RIMERSBURG — The Karns City football team made mistakes in its season opener against Punxsutawney.

The Gremlins squandered a 13-0 halftime lead, committed costly turnovers and missed some assignments — and coach Ed Conto was glad his team did.

"That's how you learn," Conto said. "Sometimes when you tell them in practice, they just don't get it. When it happens in a game, you can say, 'See, that's what I was talking about.'"

Any lesson learned is a good one. Lessons learned in victory are even better.

Conto hopes his team will take what they learned in the opener into Friday's 7 p.m. kickoff with Union.

The Gremlins survived their mistakes for a season-opening 20-13 win over the Chucks.

"We moved the ball well, we just shot ourselves in the foot," Conto said. "We could have had four or five touchdowns."

Instead, Karns City (1-0, 1-0) found itself in a 13-13 game in the second half.

But the Gremlins rallied, punching in the go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter and held on.

"I was thinking that was the time when kids cramp, when kids choke," Conto said. "If that would have happened, boy oh boy, we would have been in a battle, so I was really pleased to see them handle the adversity."

When Karns City invades Rimersburg, it will find a Golden Knights team with some offensive firepower.

Union fell to Brookville in its opener, 54-34. But quarterback Trent Corle threw for 190 yards and three touchdowns and Zach Traister rushed for 167 yards and a score.

"Traister is one of the best athletes in the league," Conto said.

Union coach Al Pryor said the duo will play a large role if the team is to have success this year.

"We basically run the ball very well," said Pryor. "Trent Corle did a nice job at quarterback in his first start and we were pleased. Zach is a multifaceted runner. he's a good athlete. We expect that from him."

Corle won the job coming out of camp and gives an added dimension to the offense.

"I thought he recognized defenses a little bit better and that puts us in a good position to be successful," Pryor said.

Both squads are hoping for a return to the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs. ... the Planets and the Vikings both lost in the district quarterfinals in 2008 to Blackhawk and Thomas Jefferson, respectively. ... Hopewell beat Knoch last week, 47-6. ... In the win, Hopewell sophomore running back Rushel Shell ran for 257 yards and four touchdowns. ... Shell rushed for 58 yards on 11 carries in last year's 34-7 win over Mars. ... the Planets defeated Moon in Week 1 by a score of 24-7. ... Junior fullback Austin Miele ran for 160 yards and one score. ... Junior defensive back Josh Pinkerton intercepted two passes, returned one for a touchdown and recovered a fumble for the Planets.

Knoch sophomore Kyler Kenyon saw time at quarterback with Jake McTighe in last week's loss to Hopewell. McTighe also is a starting linebacker and coach Mike King said he wanted to spell him a bit while getting a young QB a little experience. ... Andrew Rumburg-Goodlin led the Knights' ground game with 47 yards on 10 carries. Adam Tuzikow scored Knoch's lone touchdown on an 18-yard run. ... Blackhawk defeated Knoch 37-13 last year and went on to reach the WPIAL Class AAA title game, where it lost to Thomas Jefferson. ... The Cougars blew a 13-point halftime lead in losing 21-13 to Hampton last week. ... RB Caleb Mancini had 11 carries for 99 yards. ... Blackhawk is 216-71-4 over the past 25 years and coach Joe Hamilton trails only Upper St. Clair's Jim Render in career wins among WPIAL football coaches.

The Warriors allowed 240 yards rushing and 201 yards passing in a 46-14 loss to Clarion last week. ... James Shope rushed for 65 yards and Jay Wiles ran for 59 for Moniteau. Each scored a touchdown. ... Clarion-Limestone lost a 19-0 third-quarter lead in bowing 20-19 to Redbank Valley last week. ... Lions QB Dan Miller rushed for two TDs and threw for 187 yards and a touchdown. ... Jace Rhoades had seven catches for 132 yards vs. Redbank. ... C-L coach Todd Smith is in his seventh season and is 37-27 overall. ... Moniteau blanked C-L 47-0, a year ago.

Ayron Gallagher was the star for Slippery Rock, rushing for 166 yards in a 17-14 loss to Fort LeBoeuf. ... With Ben Koyack at the forefront, Oil City has a potent passing attack. The 6-foot-5 receiver, who is getting looks from Division I programs as a junior, caught nine passes for 249 yards and two scores. ... Oil City threw for 363 yards against Meadville in a 47-14 win. Starting QB Mark Kulinski completed 12-of-14 passes.

The Falcons and Bobcats enter the KSAC battle from opposite directions, with the Falcons losing to Keystone last week 47-8 and Clarion rolling over Moniteau 46-14. ... Clarion rushed for 240 yards in its victory, led by senior Bubba Rue's 108 yards on 14 carries. ... Senior quarterback Michael Orrvick scored A-C Valley's lone touchdown. ... The Bobcats beat the Falcons last year, 43-0.

Both teams are coming off dominating victories. Grove City routed Erie Central Tech 49-8, while Erie East dispatched Franklin 46-8. ... The Eagles must contain East's dynamic duo of quarterback Gary Brown and running back Alondre Hamilton. Brown passed for 141 yards and Hamilton ripped through the Franklin defense for 226 yards on 10 only carries. ... Grove City amassed 314 running yards against Central and used six running backs. Said Grove City coach Jeff Bell: "We have two solid groups. We have six kids and any one of them could start."Apollo-Ridge (0-1, 0-1) at Summit Academy (0-1, 0-1) 12:30 p.m., SaturdayJosh Zelonka accounted for the Vikings' lone score in a 14-6 loss to Deer Lakes last Friday while the Knights were blanked 7-0 by last year's WPIAL Class AA semifinalist, Shady Side Academy, allowing only a Geno Thorpe 35-yard scoring run in the second quarter. ... Summit's defense bent without breaking, holding the Indians to 218 total yards and six passing yards but the Knights could only muster 36 total yards.