CHERRY TWP — The football season kicked off with Moniteau facing Karns City.

Neither team wants to see the season come full circle and end against its rival, too.

It's win or go home on Friday — with a District 9 Class AA championship on the line. Kickoff at Clarion University is slated for 7 p.m.

The Warriors edged Karns City 26-24 back in Week 1 and the two-point decision proved to be the difference for the conference championship.

Both teams have grown since then, but Moniteau coach Jeff Campbell believes the Warriors (10-0) and Gremlins (8-3) are in for another slugfest.

“I think it will be a close game, a tight game,” said Campbell. “I expect it to be a very physical, hard-fought, similar-style game.”

The longtime adversaries combined for seven turnovers — four for Moniteau and three for Karns City — in the Week 1 bout, but just one careless play in the championship game could sway Friday's contest.

“They are certainly not the team they were in Week 1 and we are certainly not the team we were in Week 1,” said Campbell. “I think it will be a better quality game.”

Karns City has been the only team to truly test Moniteau this season, as the Warriors have won every game since by at least 14 points and an average margin of 40-10.

Those gaudy statistics — along with three losses for the Gremlins — might make it seem like Karns City is a heavy underdog.

That's not the case, however, as Karns City's two other defeats have come to District 10 powers Wilmington and Hickory — which are both alive in the D-10 semifinals and could clash for the title.

Campbell knows better than to underestimate the Gremlins.

“They're just a solid team all the way around,” said Campbell. “Solid on special teams, solid on defense and solid on offense.”

The Gremlins will likely attack the Warriors on the ground with the three-headed monster of Glenn Toy, Alex Kinkela and Jerod Hutchison.

Toy leads Karns City with 1,266 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns on 140 carries, while Kinkela has racked up 753 yards and 14 scores on 94 totes.

“Toy has a lot of speed on those options and jet sweeps. If he gets to the edge, he's pretty fast,” said Campbell. “Kinkela is a big, bruising fullback that's hard to tackle.”

Hutchison has chipped in 418 yards and seven TDs on 74 attempts.

Of course, it's difficult to grind out yards without the presence of a strong offensive line. Karns City has been hit with injuries in the trenches, but Campbell noticed all of the linemen play with the same physical style.

“Their offensive line comes off the ball hard,” Campbell said, “and it doesn't seem to matter who's in there.”

The Warriors are dealing with some injuries, as well. Starting linebacker and power-set nose guard Tyler DiMaria is out for the season with a significant knee injury and defensive lineman David Campbell likely won't be at full strength, if he can play at all.

Campbell and DiMaria are also Moniteau's top-two fullbacks.

Regardless of the changes in personnel, coach Campbell will stick with the defensive scheme that has limited opponents to less than six points per game over the past five contests. In last week's 40-0 semifinal win over Sheffield, the Warriors allowed just 9 total yards.

“Honestly, we just have to go out and play our game,” said Campbell. “We're not going to change who we are, what we do.”

Brady Ellenberger and Tyler Kepple will likely split snaps at quarterback for the Gremlins, while Kyle Armagost will be behind center for the Warriors.

Campbell wants to throw early and often, taking advantage of the strides Armagost has taken as a pure passer, along with dangerous weapons such as Ethan Pry, Brayden McCorry and Joey Deal.

“I think you'll see a running team versus a passing team,” Campbell noted.

No matter the style of play, Moniteau is only worried about claiming its first District 9 title in school history.

“It would mean the world to the kids, the community and the school,” said Campbell, before pointing out it's impossible to know when a chance for a championship will present itself again.

“You have to seize the opportunities that you get and I think the kids realize that.”