WILMINGTON — Don't arrive late to this one.

“Anyone who does may miss most of the game,” Karns City coach Joe Sherwin said, laughing. “I doubt this is going to take very long.”

Karns City (6-2) travels to unbeaten Wilmington (7-0) for a PIAA Class 2A football playoff game at 7 p.m. Friday. Both programs have the reputation of running the football well.

And both will want to do exactly that come Friday.

While the Gremlins have a pair of speedy receiving threats in Kaden Scherer and Micah Rupp — with a combined 30 catches for 529 yards this season — KC has been muscling out yardage on the ground of late.

Wilmington muscles out yardage on the ground pretty much all the time, running the Wing-T.

“That's a tradition here. It's what we do,” third-year Wilmington head coach Brandon Phillian said. “What makes the Wing-T successful is having an abundance of skilled players and a veteran offensive line that is physical and understands the blocking schemes we're trying to do.

“We have all of the components to make that offense work.”

“I can see this being a battle of ball control,” Sherwin said. “They (Wilmington) like to impose their will on you. We want to do the same.

“Both teams will be trying to keep the ball away from the other.”

Karns City and Wilmington haven't played each other since 2011. The Greyhounds have won five of the six meetings between the two, including lopsided scores of 41-0 in 1999, 55-9 in 2009 and 50-7 in 2010. The Gremlins' lone win in the series was a 22-21 decision in 2008.

Wilmington has thrown only 42 passes all season. Quarterback Caelen Bender has made many of them count, completing 17 of 33 aerials for 320 yards and six touchdowns. He has been intercepted only once.

Ethan Susen, a senior halfback, leads the Greyhounds with 860 yards rushing and seven touchdowns. Senior fullback Darren Miller has contributed 580 yards and 10 scores.

“Karns City has a defense that swarms to the ball,” Phillian said. “They are very aggressive. We have a lot of respect for the way they play.”

Cole Coon (68 tackles), Nathan Waltman (58) and Luke Garing (53) are the Gremlins' leading tacklers.

Luke Edwards, a junior halfback, has 298 yards on the ground with six TDs, Bender 253 yards and four scores for the Greyhounds. As a team, Wilmington is averaging 342 yards rushing per game while allowing only 100.

“Their No. 4 (Susen) is the first guy we have to stop,” Sherwin said. “They do a lot with him. They run an effective Wing-T, have a big line and just bring it right at you.”

Susen is effective catching the ball out of the backfield, too. He has eight receptions for 151 yards and three TDs. Mason Reed has eight catches for 157 yards and three scores as well.

Eric Booher has thrown for 724 yards and seven TDs this season for KC. Coon leads a balanced ground game with 340 yards while Garing has rushed for 321 and Jayce Anderson 240.

“They like to run the ball like us, but their passing game keeps you honest,” Phillian said.

Both head coaches have replaced legends in their respective programs after serving as assistants under them. Sherwin worked under Ed Conto with the Gremlins while Phillian was an assistant on Terry Verrelli's staff for 11 years.

Wilmington has won five consecutive District 10 championships.

“Our football programs and communities, coaching situations ... we mirror each other in a lot of ways,” Phillian said.

“We're excited about the opportunity to play a program like Karns City in the playoffs.”

The Eagle sports staff's third season of Upon Further Review, a weekly show discussing Butler County area high school football, can be viewed on the Butler Eagle Sports Facebook page.