KARNS CITY — Karns City's football team has been on cruise control in recent weeks.

The Gremlins (5-1) may have to shift into another gear over the next few weeks, beginning with Friday's 7 p.m. game at Clarion-Limestone (4-1).

KC has won its last five games by an average margin of 40 points since a season-opening 35-22 loss to Armstrong.

“We used that first game to identify our weaknesses and go to work on them,” Gremlins coach Ed Conto said. “We're about where we want to be now. We always play a lot of kids and it takes a while for everything to come together.

“Clarion-Limestone has some good football players. We haven't played them in a while, but they seem to go in cycles up there. Right now, they've got a talented group.”

The Lions are led by running back Mike Macefe (450 yards, 6 TDs), who is also their leading tackler on defense with 49 stops. He plays defensive end.

Quarterback Brenden Makray has thrown for 739 yards and seven TDs, but has tossed eight interceptions. Sam Leadbetter (15 catches-335 yards) and tight end Riley Hummell (13-198) have caught three touchdown passes each.

“They have a 6-foot-8 receiver in Dan Callen who opens things up for those other guys,” Conto said. “You have to pay attention to him.”

Karns City pulled quarterback Jake King from last week's game after he took a hit to the head. There is a chance King will return to action this Friday.

“He seems fine. If he can't go, we'll put Cullen Williams at quarterback again,” Conto said.

Williams rushed for 117 yards and three TDs and tossed a touchdown pass to Kaiden Powers in last week's 55-0 win over Keystone. King has 804 yards passing this year.

Chandler Turner has rushed for 510 yards and 7 TDs, caught nine passes for 226. Powers has rushed for 298 yards and 4 TDs, caught nine passes for 157 and is 5-for-5 on field goal attempts.

“Those two guys can do a lot of things for us,” Conto said.

Clarion-Limestone's defense has recorded 18 sacks and 11 takeaways through five games. Defensive end River Young has five sacks and Leadbetter has three interceptions.

The Gremlins close the regular season against Clarion, neighborhood rival Moniteau and Clearfield.

“Our schedule will be competitive the rest of the way,” Conto said.

Karns City leads the series between the teams 19-14 and hasn't lost to C-L since 2005. KC has won the last six games between the teams, most recently a 56-14 decision in 2011.

Slippery Rock (1-5)

at Lakeview (1-5)

Friday, 7 p.m.

What to look for: Slippery Rock has struggled to run the ball the last two weeks and will look to get the ground game going to set up the pass. ... Rockets' TE Calvin Rossi is the team's leading receiver with 17 receptions for 181 yards and a TD. ... After a season-opening win against Mercer, Lakeview has struggled. The Sailors have lost five consecutive games by an average score of 42-7. ... Seth Slater leads Slippery Rock in rushing with 307 yards on 86 carries.

Brookville (1-4, 1-1)

at Moniteau (2-3, 1-1)

Friday, 7 p.m.

What to look for: This in many ways will be a de facto playoff game. District 9 2-AA will take four of its five teams into the playoffs. ... The Warriors will try to get senior WR Dalton Anderson more involved in the offense. Anderson was held without a reception last week, but has hauled in 12 passes for 338 yards and three TDs. ... Moniteau sophomore QB Chance Nagy has struggled of late and will look to get back to his form early in the season when his first three passes went for touchdowns. Nagy has thrown 11 INTs this season. ... Brookville has been outscored 176-49 this season. The Raiders' only win came in a 20-14 triumph over Punxsutawney.

Punxsutawney (0-5)

at Union/A-C Valley (2-3)

Friday, 7 p.m.

in Rimersburg

What to look for: The winless Chucks fell 7-6 to St. Marys last week and have been outscored 142-26 this season. Punxy senior WR Ethan Riley returned a fourth-quarter kickoff 73 yards to set up his own short TD run against St. Marys, but the extra point was missed. RB Tyler Richardson led the Chucks with 45 rushing yards on 13 carries. ... Union/A-C Valley dropped a 14-0 decision to Redbank Valley on a rain-soaked field in New Bethlehem last Thursday. Falcon Knights' QB Lucas Bowser completed 9-of-17 passes for 78 yards and two INTs. His top receiver for the season, senior Gavin Hawk (13 rec., 242 yards, 4 TDs) played only at DB in the game due to an injury suffered the week before. Union/A-C Valley coach Dave Louder said he is hopeful that Hawk can play on both sides of the ball this week.

Grove City (6-0, 4-0)

at DuBois (4-2, 2-2)

Friday, 7 p.m.

What to look for: Grove City senior QB Kameron Patterson continued his hot play last week in a 47-6 win over rival Slippery Rock. Patterson is completing 74 percent of his passes for 1,368 yards, 20 TDs and only two INTs. ... TE A.J. Turner has 22 receptions for 629 yards and 10 scores. ... Trey Adams lead the Eagles in rushing with 497 yards and seven TDs. ... DuBois senior Braden Paulinellie has been Mr. Everything for the Beavers. He has 588 yards passing, 427 yards rushing and 130 yards receiving. ... Paulinellie was the starting QB the first three weeks of the season, but yielded to junior Matt Miller, who has thrown for 857 yards while completing 70 percent of his passes for 10 TDs.

CW No. Catholic (3-2, 2-1)

at Laurel (4-2, 3-2)

Friday, 7 p.m.

What to look for: This matchup pits the Midwestern Conference's third-place Trojans against the fourth-place Spartans. ... CWNC defeated Avonworth last week 50-13, with RB Mario Latronica rushing for 293 yards and two TDs. Junior QB Ryan Maziarz completed 5-of-12 passes for 131 yards, two TDs and two INTs. He added 39 yards and a TD on the ground. ... Laurel suffered a 30-13 setback to Neshannock last Friday. Senior WR Jordan Dantico caught seven passes for 125 yards and scored both TDs for the Spartans on 16- and 35-yard pass plays from freshman QB Will Shaffer.

Summit Academy (2-3, 2-3)

at Shenango (1-4, 1-3)

Friday, 7 p.m.

What to look for: A Summit Academy win would put the Knights at .500 for the first time since 2013. ... Shenango is coming off its first win of the season, a 28-0 triumph over Western Beaver.