KARNSCITY — To Dave Kerschbaumer, it was just a matter of maintenance.

The if it ain't broke, don't fix it approach seemed like the thing to do when he took over as Karns City girls basketball coach before this season.

The previous coaches, Larry Deal and Chris Bellis, laid the groundwork of a successful program. Kerschbaumer was just the latest caretaker.

"Their philosophies and mine are the same," Kerschbaumer said. "Play hard, man-to-man defense, a controlled offense and give yourself a chance to win in the end."

It's a simple formula, but one that has worked for the Gremlins for years. Kerschbaumer, though, took over a team this year that few pundits expected to challenge for a District 9 Class AA title and won it, beating Moniteau — a superior team on paper — three times in the process.

That earned Kerschbaumer the Butler County Girls Coach of the Year award.

"We played a pretty tough out-of-conference schedule," Kerschbaumer said. "All year long, Moniteau and Union were the big two. They were 1-2 in our district all year long and no one really gave us much thought. I think we snuck up on a few teams."

Karns City did it with defense and balanced scoring. The Gremlins had four different leading scorers in their first four games of the season and five different leading scorers total.

Haley Callihan, perhaps the only bona fide star on the team, led with 13.1 points per game.

"She doesn't care about scoring," Kerschbaumer said. "Would she be happy scoring 25 points per game, but have a 3-17 record? Probably not."

Defense is something Kerschbaumer has always emphasized, much like his predecessors Deal and Bellis.

"I think I've said in the huddle more times than anything else, 'We are going to win this game on the defensive end,'" Kerschbaumer said.

Karns City gave up 40.7 points per game this season.

"We do our defensive drills every day in practice," Kerschbaumer said. "I think the girls bought into that faster than anything else."

When Bellis unexpectedly stepped down as coach, it was a shock to the players and Kerschbaumer, who served as an assistant with the Gremlins since 2000.

Right away, Kerschbaumer felt like throwing his hat into the ring for the opening, but had to clear it with his family first.

There was a potentially touchy situation to work out, too.

Kerschbaumer's daughter, Taylor, is a freshman.

"I told her this will be probably tougher on you than me," Kerschbaumer said. "You're going to have to hear, 'The coach is this, the coach is that. If you don't feel like you can handle it, I won't apply for it.'

"She said, 'I think I'm big enough to handle it.'"

That put Kerschbaumer's mind at easy and he applied for the position.

Being a coach also limited his time watching his son, fifth-grader Tanner, play on his basketball team. It has also put added stress on Kerschbaumer's wifeRobin.

"They are very understanding," Kerschbaumer said.

Kerschbaumer had some help. He had former standout player Courtnay Rattigan at his side.

Kerschbaumer, who lives 100 yards from Rattigan, walked to her house and asked her if she would like to be his assistant coach.

"She said, 'Yes, I would,' without any hesitation," Kerschbaumer said. "She deals with a lot of the behind the scenes stuff. She's been a blessing in disguise."