KARNS CITY — The end result — a 49-7 Karns City victory — wasn't exactly what the Punxsy varsity football team hoped for on Friday night at the Gremlins' stadium. But on a smaller scale, after a tough opening loss to Clarion Area last Friday night, another thing the Chucks hoped for was progress, and this time around — especially early in the game — Punxsy showed plenty of fight and lined up well with Karns City. Just ahead of halftime, though, a few big plays — including a 49-yard touchdown pass, a kickoff return for a touchdown and a big run play for a touchdown, all in the span of six minutes — put the game out of reach and helped the Gremlins pull away.
"I thought we came out and competed from the opening kickoff, and we had a nice defensive series going there, but unfortunately we gave up one big third-down play and then had a penalty that moved the chains again. If we stop them there and get them off the field, we have a chance to punch back; unfortunately, it didn't happen," Punxsy head coach Brad Wright said after the game. "Throughout the first quarter, though, I thought we played really competitive, tough football, and we showed signs of some really good things. But we also made some youthful mistakes — lining up wrong at times and such — and we just need to clean those things up. You can chalk them up to inexperience, but we'll get those things fixed and keep working hard going forward."
For a full recap plus plenty of photos from Friday's game, grab a print edition of Saturday's Spirit.
Punxsy will return to action next week with a new twist to the Route 36 rivalry, as the Chucks will host Brookville, but the game will be played on Thursday evening instead of Friday. Kickoff from Jack LaMarca Stadium will be at 7 p.m.