By Rich Rhoades

LARION – The Karns City Gremlins waited six years for this?

“This” would mean the Jeannette Jayhawks, led by one of the top college football recruits in the nation in senior quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

Karns City, back in the state playoffs after winning its first District 9 Class AA title since 2001, meets the WPIAL (District 7) champions at 1 p.m. Saturday at Clarion University’s Memorial Stadium.

Both teams are unbeaten. The Gremlins, after winning their first District 9 title since 2001, are 12-0. They’re ranked for the first time all year, No. 8, by the Pennsylvania Football News.

But without a doubt, Karns City comes into the game as massive underdogs.

The Jayhawks (13-0) have put together an historic season thanks to Pryor, the do-it-all 6-foot-6-inch, 227-pound playmaker. He’s paced Jeannette to an offensive output of a state-best 56.5 points per game. With 735 points, the Jayhawks need just 20 points to tie last year’s PIAA season record set by Southern Columbia.

Pryor has passed for 1,395 yards and 17 touchdowns. He’s completed 69.1 percent of his 94 passes. But his running ability is what has college scouts drooling. Pryor has rushed for 1,432 yards and 28 touchdowns. He’s averaging 13.9 yards per carry.

In last week’s WPIAL championship game, Pryor rushed for 166 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns and passed for two others in a 61-12 rout of Beaver Falls.

In the WPIAL semifinals, Pryor put on a show, rushing for 331 yards and five touchdowns and passing for 90 yards and two scores in a 70-48 win over Aliquippa. If it hadn’t happened already, that performance put him in the conversation of the best high school football player in Western Pennsylvania history.

Rivals.com and Scouts.com rank him the top college prospect in the nation. Ohio State and West Virginia are believed to be Pryor’s top two choices.

Pryor certainly isn’t alone. The Jayhawks are fast and big. While the statistics are dominated by Pryor, there are other standouts. Running back Jordan Hall has rushed for 678 yards and 15 scores. He’s also Pryor’s top receiver with 17 receptions for 519 yards and six touchdowns.

The Jeannette defense has limited opponents to 104 points, but considering that the Jayhawks have outscored teams 503-40 in the first half – 28 of them surrendered to Aliquippa – teams are scoring mostly against the second-string defense.

Suffice to say, Jeannette is on a mission to win a state title. Last year, the Jayhawks lost to Wilson in the state final, 29-28.

Karns City has a daunting task ahead of them, but regardless of what happens Saturday, it’s been a dominating season for head coach Ed Conto’s squad.

The Gremlins trailed early to Moniteau after the Warriors scored first, but routed Moniteau 50-14 to take home the District 9 title last week.

The Gremlins are on the radar screen when it comes to state rankings. While Jeannette ranks first in the state in points per game and point differential (48.5), Karns City ranks third and fourth respectively in points per game (42.9) and point differential (33.0).

The Gremlins don’t have a major college prospect leading the way, although senior defensive end/tight end Cameron Turner could be a mid-level prospect. What Karns City does have is a balanced crew of contributors.

Junior quarterback Anthony Stimac has been solid. He’s rushed for 401 yards and eight touchdowns while passing for 1,464 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Stimac is one of four ball carriers who have rushed for 400 or more yards. Brett Green leads the way with 569 yards and nine touchdowns. Markus LaVan has 442 yards and six scores while Josh Stimac has gained 405 yards and seven touchdowns.

Turner, a stalwart on the Gremlins’ line as a run-blocker, leads the team with 19 receptions for 393 yards and five touchdowns. Matt McConnell (358, 6 TDs), Josh Callender (284, 4 TDs) and Stephon Conto (245, 2 TDs) are other receivers. Turner also is the key player on Karns City’s defense with 66 tackles and a D9 leading 14 sacks before the Moniteau game Saturday.

Not only does Karns City have Jeannette and Pryor to deal with, it’s dealing with some rough history when it comes to PIAA playoffs.

The Gremlins are 0-5 in state playoff games. But they have been competitive. In three straight meetings with District 10 power Sharon from 1999 to 2001, the Gremlins lost 33-9, 14-6 and 20-13.

In their other two state games, the Gremlins fell to Northwestern (22-0) in 1993 and Wilmington (22-17) in 1997 when they were decided underdogs but made it a very close game.

But it’s not just Karns City. D9 Class AA teams have won just twice in 16 first-round games. Brookville beat Wilmington in 1994 and Brockway knocked off Slippery Rock in 2002. Overall, D9 Class AA teams are 2-16 in the PIAA playoffs.

Last year, Jeannette beat Brookville 32-7 in the first round.

The Karns City-Jeannette winner advances to next week to play the Wilmington-Bishop McCort winner at a site and time to be announced.