ADAMS TWP — Mars didn’t waste any time taking over Friday night’s game against University Prep at the Mars Athletic Complex.

From the get-go, the Planets out-classed University Prep in every facet of football. Mars amassed 432 rushing yards in a 50-6 win over University Prep.

“We’re geared for the run. We can throw the ball, but we need to establish the run,” Mars coach Scott Heinauer said. “If we can establish the run, then we think that the pass is obviously much easier.”

Multiple backs were successful in moving the chains for the Planets, but the majority of the work was done by Isaiah Johnson. He tallied 216 rushing yards on 22 carries and scored three touchdowns.

“He’s the guy that has to get all the yards,” Heinauer said. “We rely on him, he knows we count on him and he runs hard. He has all the tools to be a great running back.”

Mars was able to set the tone in the first quarter and maintained it throughout,. The Planets went into halftime with a 29-0 lead, and didn’t let up in the second half.

Mars’ passing game wasn’t a huge focus, but quarterback Sam Morrissey was able to throw for 75 yards on four completions and no interceptions.

The Planets’ defense was as dominant as its offense. The Wildcats’ decided to only run the ball three times for negative yards.

“My point was that we knew from a passing standpoint, they were going to throw the ball every time,” Heinauer said. “Our defense and our secondary played well.”

University Prep’s offense consisted of 36 pass plays with only 17 completions from quarterback Shawn Rutherford. He also threw one touchdown and three interceptions.

“We felt like our playmakers are at the receiver position,” Berry said. “Once we fell behind so early, we kind of forgot about the running game.”

Prior to Friday’s game, Rutherford had thrown and rushed for 14 touchdowns, but was unable to do anything offensively against the Planets. He had a lot of opportunities to make a big throw or complete a touchdown pass, but consistently overthrew his receivers.

“His timing seems to be off, and I think he was rushing some throws,” University Prep coach Lou Berry said. “He was trying to do too much and press a little bit.”

The game was out of reach for the Wildcats by the end of the third quarter, so Mars substituted in its backups to close it out. Running back Garrett Reinke ended up rushing for 98 yards on nine attempts and scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter.