KANE — Karns City’s football team spent the 2023 season achieving the improbable.

It seemed they would add another feat to that list Friday in a District 9 Class 2A semifinal playoff against Brookville.

With no quarterback on their active roster and facing a Raiders team that had defeated them by 30 points three weeks ago, the Gremlins took a 41-35 lead when Luke Cramer scored a touchdown with 1:34 left in the game.

Zach Kelly, who had booted 30 extra points this season, watched his attempt sail wide.

Brookville then marched 59 yards in seven plays, with Jack Pete snagging a 1-yard scoring toss from Charlie Krug, before Steven Plyler successfully booted the point after attempt and the Raiders escaped Kane High School’s Miller Stadium with a 42-41 victory.

A 43-yard pass from Charlie Krug to Hayden Freeman had set the Raiders (9-2) up at KC’s 1-yard line. They scored three plays later.

“It came down to our guys answering the bell when they had to,” said Brookville coach Gabe Bowley. “It’s been a team effort all year.”

The touchdown came with 25 seconds left. The Gremlins moved the ball to Brookville’s 31, but Cramer, a running back, had his desperation pass intercepted by Freeman in the end zone with no time left.

KC coach Joe Sherwin was not about to place the loss on his placekicker.

“There were 20 to 25 different plays tonight that you could say if they had gone the other way, it could’ve changed the outcome,” he said.

Due to injuries, KC (5-6) was playing its third game without a quarterback. It won the first two, over Bradford and Mount Union, to clinch a playoff berth.

The Gremlins executed their offense to perfection, producing 498 yards on the ground. Most of the damage was done by Cramer (29 carries for 190 yards and two scores) and Hunter Scherer (22-164-2), but Braden Slater and Kelly added big runs of their own.

After falling behind 14-0 just over three minutes into the game, the Gremlins began to consistently punish Brookville’s defense with the ground assault. Cramer and Scherer, specifically, were knocking Raider defenders onto their back and dragging would-be tacklers for five yards or more.

Slater, Cramer and Scherer scored touchdowns during KC’s run of 21 straight points to take the lead.

Pete scored on a short pass and it appeared the game would be deadlocked at 21 at halftime, but with just five seconds left, the Gremlins needed just one play — Scherer’s 54-yard touchdown run — to retake the lead.

“I give a lot of credit to Coach Kepple, our offensive coordinator,” said Sherwin. “We looked to overload either side of the line and create mismatches. And without a quarterback, that’s one extra blocker we had.”

The Gremlins’ score entering halftime could’ve been the turning point in the game, but the Raiders didn’t fold.

“We regrouped at halftime and focused on what we needed to do to win in the second half,” said Bowley. “That showed the resolve our kids have.”

The Raiders tied the game in the third when Freeman scored on a 17-yard pass from Krug and responded again after Cramer connected with Troy Nagel on a 54-yard TD for KC.

Pete, who caught eight passes for 153 yards, scored the second of his three TDs from 68 yards out, tying the score at 35 with 6:54 to play.

Brookville will face Central Clarion next week for the district championship.

“The difference between tonight and when we played (KC) three weeks ago was that team’s heart and determination,” Bowley said, pointing to Gremlin players as they walked off the field. “As much as we did, they deserved to win tonight.”

Wins and losses on the gridiron were quickly overshadowed when KC senior quarterback Mason Martin was seriously injured in a game against Redbank Valley on Sept. 1. He remained in a coma in the hospital until recently.

It was the worst of a rash of injuries sustained by the Gremlins this fall.

“These kids could have quit,” said Sherwin. “They could have quit a long time ago, but they didn’t.”

Karns City 7 21 0 13 — 41

Brookville 14 7 7 14 — 42

First Quarter

B — Tony Ceriani 40 run (Steven Plyler kick), 10:33

B — Sam Krug 18 pass from Charlie Krug (Plyler kick), 8:46

KC — Braden Slater 79 run (Zach Kelly kick), 7:56

Second Quarter

KC — Luke Cramer 19 run (Kelly kick), 9:47

KC — Hunter Scherer 4 run (Kelly kick), 5:27

B — Jack Pete 5 pass from C. Krug (Plyler kick), :10

KC — Scherer 54 run (Kelly kick), :00

Third Quarter

B — Hayden Freeman 17 pass from C. Krug (Plyler kick), 5:21

Fourth Quarter

KC — Troy Nagel 54 pass from Cramer (Kelly kick), 11:46

B — Pete 68 pass from C. Krug (Plyler kick), 6:54

KC — Cramer 4 run (kick failed), 1:34

B — Pete 1 pass from C. Krug (Plyler kick), :25

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Karns City, Luke Cramer 29-190, Hunter Scherer 22-164, Owen Heginbotham 2-2, Braden Slater 4-84, Zach Kelly 7-58. Brookville, Tony Ceriani 12-88, Charlie Krug 3-(-10).

Passing: Karns City, Braden Slater 0-2-0-0, Luke Cramer 2-4-87-1. Brookville, Charlie Krug 17-35-286-0.

Receiving: Karns City, Troy Nagel 1-54, Zach Kelly 1-33. Brookville, Hayden Freeman 3-81, Easton Belfiore 4-30, Sam Krug 2-22, Jack Pete 8-153.