the Wendell victory was ultimately sealed.

Another penalty caused a brief scare for the visitors, backing the Rams up half the distance to the goal on the 3 and making a safety a real possibility for the Knights, but with one timeout the home team couldn't stop time, or the victory from slipping away.

Who's left in the playoffs?

For the first time ever, all three Wendell Rams (Mini Mites, Mighty Mites and Pee Wees) teams made it to Super Bowl games, set to begin this Sunday at Wakefield High School at 2 p.m. They will have plenty of company from other local squads.

The Wendell Mini Mites knocked out Wake Forest 13-12 to advance to the big game where they will meet Clayton Blue, the 12-7 semifinal victor over Knightdale.

The Wendell Mighty Mites defeated Holly Springs Gold 26-14, and Knightdale topped Clayton Blue 7-6 to face the Rams in the Super Bowl. When the Knights and Rams met three weeks back, Wendell won 26-20 in overtime.

The Wendell Pee Wees will take on Zebulon in the Super Bowl in a rematch of last year's season finale. The Cougars put up a convincing 35-7 win over Wake Forest Sunday night to advance to the final game.

As in 2008, Zebulon beat the Rams during this year's regular season - this year's game ending 20-13 on a last-second touchdown pass. In the 2008 Super Bowl Wendell posted 19 unanswered points for the win.