KARNS CITY — Jim Kelly has nothing on Tyler Kepple these days.

With Kelly, the East Brady High graduate and Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback in attendance and roaming the sideline, Kepple tossed four first-half touchdown passes as the Karns City football team rolled to a 55-14 win over Keystone at Diehl Stadium Friday night.

In the last two games — four quarters, really, since Kepple has spent most of the second half the last two weeks holding his helmet and watching — the senior quarterback has thrown nine touchdown passes.

That's the kind of production that would even make Kelly envious.

“The confidence really helps out,” Kepple said. “First of all, the line has really been protecting me. Then, throwing the ball and knowing the receivers are going to be out there catching it. It's been all the reps in practice.”

This was the kind of performance Karns City coach Ed Conto envisioned from Kepple last season.

But a midseason shoulder injury limited Kepple in 2012 and the passing offense was still working out some kinks early in 2013.

It's safe to say the kinks are gone.

“This is what we expected from him,” Conto said. “He's always had great potential. In the playoffs last year, we started to see what he could do. I told him this season I expected him to throw for 150 yards each game. We have the weapons.”

Kepple, though, needed to learn to hang in the pocket and deliver the throws confidently.

That has happened the last two weeks, Kepple said.

“It's football, everyone makes sacrifices,” he said. “Mine is to stand in there and take some hits when I deliver the ball. That's what I have to do.”

Keystone (0-6) stunned Karns City early, scoring on a 77-yard run by Jacob Weaver on the game's second play.

Karns City (5-1), though, responded with seven consecutive scoring drives in the first half for a 48-7 lead at the break.

Kepple's first two passes of the game went for a 45-yard score to Logan Moroney and a 31-yard TD to Wyatt Everetts.

He hooked up with Moroney for a 10-yard score for his third TD pass of the first quarter and hit Dakota Mohney with a perfectly thrown 25-yard fade down the right sideline for his fourth touchdown pass of the half.

Kepple also had touchdown runs of 53 and 2 before his night was over.

“The passing game is really clicking,” Kepple said. “The receivers are running great routes and finding the holes in the coverage.”

Karns City had dedicated a lot more time in practice each week on the passing game, Kepple said.

The hard work is now paying off on Friday nights.

“It used to be just a couple of days a week,” Kepple said. “Now it's pretty much every day at practice, we're throwing and repping some stuff.”

Conto, though, is guarded because of the level of competition the Gremlins have played this season.

The 35-point mercy rule has triggered in all six Karns City games this season.

“Is what we are doing real,” Conto asked, “or a product of who we are playing? You hope it's what you think.

“That's been our concern,” Conto added. “We're kind of worried about our schedule this season. There were a lot of things I wasn't happy about tonight. You don't get sharp when you are whipping somebody. You don't want to play guys in a blowout, but you want them to play a full game. It's a tough decision we have to make as coaches.”