KARNS CITY — When Aliquippa coach Mike Zmijanac sees Karns City, it calls to mind a team built much the same way as his own.

“Four years ago, we started a lot of players from our freshman class,” said Zmijanac. “It's kind of like what Karns City's doing. You see how young they are. We did what we had to do and (Karns City coach) Ed (Conto) is doing exactly what he needs to do.”

Of course, when these two teams match up for Friday's 7 p.m. PIAA Class AA quarterfinal at Central Valley High School, that might be where the similarities end.

The numbers are mind-boggling as the Quips captured their record 15th WPIAL title with Zmijanac leading the way for five of them. He has led Aliquippa to five consecutive WPIAL title games and this year's squad has outscored its opponents 658-49.

“We have 17 kids who have played in three WPIAL championship games,” Zmijanac said. “You have great expectations ... In the WPIAL, there are a lot of great teams. I'm happy where we are. Did we expect to win the title? I don't know. Did we expect to be one of the top three, four or five? We expected to be in that group.”

Conto knows his team can't concern itself with the numbers, only what it can do on the field.

“Obviously, they're very, very good,” Conto said. “I think they're better than the team we faced a few years ago. I told the kids they have to do everything right.

“We have to come off the ball because Aliquippa's physical and fast. If you hesitate, they'll get the big play. They have to worry about their own individual jobs on each play, react and get going,” Conto added.

Aliquippa (13-0) manhandled Washington 34-7 as three players — Terry Swanson, Dravon Henry and quarterback Malik Shegog — rushed for more than 100 yards (429 yards combined and four touchdowns).

Henry leads the team with 1,439 yards on 129 carries (11.2 yards per carry) and has 24 total touchdowns while Swanson has 1,234 yards on 106 carries (11.6 per carry) and 19 total scores.

Shegog has completed 30 of 58 passes for 564 yards and eight TD and has added 481 yards on 54 carries.

Shegog's top two targets, Hassahn Thompson (8-233) and Shaquere McBride (5-119) may not get many chances, but they average 29.1 and 23.8 yards per catch, respectively.

“They don't pass a lot because they haven't had to,” Conto noted. “They like to run three or four fade routes. The kid can throw it out there 50, 55 yards. I told our DBs they have to keep running until the whistle. That's what beat us the last time we played them (a 42-14 PIAA loss in 2008). They threw two fade routes for touchdowns. Our kids are not used to someone throwing it that far.”

Lost on the Quips' offensive prowess is their defense, which is allowing opponents an average of 3.8 points per game.

“The reason we've been winning is our defense,” Zmijanac said. “The defense sets you up for field position. When you play a team like Jeannette and it gets its first first down midway through the third quarter, you know you have a chance to win.”

Against Washington, the Quips limited the WPIAL's leading rusher, Shai McKenzie — who entered the game with more than 2,600 yards and 42 touchdowns, including the postseason — to 33 yards on 18 carries.

The Prexies mustered just 114 total yards.

Karns City (10-3) is coming off another tight postseason contest, downing Chestnut Ridge 35-29 last Friday. This came after the Gremlins defeated Kane 33-27 in the District 9 title game the week before, something that wasn't lost on Zmijanac.

“I know it's coachspeak, but I mean it. Karns City is a well-coached team. They play extremely hard, extremely composed.

“They find a way to win. A couple of those games they should have lost, but that says a lot about them. A couple of those games, I was like, 'Who won?' It says a lot that they won those games,” Zmijanac added.

Karns City used touchdown runs by Tristan Rhoades, Adam Whited and Dakota Mohney last week, but a Matt Conto kickoff return and Christian Turner fumble return accounted for two more touchdowns.

Kepple has completed 80 of 161 passes for 1,185 yards and 11 touchdowns and has added 514 yards on 92 carries, second only to Wyatt Everetts 689 yards on 96 carries and seven scores.

In all, Karns City has six rushers with 360-plus yards with five having scored at least five times.

Expect all to be in the mix Friday.

“Aliquippa's defense is very fast,” Conto said. “If you do not hit the hole right on, you won't get much. We have to be satisfied getting two, three, four yards per attempt.

“You're not going to get a lot of big plays. You have to be patient, get of the ball and not get frustrated.”