Most high school football coaches can only dream of getting to 100 career victories.

But two Butler County coaches are about to enter that exclusive group.

Karns City's Ed Conto and Mars' Scott Heinauer currently stand at 99 and 98 career victories, respectively.

Conto's Gremlins could get him to the century mark Friday at Redbank Valley while Heinauer's Planets will host their next two games: Friday against Cornell and Oct. 5 versus Union- New Castle.

The pending milestone is something both coaches plan to accept on behalf of past and present players, assistant coaches and their programs as a whole, not as a personal achievement.

"We're very proud to be associated with Mars football," said Heinauer, who is in his 16th season as coach of the Planets. "We've been very fortunate to be at it this long. And the community has been very supportive."

"I owe it all to the guys who have been coaching with me," said Conto, who coached at A-C Valley from 1988-98, then Karns City from 2000 to the present.

Though the Gremlins and Planets play in different districts, Heinauer and Conto are respectful of each other's program.

"Up until a few years ago, we scrimmaged Karns City," Heinauer said. "But it got to the point where we had a lot more kids than they did and we figured it wouldn't be beneficial to either team to keep scrimmaging.

"But I know that (Conto) always has a strong football team and he's done a great job up there."

Conto was a teacher at A-C Valley 20 years ago while coaching the Karns City junior high football squad.

"A-C Valley had two or three bad years in a row, maybe one or two wins," said Conto. "They asked if I was interested and I said no. I thought it would be tough.

Conto relented.

"It was rough. It took six or seven years to turn it around. It almost broke me. It was a mentally tough job to get things going," Conto added.

Conto won five games and had two ties in the first two seasons, then went through a 5-31-1 stretch from 1990-93, with three of those wins coming in 1991.

"In the first year, I learned a lot from John Milosewski. It ended up he and I coaching the varsity and junior varsity,"Conto said. "He worked with me for six years. He was an excellent coach and I learned a lot from him."

After posting a 3-6 record in 1994, the Falcons were 5-5, followed by three consecutive 6-4 seasons.

While there was some turnover in his staff, Conto relied heavily on three assistant coaches: Scott Austin, Ken Lavella and Dave Sherman Jr.

"Every year we were adding different people," said Conto. "One year, we had a whole lot of people retire, maybe 25 teachers, and we got some new, young teachers.

"(Current Knoch head coach) Mike King, he worked with me for one year. And Don Novak from Wilmington. I learned a lot from them."

Conto, who had become an assistant principal, decided to accept a similar position at Karns City. However, Conto did not envision coaching there.

"When I came to Karns City, I thought I was done coaching," said Conto. "(Gremlins coach) Lon Hazlet asked if I would coach the linebackers and work with the running backs.

"Then, the next year, he left for DuBois. I thought I was done coaching, but I came back,"Conto added.

And Karns City has thrived under Conto. In seven-plus seasons, the Gremlins are 63-19, including a 4-0 record entering Friday's game against Redbank Valley

Minus a 5-5 season in 2004, the Gremlins have not lost more than three games in any season under Conto. They've won three KSAC titles, including the past two crowns.

"Here, I've had Dave Kerschbaumer, Brian Markle and Joe Sherwin," said Conto. "All the way through, from varsity down to junior high, we've had coaches dedicated to the program who have played for Karns City or East Brady."

Like Conto, Heinauer took over a struggling program in 1992.

In the 10 years before he took control of the Planets (1982-91), Mars compiled a 22-76-2 record.

"I think we had only seven seniors that first year," Heinauer said. "Not a lot was expected out of our program when we started."

But Heinauer, his coaching staff and players turned things around rather quickly.

After a 1-9 campaign in 1992, the Planets went 7-4 the next two years, making the playoffs both seasons.

Heinauer attributes much of the team's success to the close relationship his coaches have always had with the players.

"When we started, all but one of our assistants worked here at the high school," he said. "In 1993, we went up to Shenango on a Saturday night and won. That's what got the kids believing we could be winners.

"A lot more is expected out of our program now," he added. "Is that pressure? Sure, but it's a good pressure."

Of the assistant coaches who have worked under Heinauer, Terry Dillner has been there the longest — 15 of 16 seasons. The only season he has not been on staff was 2006. He currently serves as wide receivers and defensive backs coach.

"When he first came here, what I noticed was that his knowledge of the game was very high," Dillner said of Heinauer. "And he's been able to develop a program that's very successful.

"We've had a lot of kids who have gone on to play football in college, and I think that says a lot," Dillner added.

Heinauer has guided the Planets to nine winning campaigns in his 15 full seasons, but two years stand out.

The Planets made the WPIAL Class AA title game in 1996 and 2002.

Though Mars lost in both instances, to Aliquippa and Seton-LaSalle, respectively, Heinauer recalls two special groups of players.

"I look back to those two teams all the time," he said. "Both teams had Division I players and it's hard to say which one was better. But the biggest common denominator on those teams was a great defense."

After almost 16 seasons under Heinauer, the Planets have proven that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

"We still run some of the same plays that we had back in 1992," Heinauer said. "We believe in the Wing-T and it's worked well for us."