KARNS CITY — A knee injury forced Tristan Rhoades to spend the first two games of the season on the Karns City sideline.

His presence was felt on the field Friday night at Diehl Stadium.

Rhoades ran for 124 yards and three touchdowns on nine carries and intercepted a pass to help Karns City roll past Moniteau for a 49-12 victory in a KSAC Large football clash.

The Gremlins built a 21-0 halftime cushion and used the one-two punch of Rhoades and Wyatt Everetts to stretch the advantage to 42-0 by the start of the fourth quarter.

Karns City outgained Moniteau by a 530-154 margin and owned a 26-8 advantage in first downs.

“Our line was blocking real well tonight. They were the main cause why we did so well,” said Everetts. “They blocked well and we executed well, so when you do that, there's nothing you can do but gain yards.”

Everetts ran for 116 yards and a score on 10 carries and caught two passes for 50 yards.

The senior also picked off a pass to halt Moniteau's opening drive after the Warriors marched into Karns City territory.

“Coach is always stressing, 'Get to your drop zone, get to your drop zone,'” said Everetts. “I found my drop zone and the ball was right to me, so thank you coach.”

The Warriors didn't pick up a first down for the rest of the quarter.

“I thought that opening drive we moved the ball well,” said Moniteau coach Cecil Blauser. “There was a minor mistake, it set us back and we never quite recovered. We'll get back to work on Monday.”

The Gremlins (2-1, 2-0) took a 7-0 lead with 3:10 to go in the first quarter after Rhoades found daylight on the sideline and scored from 19 yards out. He busted loose for 21 yards on the previous play and six of his nine rushes went for over 10 yards.

“It felt good. I missed it a bunch,” said Rhoades. “I rested until (the injury) was fully healed. I did what the trainers told me. They were there for me.

“I missed the game, so I came out hard.”

Karns City coach Ed Conto was happy to have him on the field.

“He's a tremendous back,” the coach said. “He's a difference maker. He's great on defense as well as offense. He just has that extra gear and sees the field so well.”

Rhoades wasn't alone in his success. Hard work in the trenches allowed six different Gremlins to pick up at least 25 yards on the ground.

“They really took care of the O-line and D-line tonight,” said Blauser. “They dominated and that's how you win ballgames.”

Moniteau (0-3, 0-1) was held to 75 yards rushing on 28 carries. Quarterback Cody Skiver posted a team-high 58 yards on 10 carries, while big-play threats Dustin Geagan and Trevor Shaffer were held to negative yardage.

“That's great because they're two good backs. I was really pleased with that,” said Conto. “On defense, we seemed to do a really good job on the run game.”

The Gremlins seized control in the second quarter after a 3-yard TD run from Dakota Mohney and a 15-yard scoring pass from Tyler Kepple to Logan Moroney.

Karns City was threatening again at the end of the half, but Geagan picked off Kepple in the end zone to give the Warriors some hope.

However, the Gremlins marched 75 yards on seven plays to open the second half. Rhoades capped the drive with a 23-yard scoring scamper.

Mohney intercepted Skiver two plays later and Rhoades quickly made it 35-0 with a 12-yard jaunt.

An Everetts 6-yard burst made it 42-0 before a 68-yard kick return from Geagan set up a 17-yard TD run by Stephen Hagg to put the Warriors on the board.

“Stephen Hagg is a true warrior,” said Blauser. “The way he plays the game, every down, he is so passionate.”

Colin Dunmyre scored on a 75-yard sprint to cap the Karns City outburst, before Josh McBride tallied Moniteau's second touchdown from 1 yard out with 1:19 to play in the game.

Blauser was pleased to see his team keep playing hard despite the disappointing outcome.

“The kids fought until the end,” he said. “There's no quit in that group of kids.”