KARNS CITY - For the first 58 seconds, everything was going peachy for the Karns City football team.

Then there was that pesky 47 minutes, 2 seconds which followed.

The Gremlins drove 67 yards in four plays on their first possession, scoring on a spectacular 14-yard, one-handed reception by David Black in the corner of the end zone for a 7-0 lead.

But Clarion-Limestone scored 28 points in the second quarter with a flurry of deep passes from quarterback Hayden Johnston and didn't let up in the third quarter on the way to a 42-7 win at Karns City Friday night.

It was the Lions' 28th consecutive Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference victory.

"It's disappointing because we lost our composure," said Karns City coach Ed Conto. "They didn't do a thing we didn't work on. The loss of composure took us down a notch."

Johnston took Karns City down several more notches with his throwing, running and tackling on defense.

The senior threw for 214 yards and four touchdowns and also ran for 123 yards and a score as Karns City could do little to slow him down.

Johnston also had a double-digit night in tackles on defense.

As Johnston was walking off the field, Conto caught a glimpse of him and yelled, "You're as good as I've seen. Keep your head."

An incomplete pass on Clarion-Limestone's first offensive play actually set the tone for the Lions' offense.

Johnston overthrew Erik White, who was wide open running down the middle of the field. Clarion-Limestone went back to that play midway through the second quarter and this time Johnston hit White for a 54-yard touchdown pass.

The two connected again on a 23-yard strike three plays after a holding penalty negated a 57-yard score.

For good measure, Johnston hit White with a 58-yard touchdown pass on the same play early in the third quarter to give the Lions a 35-7 lead.

"We knew going into the game, they were going to play man and it would be open," Johnston said. "On the first play, I just overthrew him. But we knew we could go back to it."

On the opening kickoff, Clarion-Limestone linebacker Dan Jeannerat injured his knee and did not return. It was a big blow for the Lions' defense, which lost its leader.

But his replacement, Nate Tote, intercepted Stephen Black's pass and returned it 38 yards to tie the score at 7 in the second quarter.

"I probably yelled at him at practice more than anyone else this week," said Clarion-Limestone coach Todd Smith. "We had a lot of guys grow up tonight."

Karns City was hurt by Johnston all night and also inflicted some damage on itself.

The Gremlins were penalized nine times for 75 yards, with most coming at inopportune times.

The breakdowns almost drove Conto more bonkers than Johnston.

"A lot of times we were caught in between coverages," Conto said. "With a normal quarterback that probably doesn't happen. A normal quarterback, we get to him. But he was standing back there five, six seconds."

Karns City also struggled running the ball.

Stephen Black scampered 45 yards on the Gremlins' opening drive and Josh Fiscus had 16 yards on his first two carries, but other than that, the Gremlins averaged a paltry 3.1 yards per carry.

Fiscus was held to 44 yards on 13 carries.

"I felt if we blocked the way they did early, we would have been OK," Conto said. "But they took a step back and weren't coming off the ball."

If there was a bright spot, it was the play of David Black, who caught eight passes for 104 yards and the one-handed grab.

Stephen Black was 13-of-20 for 119 yards.

"We have a young quarterback who is doing a good job," Conto said. "We'll be back."