Have mercy.

Those were the words dancing through my head while the Karns City girls soccer team hosted Keystone on Saturday.

In my four years as a sports writer, I’ve witnessed plenty of teams overwhelm an opponent.

Saturday was a debacle unlike any other.

The Gremlins scored eight goals in the first 10 minutes and were on pace to win 64-0. Thankfully, Karns City hit the brakes enough to limit the score to only 20-0.

Honestly, it could have been so much worse.

Running up the score can be a controversial subject in high school sports, but there was no fault in Karns City’s tactics. The bench was emptied, but the Gremlins continued to dominate possession. A coach can’t ask their players to stop trying.

Such catastrophes are inevitable in high school athletics.

Sometimes, a program is stocked with talented players who have had fundamentals drilled into their head since elementary school. There are other programs with barely enough players to field a team and coaches who are forced to start at square one because their athletes simply aren’t equipped with prior knowledge and experience.

Karns City is the defending District 9 champions and boasts one of the most consistent soccer programs in the area. The Panthers couldn’t match up with that and the result was tough to watch.

I applaud the Keystone parents who attended the game and encouraged their girls at every possible moment. But if it was difficult for me, I can’t imagine how they felt. Or the coach. Or the girls themselves.

Games like that aren’t good for anybody.

It doesn’t benefit the Gremlins, because frankly, their starters could receive more competition against their backups in practice.

It doesn’t benefit the Panthers, because going against a team with that wide of a margin in skill and depth doesn’t allow in-game scenarios for the girls to learn from. It also can develop resentment toward the sport.

High school athletics should be about fun and I can’t imagine the Panthers had much of it Saturday.

Per PIAA rules, there was a running clock in the second half, but that doesn’t show any mercy when the score is 14-0 at the break.

Here’s an idea: Stop the clock.

Baseball and softball teams can go home if they’re up 15 runs after three innings and the same premise should be applied to other sports.

When a soccer game reaches a 10-goal margin, call it off.

When a basketball game reaches a 50-point margin, call it off.

Same goes for football.

There is no good reason behind playing out games when the scoreboard shows such a wide gap.

A loss like that can make kids become angry or simply disinterested. Both situations increase the chance for an unnecessary injury.

Looking at the scoreboard is painful enough.

Jason Orfao is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.