DUBOIS — Turnovers can quickly change the complexion of a football game.

Friday night, they buried Karns City under a tidal wave from which the Gremlins never emerged.

Twice, once in the second quarter and again in the third, KC saw an opportunity to answer a DuBois Area touchdown turn into another possession for the Beavers. In both instances, DuBois tacked on another score on its way to a 28-7 season-opening victory at Mansell Stadium.

“We made mistakes that we just weren’t able to recover from,” said Gremlins’ coach Joe Sherwin. “They capitalized and that momentum was too much for us.”

The Gremlins had an ominous beginning to the game. A muff on the opening kickoff was controlled by the Beavers, but their drive was halted on a fourth-down stop by a host of KC defenders led by James Jones at the 6-yard line.

Things began to turn against KC in earnest late in the first half. Leading 7-0, the team’s defense was put on its heels thanks to the running of DuBois quarterback Cam-Ron Hays, who moved the chains on consecutive plays with scampers of 13 and 17 yards.

On a fourth-and-2 from the 10, Hays called his own number again, this time for pay-dirt.

Charlie Harman’s extra point tied the game, but more bad news was awaiting the Gremlins.

With just 35 seconds left in the half, they elected to try and mount a drive, but Eric Booher’s pass was intercepted and returned 37 yards to the 2-yard line by Kyle Crusan. Hays soon added the second of his four scores on the night.

“You can talk Xs and Os all you want, but this win was about momentum,” said DuBois coach TJ Wingard. “That interception (by Crusan) was the play of the game.

“All week, we challenged our kids to be more physical than Karns City. We put it on their shoulders and they responded.”

The third quarter must have seemed like a bad case of deja vu for the Gremlins. A Hays touchdown run was followed immediately by a KC turnover and Hays scored again for a 28-7 lead with 2:39 left in the period.

Hays finished the game with 52 passing yards, 75 yards on the ground and the four scores.

“We faced him the last two years (both KC wins),” said Sherwin. “I think he’s more mature and he made better decisions tonight.”

Both teams started slowly, but following Mason Bell’s recovery of a DuBois fumble with 4:14 left in the second quarter, the Gremlins began their fifth drive in prime real estate at the Beavers 28.

Booher connected with Micah Rupp on a 22-yard pass play and three plays later, the quarterback broke the ice with a 1-yard scoring plunge. Colson Ritzert tacked on the extra point and the Gremlins were up 7-0 with 2:27 left in the first half.

Next Friday, KC will visit Redbank Valley, which finished runner-up in the state last year in Class 1A.

“There’s no need to panic,” said Sherwin. “We got exposed tonight, but we’ll watch the film and see what we need to fix. There are a lot of games left.”

Karns City xx xx xx xx — xx

DuBois Area xx xx xx xx — xx

First Quarter

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Second Quarter

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Third Quarter

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Fourth Quarter

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Individual Statistics

Rushing:

Passing:

Receiving: