BROOKVILLE — They say defense wins championships.

Karns City’s football team took that adage to heart Friday night.

The Gremlins forced Central Clarion into six turnovers, including five interceptions of quarterback Carter Hindman, as KC won its second straight District 9 Class 2A title with a 28-7 victory at Brookville Stadium.

The win avenged Karns City’s only loss of the season, a 43-14 setback Oct. 2 against the Wildcats.

“I never would have guessed that we’d force that many turnovers tonight,” KC head coach Joe Sherwin said. “In that first game, (the Wildcats) got the edge on us a lot. But (assistant coach) Ethan Conto put in a great game plan for tonight and the players executed it very well.”

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Central Clarion had amassed 487 yards of offense in last month’s meeting but was held to 235 Friday.

“That was a rough night,” KC defensive lineman Trevor Geibel said of the loss. He blocked a punt in the second quarter Friday and picked off a Hindman pass early in the fourth. “It’s Week 11, it’s the playoffs and everything came together for us tonight.”

The only score through the first three quarters came when KC quarterback Cole Johnston capped a 17-play, 92-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run with 8:37 left in the first half.

But the Gremlins’ defense was already making it a miserable night for Hindman and the Wildcats offense.

On Central Clarion’s second play from scrimmage, Bryce Galan tallied the first of KC’s interceptions to set his team up at Central Clarion’s 40.

“We knew they like to run a lot of RPOs, and we didn’t want to bite until we knew it was a run,” said Johnston, who intercepted Hindman in the third period. “Bryce baited (Hindman) on that play.”

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Shortly before halftime, the Wildcats (6-5) reached KC’s 7, but on fourth down, Brock Dittman forced a fumble that Johnston recovered to end the threat.

“I’m proud of our guys for continuing to fight, but we just made too many mistakes. You can’t do that against a team as good as Karns City,” Central Clarion head coach Dave Eggleton said.

The Gremlins were held back by their own mistakes. Penalties and a lost fumble near midfield in the second quarter prevented them from having a bigger lead after three quarters.

“I would have liked to have seen us take more advantage of the turnovers we were causing,” Sherwin said. “But we were doing enough.”

It was in the fourth quarter when the Gremlins (10-1) blew the game open.

Johnston’s second scoring run was followed by Geibel’s interception, which led to Brock Dittman’s 17-yard TD reception from Johnston with 8:38 left in the game.

Central Clarion answered with Hindman’s scoring toss to Jackson Mravintz, but the Wildcats’ ensuing onside kick was picked up by Tyson Frazer and returned 48 yards for the game’s final score.

Wildcats’ running back Ethan Rex did not play in the October game. He gained 41 yards on 10 carries Friday.

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“He was definitely a concern for us,” Sherwin said. “He looked really good in the game against Moniteau (a semifinal win) last week. He’s capable of big plays, but I thought we did a good job of keeping him in check.”

Johnston was 6 of 6 passing for 75 yards and the one touchdown. He rushed 27 times for 132 yards and two scores.

“We spent a lot of time working for this,” Johnston said. “Getting stronger and faster.”

Galan finished with two interceptions and Owen Kaufman added another.

The Gremlins will take on Westinghouse, champion of District 8, in a subregional title game next week at a date, time and site to be determined.

Central Clarion 0 0 0 7 — 7

Karns City 0 7 0 21 — 28

Second Quarter

KC — Cole Johnston 4 run (Trevor Rumbaugh kick), 8:37

Fourth Quarter

KC — Johnston 2 run (Brock Dittman kick), 10:31

KC — Dittman 17 pass from Johnston (Rumbaugh kick), 8:38

CC — Jackson Mravintz 17 pass from Carter Hindman (Martin Ormeno kick), 5:21

KC — Tyson Frazer 48 kickoff return (Dittman kick), 5:12

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Central Clarion, Ethan Rex 10-41, Brody Beggs 4-33, Carter Hindman 6-(-14). Karns City, Cole Johnston 27-132, Tyson Frazer 11-26, Bryce Galan 7-25, Bodey Anderson 3-17, Owen Kaufman 1-1.

Passing: Central Clarion, Carter Hindman 19-34-175-5. Karns City, Cole Johnston 6-6-75-0.

Receiving: Central Clarion, Brody Beggs 4-3, Ethan Rex 2-21, Jackson Mravintz 8-105, Dylan Smail 4-31, Tyson Hooks 1-15. Karns City, Owen Kaufman 2-5, Brock Dittman 3-42, Keagan Schrecengost 1-28.