Moniteau football coach Wade Vogan believes his team has improved every week for the first four weeks of the season.

Any experience gained will be put to the test at 7 p.m. Friday when the Warriors travel to Karns City for a KSAC Large Division matchup.

“I was happy with the effort,” said Vogan about Moniteau's first win, a 24-8 decision over A-C Valley last week. “They gave me four quarters of football. From the first game we've improved every week and hopefully we can improve this week against the Gremlins.”

Showing improvement this week would be a big win for the Warriors (1-3, 1-1).

Karns City, which leads the all-time series with Moniteau 41-21-3, has out-scored its opponents 186-27 this season.

The Gremlins (4-0, 2-0) have won 17 consecutive games against division foes, including 12 straight by double figures.

Karns City coach Ed Conto is more concerned with keeping his kids focused this week than their opponent.

“A bigger issue is not so much who you are playing, it's that it's homecoming,” Conto said. “The kids get hyped up and all that stuff. There are all the little distractions going on with spirit week and all that. I want to make sure the kids get focused.”

A solid mental approach for the Gremlins will be built around executing better.

Karns City beat Clarion 48-6 last week, but the Gremlins were held to a season-low 285 yards of total offense.

“When I was watching film, I saw a lot of mistakes the line got away with,” Conto said. “I don't know why we are making these mistakes at this point of the year. We're going to go back through this week and make sure everyone understands what holes to block.”

Moniteau opened up some holes last week, rushing for a season-high 211 yards. Senior quarterback Derek Boben led the team with 75 rushing yards, while Shonn Kline had 74.

Karns City held the Bobcats to 168 yards last week.

“Our defense played a heck of a game except for the 82-yard touchdown run,” Conto said. “It would be a tremendous night if it wasn't for that.”

The Warriors settled in on defense last week, pulling down three interceptions against the Falcons.

Moniteau will be put to the test against Karns City, which has a balanced rushing attack.

Colin Dunmyre (298 yards), Maverick Kelsea (272) and Chandler Turner (217) give the Gremlins a lot of options in the back field.

“I watched them on film and can't even count how many kids they had carry the ball,” Vogan said. “We need to play fundamentally sound football, from tackling to blocking, and control the ball.”