KARNS CITY — Ed Conto was looking to find a good test for his Karns City football team.

What he found was a final exam before school even starts.

Rather than schedule a second scrimmage, the Gremlins are opening the 2016 season at 7 p.m. Friday against WPIAL Class 5A opponent Armstrong at Diehl Stadium.

The River Hawks reached the playoffs while finishing 6-4 in their debut season a year ago. Armstrong is a consolidation of the former Kittanning and Ford City high schools.

“I thought we needed a tough game,” Conto said. “We have Clearfield in Week 10, but our league has a lot of young teams this year and we need to be tested early.

“We had Sharon scheduled for Week 7, but our league schedule took that game away. We were looking for an opponent that would knock us around a little bit and Armstrong was looking for a game.”

Karns City does not begin school until next week.

“It’s strange, playing a game before school starts,” Conto said. “It’s always a concern when your team is taken out of routine.”

The River Hawks feature the WPIAL’s leading rusher from last season in senior Zane Dudek, who compiled 2,019 yards and 23 touchdowns on the ground in 2015.

They also feature a head coach — Frank Fabian — who knows the Gremlins well. He is a former coach at Redbank Valley.

“I know all about Karns City and what they do over there every year,” Fabian said. “They are very good at what they do. They always have a stable of running backs that can do damage and a hard-hitting defense.”

But will the Gremlins be able to hit Dudek? The Armstrong running back runs a 10.8 in the 100 meters and won the WPIAL title in that event last spring.

Dudek also owns the school record in the dead-lift at 660 pounds and is a 4.3 student. He is being recruited by Ivy League schools.

“If you were going into a lab to concoct a football player, Zane is what you’d come up with,” Fabian said.

“He is unbelievable,” Conto agreed. “I saw him catch a screen pass in a scrimmage against Sharon ... A juke here, a move there, he made every single guy on that defense miss and went 70 yards for a touchdown.

“That kid might score three or four touchdowns against us. We have to find a way to stay within striking distance and score a point or two more than them.”

Dudek had six interceptions from his safety position as well. Armstrong also returns quarterback Michael Lohte, who threw for 579 yards and 10 touchdowns a year ago, and has two stellar receivers in Ryan Pearce and senior Shawn Giddings, a transfer from Moniteau.

“We anticipate defenses stacking the box against us. We believe our receivers can win the battle in one-on-one coverage outside,” Fabian said.

The River Hawks return four starters on both sides of the ball.

As usual, Karns City is filled with talent. Jacob King will be the primary quarterback this season as he threw for 634 yards and eight TDs last year. Cullen Williams rushed for 500 yards and seven TDs last year as a quarterback and is joining Chandler Turner (853 yards, 13 TDs) at running back this year.

But much of the Gremlins’ talent is in the developmental stages early this year.

“We’d be better off if this game was in Week 4 or so,” Conto admitted. “We have plenty of good linemen, but they’re all about the same right now and we’re still trying to figure out who will be most effective playing with who.”

The team’s most experienced lineman, Dalton Jones, is coming off shoulder surgery and was only cleared to return to action last Wednesday.

“I’m not sure how much he’s going to play — or if he’s going to play — in this first game,” Conto said.

“Armstrong is like a Butler County rival school. It’s nearby and I imagine they’ll be bringing some people over. We’re hoping for a big crowd. This should be a fun way to start the year.”