Kings of the mountain
CLARION — Some running backs need 13 carries just to get warmed up.
Karns City's Collin Dunmyre used that amount of work to scorch St. Marys' defense in Friday's District 9 Class AA championship game.
With teammate Tristan Rhoades sidelined with a hamstring injury, Dunmyre became the focus of the Gremlins' offense and the junior responded with a career-high 202 yards and four touchdowns as KC claimed its third straight district crown with a 49-12 thumping of the Flying Dutchmen at Clarion University's Memorial Stadium.
Dunmyre's second scoring run of the game was an 82-yard romp that put his team ahead 21-6 in the second quarter.
“I made a few moves, but I don't have the game I did if the line isn't doing its job,” said Dunmyre. “They played great.”
Rhoades was injured in the Gremlins' last game, a 35-31 loss to DuBois Area in the regular-season finale Oct. 31. He did not practice all week and Dunmyre received the bulk of reps leading up to Friday's title game.
“He's had this in him all year,” KC coach Ed Conto said of Dunmyre. “With him and Tristan switching back and forth, they are both capable of big games. Tonight was his show and he showed what he can do.”
The Gremlins (10-1) scored first on quarterback Caleb King's 16-yard run early in the opening period.
The Dutch mounted a 10-play, 59-yard drive late in the quarter that ended with Pat Schlimm's 22-yard scoring pass to Brady Bauer.
But Dunmyre quickly snuffed out St. Marys' momentum.
On the third play of KC's ensuing drive, he raced down the right sideline for a 28-yard touchdown and a 15-6 lead.
The Gremlins totaled 334 rushing yards in the game, including 65 yards on just five carries from Christian Turner.
“I thought we played a physical game,” said KC starting center Reese Barger. “St. Marys hit too, but we withstood it.”
Despite the final score, the Dutch (8-4) did put up a fight.In a 42-0 loss to the Gremlins in Week 3, St. Marys' ground game went backwards to the tune of minus-23 yards. Friday, they relied on junior T.J. Hogan, who carried 37 times for 159 yards. He had 92 yards on 22 carries by halftime.“He's been doing that all year for us,” said Dutch coach Tony Defilippi. “He's a solid football player and we're excited about getting him back next year.”With St. Marys trailing by two scores entering the second half, the Dutch ran into a buzzsaw in the third period.Two more scoring runs from Dunmyre — from 31 and 32 yards — were sandwiched around King's 11-yard touchdown pass to Logan Moroney and KC's edge swelled to 41-6.“We knew St. Marys was going to blitz the heck out of us,” said Conto. “They were going to make a few plays on defense because of that, but we also knew that we could break through with a lot of big plays and that's what we did.”“Things kind of snowballed on us in that third quarter,” said Defilippi.Cullen Williams took over at quarterback for the Gremlins late in the third quarter and scored his team's final touchdown on a 19-yard run early in the fourth.“A lot of things happen during the course of a year,” said Conto. “Even if you are expected to do it (win the district), it's a tribute to the kids for staying with it. I am proud of their effort this season.”For the third consecutive season, Karns City will face District 5 champion Chestnut Ridge in the first round of the state playoffs next week at a date, time and site to be determined.“It means a lot,” Dunmyre said of his effort to help the Gremlins claim another district title, “but we have better things ahead of us. This is just another step.”Karns City 49, St. Marys 12St. Marys 6 0 0 6 — 12Karns City 8 13 20 8 — 49SM KC17 First Downs 1446-174 Rushes-Yards 31-33484 Passing Yards 349-14-1 Comp.-Att.-Int 2-9-1258 Total Yards 3684-1 Fumbles-Lost 1-05-50 Penalty Yards 3-25First QuarterKC — Caleb King 16 run (Jimmy Thompson run), 9:25SM — Brady Bauer 22 pass from Pat Schlimm (run failed), :44Second QuarterKC — Collin Dunmyre 28 run (Logan Moroney kick), 11:53KC — Dunmyre 82 run (kick failed), 7:44Third QuarterKC — Dunmyre 31 run (run failed), 6:52KC — Moroney 11 pass from King (Moroney kick), 6:04KC — Dunmyre 32 run (Moroney kick), 3:37Fourth QuarterKC — Cullen Williams 19 run (Thompson pass from King), 9:22SM — Nathan Straub 9 run (kick failed), 3:26Individual StatisticsRushing: St. Marys, T.J. Hogan 37-159, Jordan Straub 2-7, Pat Schlimm 3-(-8), Nathan Straub 4-16. Karns City, Collin Dunmyre 13-202, Christian Turner 5-65, Maverick Kelsea 1-6, Caleb King 2-17, Seth Silverio 2-5, Steven Belles 2-10, Ethan Conto 1-8, Colton Hawk 1-1, Cullen Williams 2-20, Aaron Hutchison 1-1, Briggs Buck 1-(-1).Passing: St. Marys, Pat Schlimm 9-14-84-1. Karns City, Caleb King 1-8-11-1, Cullen Williams 1-1-23-0.Receiving: St. Marys, Brady Bauer 6-78, Jordan Straub 2-6, T.J. Hogan 1-0. Karns City, Logan Moroney 2-34.
