BROOKVILLE — Robert Keth, making just his second start at quarterback, hit Ian Thrush for a 45-yard touchdown pass with 3:59 to go in the fourth quarter to give Brookville the lead for good as it overcame an 8-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat the Karns City, 35-28, Friday night.

Early in the game, it didn't look like the Raiders would need any fourth quarter heroics, but the Gremlins scored 28 unanswered points after falling behind 20-0 in the first quarter.

The Raiders scored on the opening play of the game, as Keth hit Bryan Dworek on a wide receiver screen, and Dworek raced 67 yards down the sidelines to give Brookville an early lead.

Keth threw for 431 yards in the game and three touchdowns.

“He's an athlete and a competitor,” Brookville coach Scott Park said of Keth. “He believes in his ability and he just goes out there and plays.”

Brookville got the ball right back, as the ensuing kickoff bounced off a Karns City player and was recovered by the Raiders at midfield. Six plays and two minutes later, Cole Labenne scored from two yards out to give the Raiders a 14-0 lead less than two and a half minutes into the game.

The Raiders would add to their lead on their next possession, as Keth hit Ian Trush for a 22-yard touchdown. The extra point was missed, but Brookville had a commanding 20-0 lead with still four minutes to go in the first quarter.

Keth was 13 of 17 for 216 yards in the first quarter.

Karns City was not going to go down without a fight, though. It took the Gremlins just four plays to cut into the 20-point deficit. Hunter Jones scored on a 22-yard run to make the score 20-7 after one quarter.

The Karns City defense tightened up in the second quarter as it limited the Raider offense to just 18 total yards and zero points in the quarter.

“We changed up a few things in the secondary after their quick start,” Karns City coach Joe Sherwin said. “We just got accustomed to the plays they were running.”

Neither team did much offensively until late in the quarter. About midway through the second quarter, the Gremlins embarked on their longest drive of the half, a 10-play, 57-yard drive that ended in a Mitchell Kelsea one-yard touchdown run with less than a minute left in the half to cut the lead to 20-14.

The game was delayed for an hour and a half due to a tornado warning and a severe thunderstorm that rolled through the area with 4:19 left in the third quarter. When play resumed, the Gremlins didn't waste much time taking their first lead of the game, as Mitchell Kelsea scored his second touchdown of the game.

“I was concerned after the delay because the weather actually favored Karns City, because they like to run the ball,” Park said. “But we came out and were able to make some plays down the stretch.”

Karns City added one more touchdown to take a 28-20 lead early in the fourth quarter before Brookville scored the last 15 points. Brandon Eppley scored the touchdown that, coupled with a 2-point conversion, tied the game that led to the game-winning score.

Hunter Jones led the way on the ground for Karns City with 197 yards, while Bryan Dworek caught 13 passes for 224 yards for Brookville.

“Our offensive line did a great job blocking for Jones tonight,” Sherwin said. “He (Jones) is fast and when he hits the hole, he can make things happen.”

Karns City 7 7 7 7 — 28

Brookville 20 0 0 15 — 35

First Quarter

B — Bryan Dworek 67 pass from Robert Keth (Donopvan Hoffman kick), 11:45

B — Cole Labenne 2 run (Hoffman kick), 9:32

B — Ian Thrush 22 pass from Keth (kick failed), 4:04

KC — Hunter Jones 22 run (Steve O'Donnell kick), :27

Second Quarter

KC — Mitchell Kelsea 1 run (O'Donnell kick), :27

Third Quarter

KC — Kelsea 2 run (O'Donnel;l kick), 1:17

Fourth Quarter

KC — Jones 40 run (O'Donnell kick), 8:28

B — Brandon Eppley 1 run (Thrush pass from Keth), 7:04

B — Thrush 45 pass from Keth (Hoffman kick), 3:59

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Karns City, Hunter Jones 26-197, Hunter Rowe 3-13, Anthony Kamenski 6-47, Josh Wimer 8-53, Mitchell Kelsea 9-45, Devin Ryan 4-14, Dalton Pyle 1-0. Brookville, Brandon Eppley 6-17, Cole Labenne 2-3, Robert Keth 8-(-6), Bryan Dworek 1-2.

Passing: Karns City, Anthony Kamenski 4-11-55-1. Brookville, Robert Keth 27-39-431-2.

Receiving: Karns City, Hunter Rowe 1-11, Madden McMillen 1-15, Josh Wimer 2-29. Brookville, Cabe Park 3-29, Ian Thrush 6-157, Addison Singleton 1-3, Kyle MacBeth 2-18, Bryan Dworek 13-224.