C-L - KARNS CITY BOX SCORE

AUG. 30 WEEK ONE - Clarion-Limestone 42, Karns City 6  

KARNS CITY – Clarion-Limestone sent notice to the KSAC and District 9 with a 42-6 rout over defending KSAC champion Karns City, the three-time defending D9 Class AA champs, in the KSAC and season opener for both times Friday night at Karns City. 

According to Don Black of e-PaSports.Com (www.e-PaSports.com) it is the worst loss inside of District 9 for the Gremlins since they dropped a 37-0 decision to Keystone during the 1978 season. It is also their worst loss since the 1999 season when they lost to Wilmington 41-0. 

The Lions scored 30 unanswered points to break open a game that was close in the first half stunning not only Karns City but their own coaching staff.

"Absolutely not," C-L’s first-year head coach John Kundick said when asked if he thought his team would beat Karns City by such a large margin. "We thought it was going to be close. You never know until you get out on the field. We’re just happy with the kids. They worked real hard and deserved everything that happened out there."

The Lions dominated on both sides of the ball outgaining the Gremlins, who lost 21 seniors from last year’s team, 371 yards to 203 including 317-112 on the ground.

"We didn’t come out and execute tonight," Karns City head coach Ed Conto said. "A couple bad things happened. It caused a domino effect, and it fell apart. We’ve just got go back and start over, that’s all."

The win was a big one for the Lions who’s only KSAC and regular season loss last year came 25-7 to Karns City in the season opener.

"I told them before the game if they have any thoughts about going undefeated, you have to have this one," Kundick said. "I just told them after the game ‘you’ve got to know this was an important game.’ Everybody had it hyped up, and no one knew what was going to happen. But they can’t go through the rest of this year thinking everybody else is going to die for them. It is not going to happen. Everybody is going to be coming.

"As long as we work hard and keep our mental state where it should be, the wins will come."

Both the Lions defense and offense were clicking early on.

After Karns City received the opening kickoff, C-L’s defense stopped the Gremlins and forced a punt.

The Lions offense then needed only three play to go 78 yards scoring when sophomore quarterback Hayden Johnston faked a handoff to the right and went left getting two key down-field blocks on his way to a 68-yard touchdown run. Rocky Davis missed the extra point, but C-L led 6-0 with 8:38 left in the opening quarter.

The Lions almost scored on their next possession, but a good defensive play by Karns City kept C-L off the scoreboard. C-L moved the ball from its own 48 to the Karns City 11-yard line before Johnston attempted a fade pass to Brad Beggs in the end zone. Karns City’s Dave Black, though, intercepted the pass.

It was the C-L defense that came up with the next big play.

Early in the second quarter, on Karns City’s first possession of the quarter, C-L’s Erik White intercepted a deflected Erik Fuhrer pass at the Karns City 36-yard line and returned it 24 yards to the Karns City 12.

After two penalties on the Lions put them back at the Karns City 20-yard line facing a third-and-18, Johnston threw a fade pass to tight end Harley Doane who caught the ball and fell into the end zone for the touchdown. The Lions two-point attempt failed, but C-L led 12-0 with 9:39 left in the half.

The Gremlins rallied to score on their following possession moving the ball 65 yards in 10 plays.

Fuhrer scored for Karns City on a 12-yard run. The extra point was blocked, but the Gremlins were down only 12-6 at the 5:41 mark before halftime.

The scoring drive was bittersweet for the Gremlins, as they lost starting offensive lineman/linebacker Jeff Wagner, one of the few returning starters, to a left knee injury. Wagner watched the remainder of the game from the sideline on crutches. The severity of his injury was unknown.

The Lions answered the Gremlins touchdown with an 11-play, 63-yard scoring drive capped by a leaping 22-yard touchdown catch by Brad Beggs in the end zone with 55 seconds left in the half. Davis missed the extra point keeping the score 18-6.

The Gremlins tried to score before halftime, as Fuhrer went 4-for-6 passing for 54 yards, but Karns City fell eight yards short of the end zone as time expired.

C-L started the third quarter with a 12-play, 59-yard drive that ended on a 28-yard field goal by Davis with 4:42 left in the third quarter. The Lions went to the ground on the drive carrying 12 times for 50 yards while taking over seven minutes off the clock.

The Lions defense came up with another big play on Karns City’s next possession.

The Gremlin had driven from their 21-yard line to the C-L 27, but Fuhrer was stripped of the football, and C-L’s Ben Brooks recovered the loose ball with 11 seconds left in the quarter. The fumble was just a microcosm of Karns City’s trouble holding onto the ball in the game. The Gremlins fumbled six times on the night losing three of them.

"That was the turning point in the game," Conto said. "They came out (in the second half) and drove the field. They wanted that score. We came down, drove the field and made an attempt to get back in the game. We didn't want it bad enough."

In the fourth quarter, the Lions scored 21 points including a 9-yard touchdown run by Brendan Huwar at the 6:29 mark that essentially put the game away.

A 22-yard TD run by Neil Reynolds and Cam Speer’s 29-yard scoring run were C-L’s final two scores.

For C-L, Johnston gained 104 yards and scored once on 13 carries. He also went 4-for-8 passing for 54 yards and two touchdowns. Brooks gained 90 yards on 13 rushes, while Huwar went for 66 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.

Karns City was led by Fuhrer’s 7-for-16 passing for 84 yards, but Fuhrer’s effectiveness was limited by an injury he suffered to his throwing hand during the game.

CLARION-LIMESTONE 42, KARNS CITY 6

Score By Quarter

C-L 6 12 3 21 - 42

KC 0 6 0 0 - 6

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

C-L - Hayden Johnston 68 run (Kick failed), 8:38

Second Quarter

C-L - Harley Doane 20 pass from Johnston (Conversion failed), 9:39

KC - Erik Fuhrer 12 run (Kick blocked), 5:41

C-L - Brad Beggs 22 pass from Johnston (Kick failed), :52

Third Quarter

C-L - Rocky Davis 28 field goal, 4:42

Fourth Quarter

C-L - Brendan Huwar 9 run (Davis kick), 6:29

C-L - Neil Reynolds 22 run (Davis kick), 3:19

C-L - Cam Speer 29 run (Davis kick), 2:22

Team Stats

C-L KC

First Downs 15 9

Rushes-Yards 45-317 39-112

Passing Yards 54 91

Passes Att-Comp-Int 8-4-1 17-8-1

Total Yardage 371 203

Punts-Average 2-44.5 5-35.8

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 6-3

Penalties-Yards 4-31 5-46

Individual Stats

Rushing - Clarion-Limestone: Hayden Johnston 13-104 1 TD, Brendan Huwar 14-66 1 TD, Cam Speer 2-31 1 TD, Neil Reynolds 1-22 1 TD, Ben Brooks 13-90, David Brooks 2-4. Karns City: Erik Fuhrer 9-24 1 TD, Mike Stitt 8-34, Noll Steiner 1-20, Jordan Collins 7-17, Matt Carnahan 10-9, Sam Shultz 1-5, Jake Sweeney 1-3, Mike Croyle 1-0, Dustin Libecco 1-0.

Passing - Clarion-Limestone: Hayden Johnston 4-for-8, 54 yds., 2 TD, 1 INT. Karns City: Erik Fuhrer 7-for-16, 84 yds., 1 INT, Mike Croyle 1-for-1, 7 yds.

Receiving - CLarion-Limestone: Brad Beggs 2-28 1 TD, Harley Doane 2-26 1 TD. Karns City: Nate Wilson 3-48, Noll Steiner 3-45, David Black 1-3, Matt Carnahan 1-(-5).

Punting - Clarion-Limestone: Hayden Johnston 2-89. Karns City: Mike Croyle 5-179.

Punt Returns - Karns City: Jordan Collins 1-7.

Kick Returns - Clarion-Limestone: Hayden Johnston 1-21, Brad Beggs 1-18. Karns City: Mike Stitt 5-110, Josh Fiscus 1-28, Jeff Wagner 1-16.

Fumble Recoveries - Clarion-Limestone: Ben Brooks, Dave Eggleton, Team - 1.

Interceptions - Clarion-Limestone: Erik White - 1. Karns City: David Black - 1.