ADAMS TWP — Lou Cerro and Scott Heinauer are prepared for a ground war come Friday.

The head football coaches at Montour and Mars, respectively, are both dealing with inconsistency in the passing game as they prepare for a pivotal Northwest Nine Conference football game at the Mars Athletic Complex.

The situation is particularly frustrating in the Spartans' camp.

Montour graduated quarterbacks Randall Labrie and Tyler Carswell from last year's 6-4 team that reached the WPIAL playoffs. Senior Mason Schrenker and junior Kavon Morman have both played this season, but neither one has been too impressive. Through two games, Morman is 12-of-22 for 179 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.

Schrenker has completed four of his nine passes for 38 yards.

“He (Morman) will start on Friday,” said Cerro. “Both kids are talented, but sometimes, they just don't get it. They'll look like they deserve the Heisman Trophy in practice. Then in the games, they look like they don't belong on a pee-wee team. We need consistency.”

Cerro has asked his running game to pick up the slack. Junior Brayden Jones leads the team with 190 rushing yards, including 123 yards and a touchdown in last week's 35-6 home win over Indiana.

The Spartans (1-1, 1-1) lost to New Castle in Week 1, 26-13.

“We turned the ball over five times in that game,” said Cerro. “You're not going to beat anybody with five turnovers.”

“Montour is big and physical and they like to run the football,” said Heinauer. “Defensively, they brought back a lot (eight) of starters. We have our work cut out for us.”

The Planets (2-1, 1-1) avoided an 0-2 start in conference play with a 24-21 comeback victory at Blackhawk last week. Mars trailed 21-0 late in the first half before scoring 24 unanswered points, the final three coming on a 39-yard field goal from Caleb Brake on the last play of the game.

“Our kids learned their lesson, but they also deserve a lot of credit,” Heinauer said. “They showed a lot of character and poise to come back and win that game. It was a huge road victory.”

Mars is averaging 226 rushing yards per game. Senior Isaiah Johnson (349 yards, three touchdowns) and sophomore Garrett Reinke (236-2) lead the way.

Senior quarterback Noah Wright, a first-year starter, has completed 5-of-24 passes for 144 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. He was just 2-of-8 last week, though one of his completions was a 68-yard scoring pass to Ben Perdziola that ignited the Planets' comeback.

“We've only got a few days to practice for it (Wing-T offense),” said Cerro. “On defense, they swarm to the football. It will be a challenge for us.”