Heading into Friday night’s season opener against visiting Stevenson, Prospect’s football team had blocked 66 kicks since the start of the 2018 season under special teams coach Tim Beishir.

No. 67 - a punt block - occurred at 5:24 of the first quarter against the Patriots, courtesy of junior defensive back Caden Moran.

“That’s all him (Beishir),” Prospect head coach Dan DeBoeuf said. “We set out to go after the ball at the start of our tenure together.

Knights teammate Devin Gerdes scooped up the ball and ran it 25 yards for the first touchdown of the game, kick-starting Prospect’s 28-18 victory at George Gattas Memorial Stadium.

“I tripped, but got up and scooped it up,“ Gerdes said.

Prospect (1-0) never trailed Stevenson (0-1) in the nonconference game and secured a 21-10 lead at 10:05 mark of the fourth quarter after a 4-yard run by senior wideout Nathan Cichy (25 yards rushing, 47 yards receiving).

A Class 8A state quarterfinalist a year ago, the Patriots scored on a 5-yard TD pass from senior QB Aidan Crawley to junior Brandon Hersh, narrowing the gap to 21-16 with 3:10 left.

Pats junior tight end Zach Becker then came down with a toss from Crawley (98 yards rushing on 19 carries; 12-of-21 passing for 83 yards) for the two-point conversion.

Prospect senior wide receiver Lucas Deines recovered the ensuing onside kick but suffered what appeared to be a serious injury to his right leg and had to be carted off the field.

The Knights then needed only six plays to produce the final TD, getting a 4-yard TD burst from junior RB Matthew Donnelly (17 rushes, 63 yards).

“That’s a very good football team,” Stevenson coach Brent Becker said. “Prospect plays hard and is well-coached.

“That team beat us tonight. All credit to their players and staff.”

Prospect junior edge rusher Colin Fouch, a former linebacker, was a defensive force Friday night, recording two sacks and a tackle for loss.

“A weight room machine with an outstanding work ethic,” DeBoeuf said. “Colin made a ton of great plays out there.”

Prospect junior QB Jackson Cacini completed 8-of-16 passes for 126 yards and ran for a 2-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

Stevenson’s other two scores: Crawley’s 16-yard TD run up the middle early in the second quarter and senior Caden An’s 33-yard field goal cut the host school’s advantage to 14-10 at 3:16 of the third quarter.

Knights defensive lineman Connor Curran also recorded a sack for the victors, dropping Crawley 6 yards behind the line of a scrimmage on the final play of third quarter.

“Football isn’t always about talent,” Moran said. “We have talent, but we also play with a lot of heart.”