Karns City, DuBois enter opener with question marks
KARNS CITY — A large known’s presence is back. The unknowns figure to be just as significant.
Visiting DuBois won’t be enlightened about which quarterback steps on the field for Karns City Friday night until the Gremlins’ first offensive huddle breaks — and that’s just the start of the uncertainty that awaits both sides.
“It’ll definitely be an interesting test,” Karns City coach Joe Sherwin said. “There’ll be some guys out there on both sides of the ball that just have some inexperience. It’ll be interesting to see how things shake out.”
The Beavers remain in the process of figuring things out, too.
“There’s some spots to be earned, even up to, really, pre-game and kickoff,” DuBois coach T.J. Wingard said. “We have some new kids at some spots, and they’re battling. We’re kind of starting fresh, too.”
The Beavers finished 5-6 a year ago, while the Gremlins were 6-5.
“It’s a dumb cliche, but we’re just looking to try to go 1-0,” Wingard said. “I know we’re young and I know they’re young, and I know their coaching staff is thinking the same thing. We really don’t know what we have. The scrimmage can only show so much.
“We all know in scrimmages, we go a little vanilla and don’t show everything in our repertoire. I think it’s something that both coaching staffs probably have a lot of ‘What ifs.’”
A notable choice for Sherwin to make will be whether to trot out senior Mason Martin or freshman Cole Johnston — the two passers jockeying for the starting quarterback job.
“I’ll wait until the game to decide that,” Sherwin said.
Whoever lines up behind center will share the backfield with senior Luke Cramer, whose average carry was worth 4.5 yards over the initial game and some change last year. Cramer played against DuBois last go-round before suffering a season-ending torn ACL the next time out.
“DuBois is kind of familiar with him,” Sherwin said. “He didn’t get much experience last year, so we’re really looking forward to what he’s able to do. His knee is completely healed now, he’s put a lot of strength on and stuff like that.”
“Cramer is a kid that obviously sticks out on tape, but he’s not the only one,” Wingard said. “If their jersey numbers are true according to their scrimmage, there’s a handful of kids we’ve got to worry about there. It’s just something we’ve got to be prepared for the rest of the week.”
The Beavers will also count on the ground game, leaning on a stable of ball carriers — seniors Garrett Nissel and Landon Schrock and juniors Danny Dixon and Carter Wilson. According to statistics on MaxPreps, Nissel and Dixon combined for 34 totes for 228 yards and three scores last fall.
Members of that quartet will also be relied upon on the opposite side of the ball.
“There’s five or six guys that it looks like we’ll be able to rotate on the defensive line,” Wingard said. “Our linebackers, we have four or five kids that we can rotate.”
DuBois won last year’s matchup, 28-7, as giveaways plagued the Gremlins from the outset.
“That game last year, we fumbled the opening kickoff — and that’s definitely not the way you want to start,” Sherwin said. “I think ball security is going to be key. It’s key in any game. When you win the turnover battle, you have such a better percentage chance of winning the game.
“We’ve stressed protecting the ball. We’ve just got to do a better job.”
So what would a win in the opener mean for a young Gremlins group?
“I think it builds that camaraderie amongst the team and gives you a little bit of momentum and that much more confidence as the season goes on,” Sherwin said. “We’d like to start out quick this year.”
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