By Dan Sager – For D9Sports.com

CLARION – In just the second week of the 2013 football season, high school football fans were greeted with a potential game of the year matchup between the Karns City Gremlins and the Clarion Bobcats.

In what was supposed to be a tight contest between two powerhouse football programs, Clarion came out swinging, demolishing the Gremlins 42-7 at Clarion University’s Memorial Stadium Friday night.

The Clarion offense exploded for 575 total yards, exposing Karns City’s defense both on the ground and through the air.

Damien Slike and Cody Hearst combined for 458 yards, as Slike scored four rushing touchdowns in a game in which the big play offense was used perfectly, with two of Slike’s scores coming on runs of at least 80 yards.

“Slike made some great runs, and I thought the offensive line did really well,” said Clarion head coach Larry Wiser.  “(Cody) Hearst made some catches that were out of this world.”

In a game where a team scores 42 points and racks up almost 600 yards of offense, overlooking the other side of the ball may be a natural reaction.

However, the Clarion defense demonstrated proficiency by holding a good Karns City team, an offense that scored 42 points last week, to only seven points.

“Defensively, we kind of bent a little bit by giving up that first touchdown,” said Wiser.  “But the kids kept their composure, and that was a good sign they settled down and did their responsibilities.”

The game looked like it would be a back and forth contest, as Karns City needed only five plays and about three minutes to score their first touchdown of the game, with Wyatt Everetts muscling his way in for a 2-yard score.

However, that would be the last time Karns City every really threatened to score, as the Clarion defense forced four punts, had an interception and several turnovers on downs the rest of the contest.

Clarion got on the board five minutes into the game, as Ian Corbett hauled in a 30 yard pass from John Katis, who finished with nine completions for 228 yards after not completing a single a pass in last week’s rout of Clarion-Limestone.  Corbett scored again three minutes later on a 40-yard run.

After forcing a turnover on downs on the first Karns City possession of the second quarter, Clarion made its way down the field to set itself up with a first-and-10 inside the Karns City 20-yard line.

A negative running play, an illegal block penalty and an incomplete pass later, the Bobcats found themselves facing a fourth-and-21 from the Karns City 30.

Instead of attempting a long field goal, the Clarion offense stayed on the field. Katis lobbed a prayer near the first down marker, and Slike made an acrobatic grab to haul in the pass and get the first down at the 1-yard line.  Slike then score d from one-yard out on the next play.

After the Clarion defense came through yet again, the offense gained possession at its own 13-yard line.  On his fifth carry of the game, Slike broke free and raced down the sidelines for an 87-yard touchdown.  Slike scored another long touchdown in the third quarter, this time from 80 yards, which put Clarion up 35-7.  Slike added another touchdown, his fourth of the game, on a 13-yard rush in the fourth quarter.

When the dust finally settled, Clarion had more than doubled Karns City’s offensive output.  A game that was supposed to be an early game of the year nominee had turned into just another rout.

“When a building comes down, it falls hard,” said Ed Canto, head coach of Karns City.  “They (Clarion) made good plays, but at the same time we were making not so good plays, so it’s like a two-fold thing.”

Karns City will host Moniteau next Friday, a team that lost to Sharpsville 35-12 in week one.  Karns City will attempt to avoid going 1-2 to open their season.

“You can use a game like this as a teaching tool, and we can hope we get the kids better and on the same page,” said Canto.

Clarion will try and keep their undefeated streak alive when they host Keystone next Friday.

Clarion 42, Karns City 7

Score by quarters

Karns City                   7          0          0          0          7

Clarion                        14        14        7          7          42

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

KC – Wyatt Everetts 2 yard run (Tyler Kepple kick) 9:19

C – Ian Corbett 30 yard catch from John Katis (Antonio Troese kick) 6:54

C – Corbett 40 yard run (Troese kick) 3:54

Second Quarter

C – Damien Slike 1 yard run (Troese kick) 7:17

C – Slike 87 yard run (Troese kick) 4:58

Third Quarter

C – Slike 80 yard run (Troese kick) 2:11

Fourth Quarter

C – Slike 13 yard run (Troese kick) 7:26

Team Statistics

Karns City                               Clarion

First Downs                10                                            14

Rushes-Yards  39-177                         33-347

Passing Yards 77                                            228

Com-Att-Int                7-77-1                                      9-228-0

Total Offense  254                                          575

Punts-Avg                   4-38                                         1-36

Fumbles-Lost  0-0                                           1-0

Int-Yards                    0                                              1-28

Penalties-Yards           4-43                                         7-55

Individual Stats

RUSHING – Karns City:  Wyatt Everetts 12-75, Adam Whited 5-24, Zach Moore 4-18, Hemi Curry 1-1, Collin Dunmyre 2-0, Caleb King 3-2, Ethan Conto 2-61, Christian Turner 1-2, Cody Deal 3-(-10), Tyler Kepple 5-1, Dakota Mohney 1-0

Clarion: Damien Slike 17-259, Ian Corbett 8-71, Tanner Corbett 4-14, Ben Babington 1-1, Destin Strauser 1-2, Leo Aiello 2-0

PASSING – Karns City:  Tyler Kepple 7-15 for 77 yards, INT

Clarion:  John Katis 9-17 for 228 yards, 1 TD

RECEIVING – Karns City:  Logan Moroney 3-25, Tyler Dunn 1-12, Dakota Mohney 2-16, Wyatt Everetts 1-24

Clarion:  Cody Hearst 6-170, Ian Corbett 1-30, Damien Slike 1-29, Antonio Troese 1-(-1)

INTERCEPTION: Clarion: Antonio Troese.