KARNS CITY — The formations are different. The objective is the same.

Pound the other team into submission.

Farrell (10-0) visits Karns City (11-1) for a 7 p.m. kickoff Friday at Diehl Stadium in a PIAA Class 2A football playoff game.

“We run our Wing-T and they do a lot of spread and shotgun formation stuff,” KC coach Joe Sherwin said. “But, yeah, both teams want to run the ball.

“They're probably a little more explosive than we are.”

The Steelers won state championships in 2018 and 2019. They dropped the District 10 championship game to Wilmington last year.

They are loaded this year.

“We have a number of players who are getting Division 1 and 2 looks,” Farrell coach Anthony Pegues said.

At the top of that list is senior running back Anthony Stallworth. He has 110 carries for 1,907 yards and 27 touchdowns this season while averaging 17.3 yards per carry.

“Anthony has the combination of speed and power,” Pegues said. “He's got great vision, too. He knows how to find openings with the ball in his hands.”

That latter point concerns Sherwin.

“That kid can improvise, reverse field, do what he needs to do to find a crack,” the Karns City coach said. “It's more important than ever that we stay disciplined on defense and play a fundamentally sound game.

“You don't want to miss tackles against this team.”

Friday will mark the first-ever football game between the two schools. It will also be one of the few times Karns City has played at home in a state playoff game.

“We're excited about it,” Sherwin said. “At the same time, we know we have to take our game to another level to win.”

Farrell plays three quarterbacks — sophomore Kabron Smith, senior Trian Holden and junior Lamont Samuels. Any combination of the three may be on the field at the same time.

The Steelers have completed 57 of 68 passes for 993 yards, 20 touchdowns and no interceptions.

“All three of those guys offer different things,” Pegues said. “Kabron is a passer and runner. Holden is more of a drop-back passer and Lamont is just a great athlete.

“We rotate them in and out, but not on any kind of schedule. We'll line up Lamont at different positions.”

Kylon Wilson is the Steelers' leading receiver with 31 catches for 626 yards and 12 touchdowns. Omar Stewart Jr. has 15 catches for 263 yards and nine scores.

Defensively, Farrell is led by middle linebacker Taidon Strickland, who has approximately 100 tackles on the year. Allen-Mychael Jackson is a standout linebacker as well.

Strickland is a two-time all-state player. Pegues said Jackson, along with much of his secondary, are also all-state caliber players.

“Our defensive coordinator, Omar Stewart, has to be the best in the state,” Pegues said. “Year in and year out, the man does a fantastic job with those kids.”

Farrell has outscored its opponents 534-62 this season. The Steelers have returned a handful of kickoffs and punts for touchdowns as well.

Karns City, of course, has plenty of talent in its own right.

The Gremlins have a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in Jayce Anderson (1,032) and Luke Garing (1,031). Garing has scored 25 touchdowns, Anderson 10.

Eric Booher has thrown for 945 yards and 10 touchdowns, though he's attempted only five total passes over the last two games.

“Our offensive line does a tremendous job, but it's not all them,” Sherwin said of KC's running attack. “Our receivers do a great job blocking on the outside and even Eric Booher is called upon to throw a few blocks.

“Everybody works together. You never know when it's going to be your turn to run the ball and you want to get that same blocking for you. That's the mentality.”

Micah Rupp leads KC's receiving corps with 21 catches for 453 yards and six scores. Cooper Coyle, a running threat as well, has 10 catches for 196 yards.

Garing leads the Gremlin defense with 76 tackles from his linebacker position. Anderson has 58 tackles at linebacker. Nathan Lessner leads the team in quarterback sacks while Rupp leads in interceptions.

“We've been following Karns City for a while now,” Pegues said. “They look like a well-coached team that plays physical. They execute their plays extremely well.

“We're a physical team, too. Our kids like to play that way. We're expecting a tough game.”