ADAMS TWP — The game was played on even terms in the first half.

It was played on South Fayette's terms in the second.

The Lions (2-0) piled up 15 first downs in the second half Friday night, turning a 7-0 halftime lead into a runaway 30-6 Northwest Nine football victory over Mars at the Mars Athletic Complex.

“We made a number of mistakes in the first half,” South Fayette coach Joe Rossi said. “Mars came out of the gate swinging. They're a proud program and we expected that.

“I thought we settled down and played a nice second half.”

The lone score of the first half occurred on the Lions' first possession. Quarterback Drew Saxton found Ryan Kokoski in the left corner of the ed zone on a third-and-goal play from the Planets' 27.

Mars (1-1) missed an opportunity to knot the game later in the opening quarter. Cade Hetzler got behind the defense and was all alone inside the 5-yard line on a fourth-and-15 from the South Fayette 32. Tyler Kowalkowski's pass sailed over his head, however.

The Planets missed another chance when Drew Schlegel intercepted a pass at the South Fayette 18. Mars' next snap was intercepted in the end zone.

“We had our chances to make more plays early in this game and just didn't do it,” Planets coach Scott Heinauer said. “If you don't capitalize when you have opportunities against good teams, you get yourself in trouble.”

South Fayette took nine penalties for 75 yards in the first half, but was not flagged in the second. Place-kicker Ryan Coe was short on field goal attempts of 49 and 54 yards as the Lions failed to extend their lead.

The visitors assumed control of the game in the third quarter. With all but one play being on the ground, the Lions took the second-half kickoff and drove 59 yards in nine plays. Johnny Beck scored on a 1-yard run.

“I knew they were going to do that,” Heinauer said of South Fayette coming out running. “They threw a bunch of passes in the first half and he (Rossi) was gonna change it up.

“You have to slip off blocks and make tackles. It's as simple as that. We didn't do it.”

Mars did get back in the game briefly. Kowalkowski found Hetzler for a 67-yard touchdown bomb down the middle and Hetzler intercepted a pass in the end zone to thwart a South Fayette scoring threat.

Hetzler was tackled at his 1-yard line as he tried running the ball out of the end zone, however. On the next play, Planet fullback Garrett Reinke was tackled in the end zone for a safety.

Beck — who had 24 carries for 135 yards on the night — scored his second touchdown on a 6-yard run with 4:38 to play. That was the final score of the night.

Saxton threw for 266 yards and a touchdown. South Fayette churned out 432 yards of offense.

Mars was limited to three first downs in the second half as the Lions have allowed only six points in two games.

“That's with nine new starters on defense,” Rossi said. “We're forcing turnovers and making big plays. I'm proud of those guys.”

Kowalkowski threw for 162 yards for Mars, but the Planets managed on 43 net yards rushing on 22 carries.

“We never got it going,” Heinauer said of the run game. “It's basic stuff. We didn't sustain blocks and they kept coming off blocks.

“This hurts because we're a game down in the conference now. That makes next week's game here against Blackhawk a huge one. We need to win that game.”

South Fayette 7 0 16 7 — 30

Mars 0 0 6 0 — 6

First Quarter

SF — Ryan Kokoski 27 pass from Drew Saxton (Ryan Coe kick), 8:34

Third Quarter

SF — Johnny Beck 1 run (Coe kick), 9:22

SF — Peyton Tinney 18 interception return (Coe kick), 8:17

M — Cade Hetzler 67 pass from Tyler Kowalkowski (kick blocked), 6:29

SF — Garrett Reinke tackled in end zone for safety, 3:45

Fourth Quarter

SF — Beck 6 run (Coe kick), 4:38

Individual Statistics

Rushing: South Fayette, Johnny Beck 24-135, Drew Saxton 4-(-9), Johnny Obenour 3-13, Rayquin Glover 4-21, Joe Mowod 3-6. Mars, Tyler Kowalkowski 6-1, Andrew Moyer 3-7, Garrett Reinke 10-30, Chuck Green 3-5.

Passing: South Fayette, Drew Saxton 20-28-266-2. Mars, Tyler Kowalkowski 8-18-162-2.

Receiving: South Fayette, Rayquin Glover 5-37, Ryan Kokoski 3-61, Peyton Tinney 1-1, Johnny Beck 1-18, Noah Plack 8-99, Mike Trimbur 2-42. Mars, Garrett Reinke 1-14, Michael Carmody 1-28, Cade Hetzler 2-78, Tom Sheehy 3-31, Andrew Moyer 1-11.