Junior tailback Tom Sua's 26th and final carry of Friday night's opening contest against Pacifica of Oxnard at Al Maguire Field was his longest and most impressive.

The 200-pound battering ram lowered his head, powered his way through the line, and broke several tackles for a bruising 38-yard touchdown scamper on a key third-and-two to clinch the Knights' 26-14 victory.

"I was just thinking about running hard and just try to hold onto that ball," said Sua, who found the energy late in the game from "all the support from the sidelines and the crowd."

Sua pounded out 162 yards and two rushing touchdowns in his debut as the Knights featured back - aiding new head coach Mike Hartman to his first victory at the helm.

"It feels good. I can't wait 'til next week against A.G.," said Sua, looking ahead to a week-one matchup with PAC-5 power Arroyo Grande. "We made some mistakes, but we kept our heads in and played hard the whole game and came out with the win."

The Knights overcame a lot, including 12 penalties for 87 yards - one of which negated a 28-yard screen pass to Sua for a touchdown - as well as two turnovers.

"It's kind of the peril of a week-zero game. We didn't get a chance to have a scrimmage against another team," said Hartman. "And we're not a real experienced team. We have a lot of guys up from JVs and this was the first time they played under the lights with the fancy uniforms and the big crowd and it kind of got to them a little bit. The kids were a little nervous, but that's all right."

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Senior quarterback Brian McConkey had a big night in his first start behind center - completing 11 of 18 attempts for 73 passing yards and, more impressive, 12 rushes for 85 yards and a pair of touchdowns. McConkey's 61-yard touchdown gallop in the fourth quarter gave the Knights a little bit of breathing room at 19-7 with 11:47 left.

"Our kids worked so hard and we tried to stress about being positive and that we're a family. That's why we won the game," said Hartman. "We had a little adversity in the third quarter. All the credit to (Pacifica coach Dennis Rea). Those guys are much improved from last year."

Pacifica, which plays in the Pacific View League, held a 7-6 halftime lead thanks to tailback Kalvin Henry's three-yard touchdown run plus a successful extra point.

But the Knights, who got a gutsy defensive effort especially when they needed it most in the second half, re-claimed the lead on Sua's nine-yard touchdown run with 2:04 left in the third quarter. A failed two-point attempt limited St. Joseph's lead to 12-7.

"That's his job," said Hartman of Sua. "We talked about our roles on the team. We asked certain guys to be leaders and we asked certain guys to be role players, and Thomas' job is to run the ball. That's what he's supposed to do and he did a great job for us. You're going to see a lot more of it."

After a quick three-and-out by the Pacifica offense, McConkey broke his long touchdown run to open the fourth quarter and put the Knights up by a 12-point spread.

"We settled down in the second half. We started getting some big plays and there it was," said Hartman, who was the defensive coordinator for the Knights the last six years. "I caught myself. I made a few mistakes in play-calling. Ball was on the wrong hash or I used the wrong word, but I'm learning to. It's different calling the offense than the defense."

Hartman, however, made a great call on the Knights' final drive when they were trying to run out the clock. On third-and-six from their own 44-yard line, McConkey faked a handoff to Sua and hit senior David Wolfe for a critical 10-yard pass completion for a first down.

Wolfe made his presence felt on the field in other ways as well, recovering a fumble to set up one of Sua's TD runs and then stepping up on defense with an interception.

Pacifica put up a good fight, cutting the deficit to 19-14 with 7:51 remaining on a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Reid to receiver Raynard Pamilton on an inside slant. Senior wideout Craig Lee also caused problems for the St. Joseph secondary - making two grabs for gains of 62 and 35.

"They came out and showed me some athleticism that I wasn't expecting," said Hartman of Pacifica. "Those guys are going to be a lot better than people think they are."

Following a Knights' turnover, Pacifica had the ball and a chance to take the lead, but the St. Joseph 'D' stalled the drive at its own 30-yard line. Junior linebacker Tyler Kirchhof made perhaps the biggest defensive play when he tipped away a pass on the sideline inside the 20-yard line.

"I'm so happy for our kids because they worked so hard," said Hartman. "There's a lot of people who were wondering how good we'd be with the graduation of so many guys. This was good for them. They are the ones that earned this one."

Sept. 3, 2005