EDINBORO — Scott Christie and Josh Fiscus were aiming higher — and had the credentials to justify it.

The Karns City duo, Christie at guard, Fiscus at running back and defensive back, were cornerstones of the Gremlins' football program for two seasons.

Christie was a two-time all-conference selection as an offensive lineman. Fiscus was a two-time Butler Eagle Scoring Trophy winner, racking up 2,200 yards rushing and 35 touchdowns as a junior and senior.

"They were considered Division I prospects for a while," Edinboro University defensive coordinator Wayne Bradford said.

But Christie suffered an ACL injury in high school and Mid-American Conference schools wanted Fiscus (212 pounds) to gain weight to play safety.

Both wound up at Edinboro. Christie is a red-shirt freshman who has seen playing time this year backing up Knoch graduate and fellow redshirt freshman Josh Bzorek at tackle.

"That's just for this year because we needed some depth there," the 6-foot-4, 295-pound Christie said. "I'll be back at guard next year.

"My goal is to be a three-year starter here. I think I can make it happen."

Fiscus, a freshman being red-shirted this year, has the same goal. Only he's being groomed at inside linebacker while standing 6-foot-0 and still weighing 212 pounds.

"I doubt I'll play much next year, but, yeah, I want to be starting here for a while," Fiscus said.

Bradford believes it will happen.

"Both of those kids have a tremendous work ethic," the coach said. "Josh was a tremendous offensive player in high school, but we've always looked at him as a linebacker.

"Other schools wanted him to gain weight. We like him where he's at. We like aggressive, quick linebackers and we like where he's at."

Bradford recruits the Butler County area and caught wind of Christie midway through his high school career.

"Scott was a dominating lineman and we thought he was going higher," Bradford said. "He played his whole senior year with a bad knee.

"We didn't care about the injury. This kid was a player."

Once Christie spent a year in the Edinboro program, he convinced Fiscus to join him."I told Josh how up-front the coaches are with you up here," Christie said. "They let you know how you feel and where you stand."And they win. The Fighting Scots are looking to win their third consecutive PSAC West title and earn a third straight trip to the NCAA Division II playoffs."Winning is a big part of why I came here," Christie said. "I can't imagine playing football and losing."That's something that isn't done at Karns City. Edinboro head coach Lou Tepper is well aware of that.Tepper said that recruiting from small high schools has been a key to his success with the Scots."Something like 40 to 45 percent of our roster is comprised of walk-ons," Tepper said. "Those are the small-school guys. A big part of that is getting kids from winning programs because you know they're hungry to win and know how to win."These two boys will help us continue to win here. They're working toward that now."Tepper's wife is a St. Marys High School graduate."I know all about small-school high school football around here, he said.Christie is majoring in secondary mathematics. Fiscus is looking for a degree in criminal justice."First and foremost, I'm here to graduate," Fiscus said. "I plan on helping this team win football games along the way."You have to earn your playing time here. I like that and I'm prepared to do that.""Winning tradition is a pride thing," Christie said. "We had it at Karns City and we have it here."Edinboro outside linebacker Seth Fragale, last year's PSAC West Defensive Player of the Year, is a graduate of Cameron County, a Class A high school."To win in Division II, you have to find the small-school kid with potential and develop him," Tepper said. "We've been able to do that.""Butler County has a lot of good football players among those (small) schools," Bradford said. "We're hoping to get some more."