KARNS CITY — They have heard it all before.

They are overmatched.

They don’t have the talent to keep up.

They are going to get routed.

They have no chance.

Those statements have turned into a rallying cry for the Karns City football team this week as the Gremlins prepare to take on WPIAL champion Aliquippa in the PIAA Class AA quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Friday at Geneva College.

The game was originally scheduled to be played at North Allegheny High School, but officials there discovered a gas leak at the stadium Wednesday that forced the site change.

No matter where the game is ultimately played, the Gremlins have the same chip on their shoulder pads.

“I do believe this is the team that can do it,” KC running back Maverick Kelsea said. “As long as everyone does their job, we can win this game and make the school proud.”

Karns City (12-0) has not had much success in this stage of the playoffs against WPIAL champs.

The Gremlins lost to South Fayette in 2014 and 2013, to Aliquippa in 2012 and 2008 and to Jeannette in 2007.

Karns City coach Ed Conto, though, is adamant about preaching to his team that each year is its own entity.

What happened before doesn’t necessarily predict what will happen now.

His message to his players is simple.

“You just have to go out and play as a team,” Conto said. “You’ve played good ball all year. Don’t look at the team you are playing. Don’t base it on what has happened in the past.”

It seems the players are buying it.

“It’s going to be different this time,” Kelsea said.

Aliquippa coach Mike Zmijanac isn’t treating Karns City as a huge underdog.

He said his Quips (13-0) never do, which is one of the reasons why the program has been so successful over the years.

“I’m sure they do (have a chip on their shoulder),” Zmijanac said. “I don’t blame them. No one likes to be told they can’t do something. They have a chance to make a name for themselves. That’s part of the deal and we respect that. We know it’s important for people to beat us.”

Beating the Quips, though, has been easier said than done.

Aliquippa’s offense starts with the dominance of running back Kaezon Pugh, who has committed to play at the University of Pittsburgh as a linebacker.

As a running back, Pugh is a bruiser at 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds. He also has breakaway speed.

In the 44-38 win over South Fayette in the WPIAL title game, Pugh rushed for 179 yards on 26 carries.

Pugh surpassed 2,000 yards on the season with that effort and has nearly 4,500 in his career.

But Conto isn’t concerned with just one Aliquippa player.

He’s concerned about all of them.

“Speed, speed, speed,” Conto said. “They have a lot of players who can make plays on their own if the blocking up front breaks down.”

That means the Gremlins’ defense is going to have to be disciplined — and will have to tackle.

“You can have three good defensive plays and then they break a tackle and you give up a 70-yard touchdown on the fourth,” Conto said.

Conto is also cognizant of the Quips passing game and the elusiveness of quarterback Sheldon Jeter, who has completed just 62 passes this season, but 17 for touchdowns.

“They throw the homerun ball a lot,” Conto said. “They don’t throw a lot over the middle. We’ve been working with our DBs. We need them to line up in the sweet spot — close enough to the line where they can help on run support, but back enough so they can cover the deep ball. Our guys are used to running 30, 40 yards and turning back for the ball. We can’t do that. We told them to just run, run, run with the receiver.”

Zmijanac said his defense will also have its hands full with Karns City’s diverse offense.

“I like a lot of what they do,” the coach said. “I like the way they block up front. They have a lot of good high school football players.”