NEW BETHLEHEM — Karns City responded well to big plays for an even bigger victory on Friday.

The Gremlins earned a road victory with a 34-12 rout of Redbank Valley at Redbank Valley High School.

“(We were) making mistakes but we just kept after it,” Karns City coach Ed Conto said.

The first test for the Gremlins (2-1) came when Jacob King's pass was picked off deep in Bulldog territory and returned 95 yards for the score by Cullen Williams.

The point-after attempt was blocked, but the Bulldogs still held a 6-0 lead.

Rather than hang their heads, the Gremlins took advantage of good field position, starting at their own 43.

A seven-yard run by Chandler Turner and a 15-yard facemask penalty on Redbank advanced Karns City well into Bulldog territory.

From there, the Gremlins pounded out yardage. On first and goal from the 10, Clay Garing scored on a reverse, and Karns City took a 7-6 lead with 6:54 left in the half.

“You know how momentum is,” Conto said. “Momentum swings and you never get it back. We kept it from swinging. Every time something really didn't go well for us, we made some nice plays on 'D' or came up with a good play on 'O' to get it going again.

The Gremlins scored again with 5:24 to go in the half when Turner dipped and dodged from 35 yards out.

With 2:22 left in the half, they made the score 21-6 when Aaron Hutchison ran it in from 15 yards out.

However, the Bulldogs made it a game with 8.7 seconds left in the half when quarterback Keaton Kahle found Hunter Wiles for the 26-yard touchdown pass. The two-point try failed, and the score was 21-12 at halftime.

With Redbank receiving the ball to start the third quarter, momentum could have shifted in the Bulldogs' favor.

However, the Bulldogs were forced to punt from their own territory, and put together a seven-play, 75-yard drive that concluded with Kaiden Powers' 38-yard scamper to pay-dirt with 3:25 left in the third.

“When you're down and then they score, the momentum, the kids mentally start to get down,” Redbank Valley coach Ed Wasilowski said. “I'm not really unhappy with the way we played. We gave it everything we had. I wish we could have got a little more going offensively.”

The final score of the game came on another run by Turner, this one from 15 yards out.

He finished with 91 yards on 11 carries.

“He's a (400-meter) runner,” Conto said. “He never gets tired. He's the same from the beginning to the end of the game.”

Turner was joined by eight other Karns City ball carriers, a factor Wasilowski noted as a difference-maker.

“They have a lot of depth,” he said. “They're running guys in and out and we don't, and I think it showed throughout the game. Especially, we just couldn't get anything going because I think our kids were gassed.”