After playing the top Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference heavyweights — and with the District 9 playoffs on the horizon - Karns City coach Ed Conto doesn't want his team to let up.

To prevent that from happening, he's going to go with a two-team set in Friday's 7 p.m. game against A-C Valley.

"These are the types of games that are difficult to coach," Conto said. "The kids see the paper and see the records. You can't lie to them. It's hard to get the kids to play well in games like that.

"We're going to have A and B squads. They'll rotate in each series and challenge each other to see which one will perform best," Conto added.

The Gremlins (5-2, 4-1) are tied with Clarion-Limestone (6-1, 4-1) for second place in the KSAC behind Clarion (6-1, 5-1). The Gremlins lone loss in the conference was a 24-16 overtime setback to C-L in the third week of the season.

The Gremlins have won four straight games since then, including wins at Redbank Valley and Moniteau.

The Falcons (1-5, 1-4), who have scored just 39 points and surrendered 227 this year, are coming off a 49-6 loss to Redbank Valley.

A-C Valley's only score came on a 19-yard pass from Brad Rembold to Hank Heeter.

The Falcons suffered several key injuries in the game, including those to top tailback Rocco Crapis and his backup, Mike Himes.

"Mike had a concussion last week," said A-C Valley coach Randy Lemmon. "He's expected to play, but we don't know about Rocco."

Even with a healthy Crapis this season, the Falcons' ground attack has sputtered. The senior has averaged just over three yards per carry.

"Crapis is a good runner, but if you don't have an offensive line, you can't get going," said Conto. "They're committed to throwing the ball. (Hank) Heeter is a very good receiver."

Heeter entered the Redbank Valley game with 24 receptions for 314 yards.

Lemmon said his offense faces an uphill climb.

"I've watched (Karns City) on film and it's hard to see how to attack them," he said. "They seem to have no weaknesses."

Karns City is coming off a huge 10-0 shutout over Moniteau, holding the Warriors to just 96 total yards.

A 36-yard scoring run by quarterback Steve Black with 9:24 left in the game gave the Gremlins some breathing room.

"Our defense has just gotten better and better each week," said Conto. "Last week, our guys were pretty flawless. The guys were where they needed to be every play."

Injuries in the early part of the season helped to slow the Gremlins' progress, but they appear to be riding a nice wave late in the season.

"We'd miss two guys here, two guys there, then three this week," said Conto. "It was always different things, and you'd try and teach the kids, but they did get better.

"One week you'd show them what they did wrong, then the next week they'd tighten it up a little," Conto added.