CLARION — Moniteau had Karns City on the defensive early in Saturday's District 9 Class AA championship game.

Then the Gremlins got defensive.

After the Warriors jumped out to an 8-0 lead, the Gremlins scored 35 unanswered points and rolled to a 50-14 victory at Clarion University's Memorial Stadium to win its first district football title since 2001.

"It means a lot because we probably should have won it last year," said Gremlins quarterback Anthony Stimac. "But, it motivated us to win it this year."

After holding Karns City to three plays and a punt to start the game, Moniteau went on an 11-play, 84-yard touchdown drive, capped by a 34-yard run by quarterback Tyler Armagost.

Armagost completed five of six passes for 58 yards on the drive, completing three key third-down-and-long plays in the process.

However, Armagost went 0-for-6 the rest of the half while the Warriors finished the half with four more possessions, no first downs, 12 total plays for minus-13 yards in that span.

"We came out a little flat but we picked it up," said Karns City coach Ed Conto. "I told the kids, 'be patient, be patient ... and keep coming.'"

"We felt we could come out and play with them," said Warriors' coach Jeff Campbell. "The bottom line is they controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides. That's how they won the football game.

"When you can't run the ball and all of their linemen are in the backfield, it's tough. I was a little surprised they got so much penetration. Kudos to their kids. They did a good job and we didn't,"Campbell added.

The Gremlins responded to the Moniteau score with one of their own. Karns City faced a third-and-16 at its own 36-yard line before Anthony Stimac tossed a screen pass to Cameron Turner, who broke down the sideline for a 34-yard gain.

Three plays later, Josh Stimac weaved his way through the Warrior defense for a 16-yard scoring run with 4:12 left in the frame. Matt McConnell's extra point made it an 8-7 score.

Karns City took the lead for good on its next possession when Josh Stimac took a pitch and found Mike McConnell in the back corner of the end zone with 1:11 left for a 13-8 Gremlins' lead.

A Brett Green 7-yard run and a Josh Stimac 3-yarder, both in the second quarter, allowed the Gremlins to open up a 28-8 halftime lead.

The Gremlins outgained the Warriors 293-71 in total yards in the first half.

"Our middle was open on all four of their first downs," said Anthony Stimac on that opening drive. "We closed down the middle and everyone stepped up in closing it down."

In the second half, the Warriors (6-6) went three and out for the fifth consecutive possession, thanks to a pair of seven-yard sacks to pin Moniteau at its own 7-yard line.

On the Gremlins' ensuing possession, Matt McConnell caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Anthony Stimac on the first play from scrimmage to take a 35-8 advantage.

"I said to the kids, 'Don't let them back into the game,'" said Conto. "Momentum, in high school football, there's no cure for it. Moniteau can get a lot of points and get back into the game."

Anthony Stimac agreed.

"We were happy, but we know they're a good team," said Stimac. "We didn't want to lose our heads. We know they're capable of coming back."

Moniteau did score with 4:30 left in the third quarter when Armagost connected on a 23-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Dakota Campbell. A Karns City fumble, recovered by Zane Slater, had give the Warriors the ball on the KC 36.

"Our kids played hard and never quit," said Campbell. "That's a good thing."

The Gremlins removed all doubt about a possible Moniteau comeback when Matt McConnell caught his second touchdown pass of the day, an 8-yarder from Anthony Stimac, and Stephon Conto scored on a 36-yard run, the latter with eight seconds left in the third quarter to enact the mercy rule clock.

Anthony Stimac completed 10 of 15 passes for 206 yards, two touchdowns and one interception to lead the Gremlins' offensive attack.

"He's just a good athlete," said Campbell. "He's not a quarterback, he's an athlete. He runs, throws, he does so much. His mechanics, his game, his ball faking are all good."

The Gremlins churned out 449 total yards, including 230 on the ground. Josh Stimac (54 yards), Markus LaVan (44), Conto (37) and Green (30) led a balanced attack.

"Each of these guys knows their part and knows their role," said coachConto. "The thing is to have that in a selfish world is tough. We preach to the team to have faith in each other."

"It feels great right now," said Josh Stimac. "We worked really hard and deserve this."

Notes: Karns City will face Jeannette in the PIAA playoffs at 1 p.m. Saturday at Clarion's Memorial Stadium ... The Gremlins' worst starting field position was their own 35-yard line. Their average start was their own 48-yard line ... Moniteau's Slater, John McFadden and Justin Sanderson were ejected during the game. The three underclassmen will miss the Warriors' season opener next year ... Armagost was sacked seven times for minus-69 yards. He was eight for 57 otherwise ... Josh Loos intercepted an Anthony Stimac pass in the end zone and returned it to the Moniteau 35 early in the second quarter to thwart a Gremlins drive, but the Warriors could not capitalize.Karns City 50, Moniteau 14

Moniteau 8 0 6 0—14Karns City 13 15 22 0—50M KC9 First Downs 2426-22 Rushes-Yards 40-230106 Passing Yards 21910-23-0 Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) 11-16-1128 Total Yards 4490-0 Fumbles/Lost 3-14-23 Penalties-Yards 5-45

First QuarterM — Tyler Armagost 34 run (John McFadden pass from Armagost), 6:04KC — Josh Stimac 16 run (Matt McConnell kick), 4:12KC — Mike McConnell 13 pass from Josh Stimac (pass failed), 1:11

Second QuarterKC — Brett Green 7 run (Anthony Stimac run), 5:20KC — Josh Stimac 3 run (Matt McConnell kick), 1:55

Third QuarterKC — Matt McConnell 35 pass from A. Stimac (Matt McConnell kick), 9:35M — Dakota Campbell 23 pass from Armagost (pass failed), 4;30KC — Matt McConnell 8 pass from A. Stimac (Matt McConnell kick), 3:34KC — Stephon Conto 36 run (J. Stimac pass from A. Stimac): 08

Individual Statistics

Passing: Moniteau, Tyler Armagost 10-23-106-0, James Shope 0-0-0-0. Karns City, Anthony Stimac 10-15-206-1, Josh Stimac 1-1-13-0, Chris Price 0-0-0-0.

Rushing: Moniteau, James Shope 8-18, Dakota Campbell 2-13, Jeremiah Barnhart 1-3, Tyler Armagost 15-(-12). Karns City, Josh Stimac 6-54, Markus LaVan 4-44, Stephon Conto 2-37, Brett Green 5-30, Ben Pyle 3-25, Craig Slomers 4-19, Anthony Stimac 7-16, Aaron Markle 4-13, J.R. Yough 2-9, Josh Callender 1-(-4), Team 1-(-6), Chris Price 1-(-7).

Receiving: Moniteau, Dakota Campbell 8-95, Josh Loos 2-11. Karns City, Matt McConnell 3-78, Cameron Turner 2-53, Ben Pyle 2-33, Josh Stimac 1-16, Stephon Conto 1-15, Mike McConnell 1-13, Brett Callihan 1-11.