KARNS CITY — Karns City football’s 2-0 start to the season has featured standout play on both sides of the ball, and Owen Kaufman has been key to that dominance.

In the first quarter of Friday’s clash with Keystone, the senior receiver/cornerback caught a 70-yard touchdown pass from Cole Johnston, then halted the Panthers’ third drive of the game when he intercepted a Dom Corcetti pass near midfield.

The plays helped stake the Gremlins to a 28-0 first half lead en route to a 49-14 victory at Karns City’s Diehl Stadium.

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Kaufman caught his first scoring toss of the season in Week 1’s 55-0 shutout of Moniteau.

“We knew Owen has a lot of ability, but he was out with injury for much of last season,” KC head coach Joe Sherwin said. “If he can stay healthy, we know he can help us in a lot of ways.”

When asked about his junior campaign, Kaufman rolled his eyes and said: “I think I played in maybe four games last year. It feels great to get off to a fast start.”

His score Friday came on the third play of the game. He was not challenged in catching Johnston’s pass, sprinting the final 40 yards to pay dirt.

“I noticed the safeties were playing up and the cornerback was trying to jam me,” he said. “I knew I could get past him.”

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KC scored touchdowns on its first three possessions. Johnston plowed into the end zone on fourth-and-goal from Keystone’s 1 for the second score and he later found Brock Dittman from 14 yards out as the Gremlins led 21-0 just seven minutes into the game.

Meanwhile, the defense was making Corcetti’s night one he’d rather forget.

His first pass attempt was picked off by Bryce Galan.

Corcetti failed to complete any of his first seven pass attempts with two interceptions. He became Keystone’s all-time career rushing leader the previous week when he gained 267 yards in a victory over Brockway. He ended Friday’s game with 106 yards on 16 carries, including a 48-yard jaunt that set up his own short scoring run in the second quarter, but the Gremlins still led 28-7.

“He ended up making some plays against us, but we focused on containing him as much as we could,” Sherwin said.

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The Gremlins totaled nearly 450 yards of offense behind a line with just one starter back from 2025 in left guard Shane Emrick.

“When you have so many new guys, you’re hoping to see a lot of improvement in the second week,” Sherwin said. “It’s good that they now have two games under their belt.”

Also starting on the line were center Eli Ross, guard Celtan Hackwelder, tackles Trevor Geibel and Jesse King.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” Emrick said of his new linemates. “But they all worked hard to get stronger, and we’ve played well in the first two games.”

Johnston totaled 296 yards of offense, rushing for three TDs and passing for two.

Dittman also tallied an interception in the win, which extended KC’s win streak over the Panthers (1-1) to 25 games. Keystone’s last win in the series came in September 1995.

The Gremlins travel to Punxsutawney in Week 3.

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Keystone 0 14 0 0 — 14

Karns City 21 13 8 7 — 49

Score by Quarters

1st Quarter

KC — Owen Kaufman 70 pass from Cole Johnston (Trevor Rumbaugh kick), 10:47

KC — Johnston 1 run (Brock Dittman kick), 8:05

KC — Dittman 14 pass from Johnston (Rumbaugh kick), 4:49

2nd Quarter

KC — Bryce Galan 9 run (Dittman kick), 10:04

K — Dom Corcetti 2 run (Bryce Mount kick), 6:53

KC — Johnston 50 run (kick failed), 4:21

K — Eli Nellis 8 pass from Corcetti (Mount kick), 1:21

3rd Quarter

KC — Johnston 1 run (Johnston run), 6:22

4th Quarter

KC — Trevor Mong 4 run (Dittman kick), 7:00

Individual Statistics

Passing: Keystone, Dom Corcetti 6-18-52-3, Ethan Corcetti 1-1-17-0. Karns City, Cole Johnston 6-11-132-1, Ron Szczygiel 1-1-33-0.

Rushing: Keystone, Dom Corcetti 16-106, Eli Nellis 5-15, James Rankin 2-4, Kyden Carnahan 1-2, Bronson Irwin 1-2, Ethan Corcetti 3-(-5), Hunter Traister 1-12. Karns City, Tyson Frazer 7-34, Ron Szczygiel 4-15, Bryce Galan 9-17, Cole Johnston 17-164, Owen Kaufman 2-18, Bodey Anderson 2-26, Trevor Mong 1-4, Ethan McElravy 1-2, Holden Seyler 1-3.

Receiving: Keystone, Eli Nellis 5-42, Bronson Irwin 1-17, Kyden Carnahan 1-10. Karns City, Owen Kaufman 2-103, Brock Dittman 2-12, Keagan Schrecengost 1-11, Bryce Galan 1-16, Zac Neal 1-23.