Where winning's a habit
I am a Karns City Football Player.I am a warrior and a member of a team -My Body, My Blood, and My Will, I freely give for the benefit of my Team.If my brother should fail, I will lift him up. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will give my all, all the time -I am a Karns City Football Player.The sign is hard to miss, hanging on a wall near the exit of the Karns City football locker room.It's a reminder about what is at stake when the put on the purple of the Gremlins and head onto the field on a Friday night.Because in Karns City these days, winning is a way of life."It's almost like a virus," said 2002 Karns City graduate Ian Ferguson.The Gremlin Flu has swept through the Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference and District 9 for more than a decade.The pandemic shows no signs of letting up.In the last 13 seasons, Karns City has won six district titles and appeared in three other district championship games. The Gremlins have posted a 116-31 overall record and a 90-14 mark in the KSAC during that span."The biggest thing is it has become a tradition," said Ferguson, who was a freshman on one of the first teams at Karns City to enjoy success. "It just started out with a good group of kids coming through, picking me up when I was in eighth grade to come to practice. Then, it trickled down to us."And it has continued to trickle down. Each new class has refused to fail.And each new class has added to the mystique of a program that hasn't had a losing season since 1995.Refuse to failJosh Callender recalls sitting in the bleachers at Karns City with a group of friends, watching the high school team play on a Friday night.Only 12, the desire to someday become a Gremlin was palpable."We all knew we would be there some day," Callender said. "And we wanted to do just as well. You always want to win. You really want to win here."Callender did. Last year, as an all-purpose weapon, he helped the Gremlins upset eventual PIAA Class AA state champion Wilmington — on the road, no less — in the regular season. Karns City went 12-2 and won a state playoff game.The motivating factor for Callender and his brethren was the fear of failure."We didn't want to let anyone down," Callender said.Even the 2009 version of the Gremlins, devoid of 23 seniors lost to graduation, is afraid of losing more than they win.So, they do a few extra reps on the bench press, a few more laps around the track, a few more hours working on their skills.Ferguson, who now is the receivers and cornerbacks coach at Karns City, said he understands that feeling well. He didn't want to be on a team that floundered. He wanted to be on a team that kept the program winning. He can see the same drive in the current class."There is a lot of pressure on each group that comes up to do well," Ferguson said. "This group has been working twice as hard as last year to get back to that level and be a good, solid football team again."
In an age of coaches coming and going faster than planes at an airport, the Karns City staff has seen amazing continuity.Head coach Ed Conto is entering his 10th season. Most of his assistant coaches have been with him the entire time.Conto insists offensive coordinator Joe Sherwin and defensive coordinator Brian Markle could be head coaches at any other school. But they choose to stay.The feeder programs have seen consistency, too. The coaches at that level teach the same philosophies as the high school coaches. As the players come up through the system and reach high school, they already know the ways of Gremlins football.Karns City isn't always blessed with elite athletes. Conto and his staff have been able to win with grit during the seasons when a big-time playmaker isn't available.The Gremlins stability has made that possible.Building Karns City's current defense has been a six-year process. The offense has been honed over three years.The coaching staff works out the kinks slowly, developing plays and schemes that are reliable in all situations and that fit the personnel, Conto said.That can only be done with coaches who stay put.Conto is also a firm believer in keeping things simple."We're not X's and O's guys," Conto said, saying his staff doesn't spend nights brewing up some strange offensive or defensive alchemy. "We work on stuff over years until we get to where we know it will work in all situations."But, how do you make it simple? If you put stuff in that is so hard that the kids can't think out on the field, you are screwed."
In the past decade, Conto has seen high school football change drastically.Teams are passing more. Offenses are getting more and more sophisticated. Players are digesting more and more X's and O's.The spread is gaining ground. Each conference has at least two teams that run the attack.But Karns City is in a kind of time warp."We believe pressure will hurt the spread," Conto said. "Get in people's faces. If you let someone go on a 12-play drive down your throat, you're going to lose. The kids will be demoralized."If you give up one over the top, the kids won't give up right away. You let them get beat on, then they'll quit. Kids will recover from a one-play touchdown drive."If someone can push you around, it's over," Conto said.Most of the time, it is Karns City that is doing the pushing. The program emphasizes brawn over finesse."Being physical, it's a mindset. It's a gut feeling," Conto said. "It's hard to win if you can't run the football and you can't be physical. That's what we have taught here."Callender said by the time he got to high school, he knew what to expect.In the four years Callender was a member of the high school team, Karns City went 41-8 with two district titles.It will be a hard act to follow, but Callender said he thinks this latest crop will carry on the tradition well."I think they know what they have to do," Callender said. "At Karns City, we expect to win."
