KARNS CITY — The Karns City football team isn’t sure what to expect when it trots onto the field Friday night at Franklin Area High School.

The Gremlins will be entrenched in unfamiliar territory against an unfamiliar team.

“I really don’t know much about them,” admitted Karns City coach Ed Conto. “I’ve just seen on the film over the last two weeks that they’re really struggling.”

Karns City (3-1) and Franklin (1-3) are slated to kick off at 7 p.m.

“It’s kind of a mystery,” said Conto. “I don’t get to read anything in their paper and the two films I had, they didn’t play very well. It’s tough.

“But it’s high school football,” he added, “so you never know what shows up this Friday night.”

Franklin, a District 10 Class AAA squad, has stumbled mightily since opening the season with an 18-14 win over Titusville. In three consecutive losses, Franklin has been outscored 166-21 by DuBois, Lakeview and General McLane.

Meanwhile, the Gremlins have piled up 95 points over the past two weeks in wins over Moniteau and Union after suffering a 42-7 setback at Clarion.

Even with the teams trending in opposite directions, Conto doesn’t want his Gremlins to overlook the Knights.

“They have some athletic kids,” the coach explained. “They’re running an option-type offense and they’re throwing the ball a lot.”

Much like Union a week ago, Franklin has gained more yards through the air than on the ground this season.

Knights quarterback Kyle Ritchey has completed 24-of-75 passes for 362 yards with four touchdowns and five interceptions.

Quite often, Khalil West is in Ritchey’s cross hairs.

West has accounted for roughly 60 percent of the Knights’ receiving numbers with 14 catches for 220 yards and two touchdowns.

“He’s a big-play guy,” said Conto of West. “They try to throw to him a lot.”

Franklin has failed to gain any steam on the ground, though, averaging only 2.6 yards per carry. Kyle Uber leads the Knights with 153 yards and a touchdown on 30 totes.

Regardless of whether this game comes down to the final play or if the Gremlins run away in a blowout, Conto wants to see Karns City correct fundamental miscues.

“No matter what they throw at us, we just need to continue to do our stuff better,” Conto said. “Last week, we had three turnovers and like 65 yards worth of penalties in the first half. You can’t do that.

“It’s more about continuing to clean up our act; focus on the execution of what we need to do.”

The Gremlins will have to do it without two-way starter Wyatt Everetts, who has been ruled out after injuring his hamstring.

Everetts has rushed for 249 yards and three scores on 29 carries. He is also a weapon in the passing game with five catches for 107 yards and a touchdown.

“He’s a senior, so you lose a leader,” said Conto of Everetts.

The emergence of Tristan Rhoades should ease some of the pain. The junior has racked up 329 yards and five touchdowns on just 18 carries in two games this season.

Zach Moore, who has 103 rushing yards on 14 attempts, will also take snaps at tailback after recently gaining experience at fullback.

“It’s just bumping people around,” said Conto. “The biggest (concern) is if somebody screws up a play because they just haven’t had enough reps there. We were starting to get in sync with Wyatt.”

Another cohesive performance from the offensive linemen would help.

“The other night (against Union), they did a pretty decent job,” said Conto of his O-line. “We never punted, so that was a good sign and I’ve seen good things on film.”

The goal, however, is to keep pushing forward.

“We’re only about 70 or 75 percent of where I want us to be,” said Conto of his team. “I still think there’s a lot of room for improvement.”

Notes: Franklin coach Tom Haynes could not be reached for comment. ... Karns City topped Franklin by a 30-22 margin last season.