Karns City is 8-2 against Punxsutawney since September of 2017 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Gremlins will square off against the Chucks at 7:00 p.m. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Karns City sitting on three straight victories and Punxsutawney on eight.
Karns City is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They breezed past Brockway to the tune of 63-27 on Friday. Given the Gremlins' advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania football rankings (they are ranked 105th, while the Rovers are ranked 251st) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.
Cole Johnston
| 10/10/25 vs Brockway | 190 |
| 08/29/25 vs Brookville | 186 |
| 08/22/25 @ St. Marys | 169 |
| 09/05/25 vs DuBois | 142 |
| 09/12/25 @ Moniteau | 95 |
Karns City relied on the efforts of Cole Johnston, who threw for 190 yards and three TDs on only 12 passes, and Nathan Hess, who rushed for 115 yards and a pair of scores on only five carries. Those 190 passing yards gave Johnston a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Hunter Scherer, who gained 86 total yards and a touchdown.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Karns City was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 275 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 181 rushing yards in 13 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
Karns City's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB five times. The heavy lifting was done by Mason Bell and Sean Slaughenhoupt, who racked up all five sacks between them. Slaughenhoupt also set a new season-high mark in total tackles with seven. Karns City received some extra help from Cj Emrick, whose fumble return for a touchdown made for one of the most unforgettable moments.
Meanwhile, Punxsutawney never let their opponents score on Friday. They blew past St. Marys, posting a 49-0 win. That 49 point margin sets a new team best for the Chucks this season.
Karns City's record is now 6-2. As for Punxsutawney, their record now sits at 8-0.
Karns City couldn't quite finish off Punxsutawney in their previous meeting back in September and fell 22-19. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Chucks' Jordan Rutan, who rushed for 139 yards and one touchdown. Now that the Gremlins know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
