KARNS CITY — It's not Class A, but Kane has certainly found its niche in its first season in Class AA.

The Wolves, who went 14-1 a year ago and reached the PIAA western finals, made a smooth transition to the next level, rolling out to an 8-2 record and grabbing the No. 3 seed in District 9.

What awaits them is a semifinal round matchup with No. 2 seed Karns City at 7 p.m. Friday at Clarion University.

The Wolves are coming off a 7-6 victory over Cameron County in the AML Championship game after they scored with 2:08 remaining in the game. They were outgained 259-56, including minus-5 yards rushing.

"Yeah, we were lucky enough to come out of there with a win," said Wolves coach Jason Barner. "Week 10 is always a hairy week.

"We've definitely had a pretty good season. We've seen some pretty diverse offenses. The kids have had a lot of preparation."

The win was the second consecutive conference crown for Kane, which was able to avenge a season-opening 27-26 loss to Cameron County. The team's other loss came at the hands of Elk County Catholic 13-12 in overtime on Sept. 26.

Kane is led by quarterback Kenny Kane, who has completed 54 of 122 passes for 753 yards and nine touchdowns, and a running back tandem of Shane Todd (116 carries, 724 yards, six TD) and Ross Nicholson (110-673-10)

"Kenny is 6-foot-5 and a good three-step passer," said Barner. "He has a very strong arm.

"Ross and Shane, well, Shane is 5-foot-8, 145 pounds and Ross is 6-3, 215. There is a difference in the way they run the football," said Barner with a laugh.

Mark Ross (208), Arie Paup (197) and Andrew Olson (173) have also given a supporting boost to the ground game.

Kane's top targets in the receiving corps are Paup (16-276), Tyler Smith (12-155) and Nicholson (11-98).

On defense, Nicholson leads the team with 101 tackles and 13 sacks, with Steve Mix (85 tackles), Olson (82 tackles), Robert Kuhmer (67 tackles, three recovered fumbles), Bert Leonard (66 tackles, five sacks) and Paup (four INT) making their marks as well.

The Gremlins (9-1) are coming off an impressive 22-21, come-from-behind victory over Wilmington, which came on the heels of a 35-34 loss to eventual KSAC champions Moniteau.

Then, the Gremlins had a forfeit win against A-C Valley so they had not seen action in two weeks.

"Obviously, Karns City is a very good football team," said Barner. "They have a lot of good players and they're well coached."

Against the Greyhounds, Anthony Stimac passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another. He has passed for 729 yards (47 for 102, 13 TD, 6 INT) and also leads the team in rushing yards (547) and touchdowns (nine).

Markus Lavan has bolstered the rushing game with 483 yards on 71 carries and four scores. Josh Callender (24-334-4) has contributed as well.

Callender also is the team's leading receiver with 10 catches for 110 yards and three scores. Brandon Collier has added eight receptions for 124 yards and two TDs.

The winner will face the Moniteau-Brookville victor for the District 9 championship game next week.

Karns City coach Ed Conto could not be reached for comment.