The Moniteau football team is a decided underdog against Karns City in the District 9 Class AA title game.

To Moniteau coach Wade Vogan, that’s OK.

“Everyone outside of these four walls don’t give us a chance,” Vogan said. “But we believe we can win and that’s all that matters. Football is four downs and four quarters and all that matters is what happens then and what you think then. Our guys believe.”

Kickoff is 7 p.m. Friday at Clarion University.

Moniteau’s first meeting this year against Karns City in October resulted in a 41-0 halftime deficit. Neither team scored in the second half.

That loss dropped the Warriors to 1-4 and it seemed like a lost season.

But Moniteau won three of its next four games to get into the playoffs and knocked off St. Marys, 17-6, last week in the District 9 Class AA semifinal.

“It’s a credit to our coaches and players,” Vogan said. “When we were 1-4, we definitely could have packed it in.”

Instead, Moniteau made some adjustments — especially on defense — and went from giving up 31 points per game the first five weeks to just 18 over the last six weeks.

But Karns City is a different animal.

The Gremlins haven’t scored fewer than 41 points in a game all season and are averaging 51 points per contest while giving up a mere 14.

Karns City also had a bye last week to rest.

Gremlins’ coach Ed Conto, though, would have preferred to play instead of be idle.

“I don’t like it,” Conto said of the bye. “It gets you out of your norm.”

Karns City spent the week with increased time in the weight room and also had intense practices working on offense and defense. The Gremlins also took a day off in the middle of the week.

Conto said the biggest thing his team needs to do is stay focused.

“There are a lot of things going on this time of year,” Conto said. “Basketball is starting, Thanksgiving is next week, hunting season is coming up. There are a lot of distractions and we have to limit that.”

The rivalry game itself could be a distraction.

Conto is also guarding against overlooking Moniteau.

“People on the outside don’t realize there are a lot of different things going on that can trip you up,” Conto said. “It’s always a roller coaster ride during a season.”

Karns City, though, has had a lot of fun — and success — on its roller coaster ride this season.

The Gremlins have rushed for 3,192 yards and 58 touchdowns as a team and are averaging nearly eight yards per carry.

Eight players have rushed for at least 100 yards, led by the 732 tallied by senior running back Collin Dunmyre.

Fullback Maverick Kelsea has scored 16 touchdowns.

The two-headed quarterback tandem of Cullen Williams and Jacob King has combined to complete 60-of-100 passes for 1,002 yards and 10 touchdowns.

“Karns City has so much depth,” Vogan said. “They’ve been running the same defense for 15 years and they run it so well. But we’ll fight.”

Moniteau is led on both sides of the ball by a pair of seniors.

Derek Boben leads the Warriors in passing (1,153 yards), rushing (823) and tackles (nearly 14 per game).

Shonn Kline had 153 yards on 33 carries in the win over St. Marys and has gained 664 yards on the ground this season. He also is averaging nearly 13 tackles per game at linebacker.

“They are led by their two seniors,” Conto said. “It looks like those two have showed pretty good leadership.”