KARNS CITY — Brandon Rapp knew he'd be stepping into a good thing when he became the Redbank Valley football coach.

Taking over for long-time Bulldogs coach Ed Wasilowski was going to be tough task, but having a strong core of players waiting for him made the transition an easy one.

Now, Redbank Valley sits atop the Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference the same 5-0 record as Karns City and Moniteau.

So, something's got to give in Friday's 7 p.m. matchup at Karns City.

"I knew we had the potential to do that," said Rapp on the team's fast start. "We had a lot of good athletes back and we had great senior leadership. You put those two things together and you can do well."

Redbank Valley returns running back Alex Bladel, one of the top rushers in District 9. Bladel has piled up 639 yards on 107 carries and scored 10 touchdowns.

Junior quarterback Shiloh Buchleitner has completed 29 of 64 passes for 505 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions.

"What Alex has done over the years, obviously we've leaned on him and we'll keep on leaning on him," said Rapp, who spent the past three years as an assistant coach at Keystone. "But, we have other athletes, too. We look to Alex for the big play, but he doesn't have all the pressure on him."

Kasey Haines (11 receptions, 243 yards, two touchdowns) and Jerrett Magagnotti (eight catches for 168 yards and three scores) are two of the four seniors starting at wideout.

While there was a coaching change at Redbank, Karns City coach Ed Conto doesn't see any wholesale changes on the field.

"They're still running the spread offense," said Conto. "We faced Keystone last week (a 63-7 win) with a spread offense. Every time you play someone like that, you'll see a different wrinkle. Keystone had something like 90 yards rushing on the first drive, then just six the rest of the way.

"You have to adjust. Bladel will be the No. 1 guy. He's a three-year starter, but they have some good linemen, too," Conto added.

The Bulldogs opened the season with three lopsided wins. The past two games, however, Redbank needed overtime to defeat Brookville 19-13, then triple overtime to down Clarion 28-21.

"Some think we took a step backward, but I thought we grew as a team," said Rapp. "Even though things did not go well, the kids fought back with courage and determination to no end. That told me a lot about the kids."

To prepare for Karns City, which has outscored its five opponents 242-39, Rapp knows it's hard to pinpoint one weakness in the Gremlins' game.

"They're so well-balanced," said Rapp. "They can run the ball and they're so well-coached. It's a tough offense to stop. They'll run inside, run outside and if they go to the air they're a good team, too.

"(Anthony) Stimac can throw the ball, but his leadership and how he runs the offense is big,"Rapp added.

The Gremlins dismantled Keystone last week. Eight players found the end zone, which shows the Gremlins have the depth, especially while trying to recover from so many injuries this season.

Last week, the Gremlins were without running back Josh Callender (pinched nerve in arm) and saw running back Josh Stimac (ankle) leave before halftime, giving the team one healthy tailback in Markus LaVan.

"We were able to work on our depth, which has been a good thing.," said Conto,

Karns City has scored 221 points in the past four weeks, showing that the offense, with or without some starters, has been clicking.

"It would have been nice if we were challenged in the second or third game this year," said Conto. "We've been pushing the kids and we've been winning ballgames. Like they say at Penn State, you don't know how good you are until you're challenged."