FRANKLIN — Tyler Kepple to Dakota Mohney.

Football fans at Franklin Area High School became quite familiar with the duo on Friday night during Karns City’s 62-7 demolition of the Black Knights.

“Our line was blocking very well tonight, giving our quarterback time,” said Mohney. “When you have a quarterback like TK and when you give him time, something good is going to happen.”

That certainly proved true.

Kepple completed 10-of-14 passes for 224 yards and five scores. His final four attempts resulted in touchdowns to Mohney, who hauled in seven catches for 145 yards, added another 36 yards on the ground and finished with five total touchdowns.

“He did a good job of breaking off his routes, and of course, catching the ball and making yards after the catch,” said Kepple of Mohney. “All around, everything a receiver needs to do, he did it.”

The offensive onslaught started with a solid rushing attack.

The first play from scrimmage was a 30-yard burst from Tristan Rhoades. Zach Moore finished the opening drive with an 11-yard touchdown scamper to give the Gremlins a 6-0 lead with 9:38 left in the first quarter.

An ensuing Franklin punt pinned the Gremlins (4-1) at their own 3-yard line, but the Knights (1-4) offered little resistance, as the Gremlins pieced together a nine-play, 97-yard scoring march.

Rhoades converted a fourth-and-1 with a 6-yard plunge, before Kepple hit Tyler Dunn for a 25-yard gain. The drive was capped by a 23-yard touchdown pass from Kepple to Rhoades.

Holding a 13-0 advantage heading into the second quarter, Karns City put the pedal to the metal.

“We decided to work some more passing in with the no-huddle offense,” said Kepple. “I just found holes in the secondary, the line did a great job protecting and the receivers ran good routes. Everything was working well.”

The Gremlins made it 20-0 on an Adam Whited 2-yard touchdown run, following a diving catch from Rhoades on a 31-yard gain. Rhoades finished with a game-high 82 yards rushing on eight carries and caught two passes for 54 yards.

Even when Karns City hit a speed bump, the Gremlins quickly shifted back into high gear.

Kepple was intercepted at the 5-yard line after a miscommunication between receivers, but bounced back with a pair of touchdowns to Mohney in a four-minute, 14-second span.

Franklin finally found an answer when Kyle Ritchey found Kahlil West down the sideline for a 68-yard aerial strike, cutting the deficit to 33-7 with 2:29 left in the second quarter.

Again, the Gremlins never flinched. On the very next play from scrimmage, Kepple hit Mohney in stride deep down the middle for a 56-yard touchdown and a commanding 39-7 cushion at halftime.

The execution in different aspects of the game plan pleased Karns City coach Ed Conto.

“We’re finally starting to come together,” he said. “We wanted to run the ball. We wanted to do a series of two-minute offense. We also wanted to do a series with Kepple checking and going up there and mixing things up.

“We’re advancing. We’re finally coming to where I think we can be.”

Mohney tacked on two touchdowns — an 8-yard catch and 22-yard run — in the third quarter. Kepple knocked in a 33-yard field goal and Maverick Kelsea found the end zone on a 3-yard run in the fourth to cap the scoring.

While the offense dazzled, Karns City’s defense was just as dominant.

Ritchey completed just 3-of-18 passes and the Knights mustered 76 rushing yards on 37 carries.

Cody Deal, Cooper Shepard and Luke Salerno recovered fumbles for the Gremlins.

During practice, the Karns City coaching staff preached the significance of a consistent, hard-nosed approach.

“If you’re only out there for three plays, give me three hard plays. Give me everything you’ve got,” explained Conto. “I was happy with the defense.”

The Karns City performance left first-year Franklin coach Tom Haynes impressed.

“They’re very athletic, they’re very quick and very well coached,” said Haynes. “They played hard, they’re aggressive and they’re playing with a lot of confidence right now. That’s something we’re trying to learn.”