NEW BETHLEHEM — Aaron Markle did a little bit of everything Friday night to lead Karns City to a 35-20 KSAC win over host Redbank Valley.

The 6-foot, 190-pound senior fullback bulldozed through the mud and rain for 169 yards on 25 carries and four touchdowns. He also threw a 25-yard fullback-option pass to Joe Fallecker to account for the other Gremlins touchdown and caught a 5-yard pass from quarterback Dylan Hipple.

Behind Markle's leadership, the Gremlins (6-0, 6-0) rushed for 309 yards en route to a 334-143 advantage in total yardage.

What that total yardage comparison doesn't show is that Redbank Valley (2-4, 2-4) had minus-96 yards rushing against Butler County's stingiest defense.

"We played without three of our top running backs tonight due to injury," Redbank Valley head coach Brandon Rapp said after the game, "but that's not meant to be an excuse for our ineffectiveness running the football tonight. It is hard to run the ball against a Karns City defense anytime, and the conditions tonight only added to the problems we had."

Rapp was happy to see his team pass for 239 yards, but that total was of little concern to Karns City head coach Ed Conto.

"If people want to put the ball up a lot and not try to run the ball against us, we're not going to lose many games," he said. "And how many passes did they really complete?"

The answer to that question was seven in 21 attempts. The Bulldogs scored on three of the completions, plays that covered 88, 23 and 25 yards.

The Gremlins picked off two of the errant passes to thwart potential scoring drives and recovered two Bulldogs fumbles, which KC converted into a pair of TDs.

The most impressive part of the win for Conto might have been the success his team had running the football on the muddy field.

"We did a good job moving the ball, especially in these conditions," he said. "This kind of weather is a lot more conducive to passing than running because the quarterback has a better chance setting up to throw and the receiver knows where he's going on routes, whereas the defensive players don't."

The Gremlins spun their wheels on their first two drives of the game, going three-and-out each time, before making a strategy adjustment. Once the guests got their footing, they were virtually unstoppable.

"(Redbank Valley) came out in a six-man front and it took us a couple of series to adjust and start running outside instead of up the middle," Conto said. "Once we started going outside with success, it opened up things inside and we were able to hit them from all angles."

The Gremlins' third possession of the game resulted in a 29-yard burst to paydirt by Markle to give the Gremlins a lead they would not relinquish. Zach Kepple tacked on the first of his five extra-point kicks to give Karns City a 7-0 lead with 1:22 left in the first period.

Redbank Valley came right back with a scoring drive of its own, a three-play, 63-yard march that quarterback Brandon Bain capped off with a 23-yard TD to Keaton Truitt.

Bain connected with Zach Dubia for a 40-yard completion on the play proceeding the TD toss. A fumbled snap from center denied a PAT kick.

Undaunted by the Bulldogs' quick score, Karns City responded with a 57-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 20-yard jaunt by Markle with 10:15 left in the first half.

One play later, the Gremlins' offense was back on the field, thanks to a fumble lost by Redbank at its own 25-yard line.

Markle hit Fallecker for a 25-yard fullback-option TD pass on the first play following the fumble recovery by senior linebacker Carrick Harp.

Kepple's third PAT pushed the guests' lead to 21-6 with 10:01 left before intermission.

Redbank Valley got its second touchdown of the game with 1:37 left in the half when Bain hit Nolan Sovik for an 88-yard TD.

The PAT kick never had a chance as the Gremlins' front line batted it down, giving Karns City a 21-12 lead at the half.

The Gremlins expanded their lead to 28-12 on their third second-half possession, which set up by a fumble recovery on a bad snap from center by Redbank Valley at its 10-yard line. Markle burst into the end zone from 5-yards out.

Four plays later, including two more mishandles of the snap from center, followed by a 29-yard punt, set the Gremlins up at their hosts' 33. Three plays later, Markle scored from eight yards out to make it a 35-12 game with 11:55 left to play.