CLARION — This is not the time of the year when Karns City football coach Ed Conto wants to wonder which of his teams will show up.

There could be the high-scoring, defensive-minded squad. Or the heavily penalized squad. Or even the inconsistent squad that put the Gremlins' playoff future in jeopardy.

In Friday's District 9 Class AA semifinals, however, the Gremlins were able to shake off their problems by putting up 28 fourth-quarter points against a feisty Kane team to pull away with a 42-14 victory at Clarion University's Memorial Stadium.

"I'm not a sports psychologist ... but we had a great week of practice after a great game against Wilmington (a 22-21 Gremlins win)," said Conto.

"In (Friday's) pre-game, we were flat. In the locker room we were flat. We were up and down the whole game. We got back to penalties again.

"We had individual guys who made plays. I like when the team plays together. ... Some people wanted to wait for other guys to make the plays,"Conto added.

Anthony Stimac rushed for three touchdowns and passed for another to lead the way for Karns City (10-1).

With the win, the Gremlins will meet Moniteau, a 55-7 winner over Brookville in the other semifinal, in the District 9 title game next Friday or Saturday.

The two KSAC opponents will square off in the title game for the second consecutive year.

Still, the Gremlins had their problems along the way.

n They fumbled four times, losing two of them, including one that gave the Wolves an early 7-0 lead. An errant snap on a Gremlins punt attempt sailed over Zack Kepple's head and rolled 30 yards into the end zone, where Kane's Ross Nicholson finally corralled it.

• Karns City committed 13 penalties for 113 yards, including four personal foul penalties, One of those came after a Gremlins fumble that gave the Wolves a first-and-goal at the KC8.

After a three-yard loss, the Wolves received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that pushed the ball to the 26. Wolves quarterback Kenny Kane tossed a scoring pass on the next play to Andy Olson which made it a 21-14 Gremlins lead with 8:30 remaining in the game.

Fortunately for the Gremlins, Cody Williams took the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a score to give KC a 28-14 advantage.

Josh Callender's 30-yard touchdown catch with 6:08 left and Anthony Stimac's 40-yard run four minutes later gave the Gremlins what looked like a comfortable win.

"We've got some tough kids and we have some good defensive coaches," said Wolves coach Jason Barner. "(Karns City) got a couple of big plays. The score was not indicative of the way things went."

Karns City and Kane (8-3) were knotted at 7 at halftime because of Josh Stimac's 65-yard scoring run just two plays after Nicholson's fumble recovery.

That score held up until the Gremlins came out at halftime, took the opening kickoff and marched 61 yards on 13 running plays, capped by an Anthony Stimac 5-yard run.

"I ripped them at halftime," said Conto. "I was not happy with the turnovers."

The Gremlins took a 21-7 lead when Anthony Stimac broke free for an 82-yard touchdown run. Stimac appeared to be wrapped up near the KC 25, but broke several tackles before sprinting down the right sideline for the score.

The Wolves cut the lead to seven points three minutes later before the Gremlins exploded over the final eight-plus minutes.

"We played hard and physical and we hit, but we have to realize teams aren't going to just fall down," said Conto.

"We were too inconsistent. We can't wait until the fourth quarter."

Notes: Josh Stimac finished the game with 132 yards on 11 carries while Anthony Stimac had 130 yards on 14 carries. He threw for just 38 yards on 2-of-8 passing and was picked off twice. Still, the Gremlins' ground game was big, churning out 355 yards on 47 carries. ... Kenny Kane threw for 149 of the Wolves' 201 total yards. He completed his first four passes for 53 yards. He guided Kane to a 15-play, 65-yard drive to open the game, but the Gremlins defense rallied and the Wolves turned the ball over on downs.

Karns City 42, Kane 14

Kane 7 0 0 7—14Karns City 7 0 7 28—42K KC13 First Downs 1531-52 Rushes-Yards 47-355149 Passing Yards 3810-28-2 Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) 2-8-2201 Total Yards 3931-0 Fumbles/Lost 4-23-30 Penalties-Yards 13-113

First QuarterK — Ross Nicholson fumble recovery in end zone (Arie Paup kick), 3:22KC — Josh Stimac 65 run (J.J. Grenninger kick), 2:27

Third QuarterKC — Anthony Stimac 5 run (Grenninger kick), 5:56

Fourth QuarterKC — A. Stimac 82 run (Grenninger kick), 11:41K — Andy Olson 26 pass from Kenny Kane (Paup kick), 8:30KC — Cody Williams 80 kickoff return (Grenninger kick), 8:18KC — Josh Callender 30 pass from A. Stimac (Grenninger kick), 6:08KC — A. Stimac 40 run (Grenninger kick), 2:08

Individual Statistics

Passing: Kane, Kenny Kane 10-28-149-2. Karns City, Anthony Stimac 2-8-38-2.

Rushing: Kane, Ross Nicholson 11-28, Andy Olson 5-22, Shane Todd 10-10, Arie Paup 1-0, Kenny Kane 4-(-8). Karns City, Josh Stimac 11-132, Anthony Stimac 14-130, Markus LaVan 6-46, Jake Wagner 5-39, Josh Callender 5-21, Levi Buck 4-15, Aaron Markle 1-2, Team 1-(-30).

Receiving: Kane, Andy Olson 4-81, Shane Todd 3-32, Arie Paup 2-28, Ross Nicholson 1-8. Karns City, Josh Callender 2-38.