KARNS CITY — Karns City's defense is ready to be put to the test.

The Gremlins (9-0) host a DuBois Area (5-4) team at 7 p.m. Friday that is averaging 44 points per game. The Beavers have struck for 51 against Mifflin County, 90 against Meadville, 55 against Bradford and 55 against Franklin.

“Problem is, we've been having trouble stopping people,” fifth-year DuBois coach Frank Varischetti said. “We're not very good on defense.”

That could be an issue come Friday as Karns City is averaging 49 points per game and has not been held below 41 this season.

By comparison, the Beavers have coughed up 107 points to Meadville, 56 to Conneaut and 63 to Cathedral Prep.

“I don't think they're as good as Prep or Conneaut, but they are very comparable to McLane,” Varischetti said of Karns City. “They are definitely one of the better teams we'll face.

McLane defeated the Beavers last week, 41-19.

Karns City is bidding for its first undefeated regular season since 2007. The Gremlins were in position to go perfect last season before dropping a 35-31 decision at DuBois to close the regular campaign.

“It's important to the kids because it doesn't happen very often,” KC coach Ed Conto said of a perfect regular season. “Everything has to work out in terms of injuries, how well you play each week, how well teams play against you.”

DuBois is a Class AAAA school, “the smallest in the state,” Varischetti said.

Sophomore quarterback Matt Miller has thrown for 3,114 yards, 28 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. He did not play in Week 1 due to injury.

Braden Paulinellie has rushed for 801 yards and 13 touchdowns. Dante Dawson leads a talented receiving corps with 59 catches for 1,038 yards and nine touchdowns. Colin Read has 41 catches for 837 yards and eight TDs, Zach Sloan 36 for 776 and six scores, Kyle Hopson 29 for 503 and four TDs.

“This will be a challenge for sure,” Conto said of slowing DuBois offensively. “We want to possess the ball, grind it out and keep that unit on the sidelines.

“But we have to be able to finish those drives. It does you no good to possess the football for a long time if you're not putting points on the board.”

Varischetti says his offense is as good as advertised.

“Offensively, we are very good,” he said. “Matt Miller has a chance to be an outstanding high school quarterback and Dante Dawson is very effective on wide receiver screens. He's tough to bring down.”

Karns City's offense has rushed for 2,916 yards and 50 touchdowns. Quarterbacks Jacob King and Cullen Williams have combined for more than 800 yards passing and Evan Stitt has 22 catches for 328 yards.

“They define what team is,” Varischetti said. “They have numerous guys carrying the ball and numerous guys playing on the line. They've been on a pretty good roll.”

DuBois allowed Meadville running back Journey Brown to rush for a state-record 720 yards and 10 touchdowns earlier this season. Brown's total was 34 yards shy of the national high school record.

“He was a way better athlete than anyone we had on the field defensively that night,” Varischetti said. “We would score every two plays or so and we couldn't stop him. We had five or six defensive starters out with injuries in that game.

“That's how a score like that (107-90) happens. We will have our arms full trying to stop these guys, too.”

Conto expects to have just as much trouble. And he's fine with it.

“That's why we're playing them,” he said. “I want a tough opponent for the 10th week so our kids would be excited about this game and not looking ahead to the playoffs.”

Wilmington

at Slippery Rock

7 p.m. Friday

What to look for: Both teams will use this game to rest banged up players and prepare for the playoffs. ... Slippery Rock (5-4)has two 1,000-yard rushers in fullback Trent Porter and QB/RB Ryan Lauster. Porter has 1,137 yards on 135 carries and 13 touchdowns; Lauster has gained 1,070 yards on 100 attempts and has scored 14 TDs. ... After a strong start, the Greyhounds (5-4) have been up and down the last month, losing 37-6 to Farrell, 42-6 to Hickory and 42-7 to Sharpsville last week. ... Slippery Rock will open the District 10 Class AA playoffs next week against Fairview while Wilmington will play Cambridge Springs in a Class A game.

Union at Moniteau

7 p.m. Friday

What to look for: The Golden Knights (4-5) were eliminated from the playoff chase last week despite a win over Clarion-Limestone. Clarion holds the tiebreaker over Union due to a win over Brookville. ... Warriors QB Derek Boben has passed for 986 yards and rushed for 731 yards for Moniteau. ... Moniteau WR Dalton Anderson has 437 yards receiving on 26 receptions.

Union (New Castle) at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic

7:30 p.m. Friday

What to look for: The Scotties (5-4) won three straight games in weeks six through eight for their first three-game winning streak since opening the season 4-0 in 2002. ... North Catholic QB Erick Taylor is third in the county in passing with 1,445 yards and 14 touchdowns. ... Trojans RB Mario Latronica has 849 rushing yards and 11 TDs.

Grove City at Lakeview

7 p.m. Friday

What to look for: Grove City (1-8) has five receivers with 10 or more receptions this season ... Junior Nick Davies has 19 receptions for 300 yards and two TDs for the Eagles and also leads the team with three interceptions. ... Freshman WR Logan Lutz has also been a bright spot for Grove City with 20 receptions for 293 yards and four TDs. ... Lakeview (5-4) is led by senior RB Austin Rice, who has rushed for 969 yards on 190 carries and scored eight touchdowns.

Cochrantonat A-C Valley

7 p.m. Friday

What to look for: The Cardinals fell to 3-6 last week with a 19-14 loss to Eisenhower. A-C Valley remained winless (0-9) with a 41-0 loss to Keystone. ... Cochranton is led by junior RB/WR Pete Jamieson, who has rushed for 251 yards and two TDs and tallied 452 receiving yards and five more scores. ... A-C Valley's Lane Chalmers and Eric Pirl have combined to rush for 596 yards and four TDs.