KARNS CITY — Numbers never lie.

On Friday night at Diehl Stadium, they were brutally honest.

In a 59-0 home romp over neighboring Moniteau, Karns City (1-0) snapped the football just nine times in its own territory. The Warriors (0-1) never crossed midfield or even gained a first down.

“They beat us up front — really, they beat us all over the place tonight,” Moniteau coach Bob Rottman said. “I didn’t expect it. I thought our kids would play a little better tonight. … We need to play with more heart.”

The Warriors had as many plays that ended in a positive gain in the first half (five) as the Gremlins had touchdowns in that same span. Moniteau finished the season-opening contest with negative-31 yards.

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“That’s pretty much where every game starts is up front,” said Karns City coach Joe Sherwin, whose team is 7-0 against the Warriors since 2019. “If you’re able to win the line of scrimmage, good things happen. I think we were able to control both sides of the line of scrimmage tonight.”

The contest’s first five plays from scrimmage began on Karns City’s half. After an 11-yard Scherer run put the Gremlins past the midway mark, the ball wasn’t snapped on his side’s turf until a third-quarter Trent Beachem punt was downed at Karns City’s 36.

Scherer punctuated that game-opening, 10-play, 79-yard march with a bruising 6-yard surge. On the other side of the ball, he made a switch from linebacker to defensive tackle.

“We came in here wanting to control the ball, and we did pretty successfully,” Scherer said. “We played our game tonight.”

Warriors signal-caller Brendin Sankey was intercepted on his team’s second play from scrimmage, setting up a Mason Bell ground score six snaps later. Moniteau had five three-and-outs. Their other series ended in a fumble and a late turnover on downs.

“It really all came down to the defensive line,” Sherwin said. “They controlled the line of scrimmage. They made a lot of the tackles themselves — linebackers, defensive backs didn’t really have to make as many.”

The Gremlins wound up with 324 yards rushing, and 16 different players registered at least one carry, with Scherer leading the pack with 59 yards.

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Braden Slater also scored on the ground in the initial half before entering halftime ahead by 38. Trevor Geibel and Mason MacTaggart punched it in during the victory, too.

“If you control the line of scrimmage offensively and defensively, (it’s) how you win games,” said Bell, who also contributed two sacks and a pair of extra points after kicker Braden Slater exited the game with leg cramps.

Karns City quarterback Cole Johnston threw air strikes to Troy Nagel, Brennan Harmon and Riley Hamilton.

Moniteau 0 0 0 0 — 0

Karns City 21 17 7 14 — 59

First Quarter

KC — Hunter Scherer 6 run (Braden Slater kick), 6:57

KC — Mason Bell 6 run (Slater kick), 3:15

KC — Troy Nagel 33 pass from Cole Johnston (Slater kick), 0:21

Second Quarter

KC — Braden Slater 1 run (Slater kick), 6:21

KC — Brennan Harmon 14 pass from Johnston (Slater kick), 4:28

KC – Braden Slater 17 field goal, 2:05

Third Quarter

KC — Riley Hamilton 12 pass from Johnston (Slater kick), 7:53

Fourth Quarter

KC — Trevor Geibel 3 run (Mason Bell kick), 8:10

KC — Mason MacTaggart 10 run (Bell kick), 3:10

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Karns City, Hunter Scherer 8-59, Owen Heginbotham 4-57, Braden Slater 5-48, Cole Johnston 5-40, Trevor Geibel 4-27, Mason MacTaggart 2-17, Riley Hamilton 1-14, Ronald Sczcgiel 3-14, Bradden Hamilton 1-12, Nathan Hess 2-8, Quinn Robinson 2-8, Mason Bell 1-6, Owen Kaufman 2-6, Bodey Anderson 2-5, Trevor Mong 2-3, Bryce Galan 1-0. Moniteau, Cole Scott 3-3, Levi Lacava 1-1, Aiden Shakley 1-0, Jesse Kohlmeyer 3-(-2), Jake Long 1-(-6), Brendin Sankey 7-(-27). Totals: 13-(-31).

Passing: Karns City, Cole Johnston 7-11-89-0, Trevor Geibel 1-1-10-0. Moniteau, Brendin Sankey 1-7-2-1, Jake Long 1-2-(-2)-0.

Receiving: Karns City, Troy Nagel 1-33, Riley Hamilton 3-31, Brennan Harmon 1-14, Owen Kaufman 1-10, Braden Slater 1-10, Hunter Scherer 1-1. Moniteau, Cole Scott 1-2, Jesse Kohlmeyer 1-(-2).