Union coach Tom Kidder doesn't have to be convinced Karns City has a lot of strengths.

He's sold. And he's well aware of what his Union team will have to face Friday night.

"Karns City does a lot of things well," said Kidder. "They're sitting on top of the KSAC. The big difference is depth. It's what they do and how much they do it. That will tire us out.

"Games against Moniteau, we find ourselves hurting in the second half. We're in good condition, but we don't have the depth. If things don't go right in the second half, things drop off."

The Gremlins (8-0, 6-0) host the Golden Knights (2-6, 1-5) at 7 p.m.

Union is coming off a tough 12-7 loss to Clarion-Limestone. The Golden Knights' leading rusher and receiver, Nate Boltz (294 yards rushing, three touchdowns; 19 receptions for 266 yards), missed the game due to a concussion suffered the week before against Lakeview. He has been cleared to play and is expected back this Friday.

Still, running back Colby Davis rushed for 100 yards on 22 carries and quarterback Zach Himes added 80 yards and a 1-yard touchdown run.

Davis now leads the team with 361 yards rushing and has added a pair of touchdowns. Receiver Brett Moore has added 10 catches for 178 yards and Kasey Kriebel six for 141 more plus a score. Himes has 592 yards passing and two touchdowns.

Karns City coach Ed Conto is impressed with Davis, only a sophomore, as well as the rest of the Knights' offensive weapons.

"Davis is big and Boltz and Kriebel make plays and Himes throws a good short ball," said Conto. "We have to fill all the lanes and play defense."

Because depth has been a problem for the Knights (they opened the season with just 24 players) many of Kidder's players gain game action twice a week.

"We definitely don't have the numbers, but we're still playing a junior varsity schedule," said Kidder. "That's a step in the right direction for us. Some kids play JV on Monday, then play varsity on Friday. That wears on you."

Despite the losing record, the Knights have made strides this year.

"We ended our losing streak, which was one of our goals," said Kidder on snapping a 31-game losing streak in a win against Cambridge Springs in the season opener. "We did win against A-C Valley (23-20 on Oct. 6), but we had three close games we lost."

The Gremlins have also had their problems, mainly with injuries.

That forced some of the 27 sophomores on the roster to fill in early. They have filled in well.

Last week, backup quarterback Anthony Stimac was pressed into action at running back and gained 83 yards and scored twice. Levi Buck and a still-hobbled Brett Green (77 yards) also scored in a 36-6 win over A-C Valley.

Quarterback Matt Endlish has thrown for 773 yards on 57-of-108 passing with six touchdowns. Roy Beham, who sat out last week to nurse an injury, leads the ground attack with 533 yards on 93 carries and eight scores.

The Gremlins have had 14 different receivers catch a pass this season.

Josh Callender leads the team with 10 receptions for 188 yards and two scores. Justin Switzer has added nine catches for 127 yards.