For Brookville, it's been so far, so good.

The Raiders, who will face Karns City in the District 9 Class AA football championship game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Clarion University's Memorial Stadium, have been piecing together the type of season they were anticipating.

"We kind of expected we'd do well," said Brookville coach Chris Dworek. "We knew how our summer went and with the kids' work ethic, it's carried over all year."

The Raiders' only loss of the season came in the second game of the year, a 39-35 defeat to Clearfield. The squad is averaging a little more than 30 points per game, including a 39-20 victory over Brockway last Saturday in the semifinal game.

Max Kutz led the way with 175 yards on 14 carries for two touchdowns and Joe Galbraith added 85 yards more. Quarterback Shane Heschke completed seven of eight passes for 150 yards and three touchdowns.

That three-headed monster could pose problems for the Gremlins, who defeated Moniteau 32-29 in the other semifinal last Saturday.

I see them with a fairly strong running game, like Clarion," said Karns City coach Ed Conto. "They have a lot of sets and formations."

Kutz (1,289) and Galbraith (1,007) have rushed for 1,000 yards each, while Heschke has added 448 yards. The trio have rushed for 30 touchdowns.

"(Kutz and Galbraith) are pretty similar," said Dworek. "Kutzie is a fullback, a bit bigger, but both block well for each other. They're shifty."

The idea of having to slow the running backs down is a tall order, but Conto is hopeful his team will stay true to its tackling.

"Only one can carry the ball at a time, so our scheme is to fill the lanes and whoever is in the lane, we have to stop," said Conto.

"We'll look at the alignment and make sure we're in the right position. That's No. 1. We'll try and get as many reps (in practice). The way our defense is set up, will we make a mistake? Probably, but we'll have to fix it and move on," Conto added.

Heschke, a junior, has also completed 63 of 108 passes for 1,086, 13 touchdowns and just four interceptions.

"Shane is a very mature, level-headed young man and a hard worker," said Dworek. "As a JV guy last year you could see what he could do. Last year, he did play a lot on our defense, and that experience has helped him as quarterback."

Among Heschke's top receivers are Tyler Ross, who has 35 catches for 593 yards and eight touchdowns, Alex Kerr (10-224-2) and Brett Mohney (9-150-3).

"(Heschke) is consistent,' said Conto. "I didn't see him in the two films throw an interception, but he throws a decent ball and he can run with the ball."

On defense, Ross leads the team with five interceptions while Galbraith and Mohney have three apiece.

Eli Morres, a 6-foot-6, 275-pound lineman has a team-high eight sacks while Levi Singleton is the team's top tackler with 87.