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By Rich Rhoades
If last year is any indication, you might want to make plans to travel to Butler County Friday
night.
Next door and Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference rivals Karns City (6-0) and Moniteau (5-1)
square off in West Sunbury Friday night in a game that in Karns City’s case could decide the KSAC
title. Both teams are 4-0 in KSAC play.
Karns City squeaked by Moniteau twice a year ago, 20-18 in the regular season and 32-29 in the
Class AA playoffs.
In the regular season game, the Gremlins trailed entering the fourth quarter but got two
touchdowns and held off the Warriors despite being outgained, 445-168. Moniteau quarterback Tyler
Armagost passed for 332 yards, but he was sacked on a two-point conversion play with 1:29 remaining.
Then in the playoffs, Karns City quarterback Matt Endlish’s TD pass with 24 seconds left in
the game capped a 70-yard drive that started with less than two minutes left to break the Warriors’
hearts again.
Heck, going back two years ago, the teams split a pair of games with Karns City winning 10-0 in
the regular season and Moniteau getting a 10-7 win in the D9 playoffs. That means the last three games
between the squads have been decided by a grand total of eight points.
What’s in store for this year? Most of the Gremlins are back, although Endlish has graduated.
But Karns City quarterback Anthony Stimac is making big plays running the show for the Gremlins. He
passed for 193 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s win over Clarion and is 31 of 86 passing for
608 yards, 5 TDs, 6 Ints on the season while adding 224 yards rushing and three scores.
Karns City has outscored its six opponents by a little over 25 points per game.
For Moniteau, this was a turning point for the team a year ago. It went into its regular-season
game with the Gremlins at 6-0 and ended the year with five straight losses, including the playoff loss to
Karns City.
Quarterback Armagost is back for the Warriors, whose only loss was a 49-29 blowout
non-conference loss at St. Marys in Week 2. The opening week, Karns City beat the Flying Dutchmen 23-13.
You can’t ignore Moniteau’s big non-conference win over Western Beaver, a state-ranked team
out of the WPIAL (District 7). In the Warriors’ 22-14 win, Armagost threw for two touchdowns and ran
for another as they rallied from an 8-0 halftime deficit. The junior signal caller is having a big season
with both his arm (52 of 111, 887 yards, 14 TDs, 8 Ints) and his legs (252 yards rushing, 4 TDs).
Sophomore running back James Shope – rhymes with rope – is one of the leading candidates
for Rookie of the Year and is second in District 9 in rushing (90 carries, 769 yards, 9 TDs) despite not
entering the starting lineup until Week 2.
Karns City goes into the game with 17 straight KSAC wins dating back to 2005 and have won at
least a share of the last two conference titles. A third title would almost assuredly go to the Gremlins
with a win as they finish the conference season with winless A-C Valley and one-win Union. Even with a
loss, Karns City could claim a share of the title if Redbank Valley would beat Moniteau next week and the
three teams each finished with one tie (The KSAC has no tiebreaker).
A Moniteau win would put the Warriors on trek for their first-ever conference title since
football began at Moniteau in 1956 – in fact the Warriors have never finished higher than third place
in the conference and a win over Karns City would clinch no worse than third place. A win would also mean
all Moniteau would have to do to gain at least a split of the KSAC title would be split its final two
games against a good Redbank Valley team and a struggling Clarion squad that has been decimated by
injuries. In fact, Moniteau
Karns City leads the all-time series, 34-18-2, and has won 22 of the last 27 against Moniteau
since 1980.
Moving around the district, an interesting non-conference matchup will take place Friday night
in Bradford when the 5-0 Owls host District 6’s Hollidaysburg (6-1) in a battle of a couple of Class
AAA schools with possible state aspirations.
If Hollidaysburg were a District 9 team instead of a
District 6 one, this could easily have been the game of the week.
Bradford features last week’s Player of the Week Nick
Johnson, who scored three touchdowns (run, kick return, punt return) against Brookville. He’s the team
leading rusher (60 attempts, 525, 5 TDs), tackler on defense (8 per game) and has a whopping 608 yards in
kick and punt returns with four touchdowns.
The Owls nearly run it every play, averaging a D9-leading
299.8 yards per game. Taylor O’Brien (436, 11 TDs) and Dan McMurtrie (386, 3) help make up the bulk of
the workload. Junior quarterback Tyler Grandy has filled in nicely for injured starter Ben Walter. Last
week, he completed 3 of 4 passes for 77 yards and a touchdown, and he is 6 of 11 for 101 yards, 1 TD on
the season.
Hollidaysburg is more balanced, led by playmaker Brad
Nocek, who leads the Golden Tigers with 494 yards rushing. Nocek also is the team’s top returner and
has three interceptions on defense. Quarterback Patrick Smith has thrown for 708 yards and six scores
with receiver Justin Gildea catching 21 passes for 359 yards.
One common opponent so far: Punxsutawney (Hollidaysburg
48-21, Bradford 49-13).
Two other District 9 unbeatens also put their perfect marks
on the line this week when Cameron County (6-0), the sixth ranked team in Class A by the Pennsylvania
Football News, hosts Elk County Catholic and newly ranked Kane (6-0), now 10th in Class A by
the PFN, visits Otto-Eldred (1-5). Both games are Friday night.
In the other KSAC games Friday night, Redbank Valley (5-1)
hosts A-C Valley (0-6) and Clarion-Limestone (1-5) clashes with Clarion (2-4) at Clarion University.
It’s sort of a dingy historical point from both team’s angle, but this year’s meeting — Clarion
leads the all-time series 19-17 — is the first time in 22 years (1985, Clarion was 2-5 and C-L 3-4)
that both teams go into their matchup with losing records.
Last year was only the third time ever that both Clarion
and C-L had losing records in the same year, joining 1984 and 1985.
In the other AML games in what’s a crossover division
week, Coudersport (5-1) visits Johnsonburg (1-5), Smethport (1-5) hosts Curwensville (1-5) and Port
Allegany (3-3) travels to Ridgway.
In Saturday’s AML game, Brockway (4-2) visits Sheffield
(1-5).
The D9 League has one conference game as St. Marys (4-2)
hosts Punxsutawney (0-6).
Clearfield (3-3) has a stiff road test as it travels to
Mifflin County to take on unbeaten Indian Valley (5-0) in a Mountain Athletic Conference game. The
Warriors beat Hollidaysburg 28-21 two weeks ago. Hollidaysburg beat the Bisons 42-35 in Week 3.
Four non-conference matchups feature three District 9 teams
playing non-district opponents. Brookville (3-3) visits Keystone (3-3) in the third straight year of a
non-conference series that will turn into a KSAC game next year. Head coach Chris Dworek, a former
Keystone coach, has led the Raiders to a 41-18 and 20-6 wins the last two years. Brookville, a former
Little 12 Conference rival with the Panthers, hasn’t lost to Keystone since 1986, a span of five games.
DuBois (2-4) treks to District 4’s Selinsgrove (4-2) and
Union (1-5) heads to Mercer County to take on Lakeview (3-3) out of District 10.
Chris Rossetti contributed to this story |
