KNOX — Running back Tyler Slagle took the handoff from his quarterback and made a move toward the outside.

As Keystone defenders swarmed to the ball, Slagle slyly threw a pass to a wide-open Karns City receiver for a 29-yard gain. One play later, Slagle ran for a touchdown.

But there was one thing remaining.

On the first play of the Gremlins' next possession, Slagle caught a 53-yard touchdown, ending his trifecta and giving his team a 20-point lead late in the second quarter.

Karns City used Slagle's early burst and a balanced run game to down host Keystone, 40-20, Friday.

A week after suffering a 43-point loss at the hands of Wilmington, the Gremlins bounced back by running the ball at will against the Panthers' defense.

The Gremlins' offensive line pushed Keystone around, consistently shoving defenders six or seven yards off the line.

By the end of the game, Karns City had amassed 323 yards rushing, almost doubling the Panthers' output.

"Honestly, going against Wilmington last week, even though they stuffed us up, you lose a game like that and you come out a little tougher if you coach your kids right," Karns City head coach Ed Conto said. "I think the kids responded tonight."

While the offense was lighting up the scoreboard, the Gremlins' defense stood tough against Keystone's dual-threat quarterback, Mitchell Rearick.

Although he threw for nearly 200 yards, Rearick completed only 50 percent of his passes and threw an interception that set up a Gremlins touchdown.

The defensive strength was more impressive because it was done without starting linebacker Brad Francis. On the fourth play of the game, Francis made a catch and was rolled up on by a Panthers defender.

Francis didn't return, and Conto said Francis has either a badly sprained or broken ankle.

"First series we lost tight end/linebacker Francis, two weeks ago we lost our other linebacker, so we were as green as green because we had new guys," Conto said.

"Against Redbank, we flat-lined and our defense fell apart, and I was worried the same thing would happen. But the kids pulled together," he added.

With Karns City jumping out to an early 20-0 lead, Keystone was forced to play catch-up most of the night. But every time they scored to make it a two-possession game, the Gremlins answered with a touchdown.

"Bottom line, we just weren't physical enough," Keystone head coach Jason Nellis said. "We got pushed around, especially on defense. We tried different things and nothing worked."

With the win, Karns City moves to 2-2 and ends a two-game losing skid.

Both of the Gremlins' wins have come in conference play, and Conto is hoping his team can continue to improve.

"The rest of our games are tough, all of the teams are tough," he said. "These young guys are going to have to keep getting better and better. I thought they took a step (Friday)."