Hang on tight
Avoiding turnovers is easier said than done.
Mars' football team is finding that out the hard way.
The Planets (2-2, 0-1) missed a golden opportunity to knock off defending WPIAL and PIAA champ Penn Hills last week as six turnovers led to a 14-7 defeat.
The miscues included three lost fumbles and three combined interceptions from quarterbacks Drew Schlegel and Quinn Fuller.
In their other loss this year — a 36-14 setback at Moon Aug. 30 — the Planets turned the ball over four times.
“Turnovers have been a big factor in our two losses this season,” said Mars coach Scott Heinauer. “It's a concern. Last week, Penn Hills did not create those turnovers, we just got careless with the ball.”
Heinauer hopes better ball security helps his team avoid Mars' first 0-2 start in conference play since 2003 Friday when the Planets visit Armstrong (1-2, 0-1), which is also searching for its first Northern Conference victory.
The River Hawks defeated Indiana, 42-13, to begin the season, but subsequently lost to Hampton (30-12) and Chartiers Valley (43-6). Armstrong had a rare in-season bye last week.
“We had Albert Gallatin on the schedule and they dropped out of the WPIAL,” said Armstrong coach Frank Fabian. “We had trouble finding another opponent, but the week off came at a good time. We've had a lot of kids banged up.”
Unfortunately, a week off is not sufficient to bring back two of Armstrong's best players. Slotback/linebacker Isaiah Price, a four-year starter, and two-way lineman Nick Parisi are both done for the season with ACL tears.
“We have two other guys out with concussions,” said Fabian. “We've been hit by the injury bug pretty hard.”
Fabian said his defense has struggled against the run — not exactly bolstering the team's chances against a Mars team featuring fullback Teddy Ruffner, who has rumbled for 788 yards and 10 touchdowns in four games.
“I'm impressed with him,” said Fabian. “You can tell he did a lot of work in the offseason.”
Armstrong's offense features junior quarterback Cole Brown (6-foot-1, 180), a first-year starter. Running back Isaac Ridinger has scored four of the team's seven touchdowns.
The two touchdowns Mars allowed last week both came on the ground from 18 and 78 yards. Penn Hills ended the game with 161 yards rushing on 27 attempts.
“Other than those two plays, I thought we played great against the run,” said Heinauer, “but you can't give up long touchdowns like that. We have to play a full 48 minutes.
“Armstrong is a relentless football team,” he added. “Whether they're up or down, they keep coming after you.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
7 p.m. FridayThe Knights lead the series between the teams 4-1, including wins of 48-14 (2016), 42-0 (2017) and 56-0 last year.Don Phillips, who won 162 games combined at Ellwood City, Monaca, Center, Rochester and West Allegheny — dating back to the 1970's — is in his first year at Ambridge. He is trying to turn around a program that's won one game since 2015 and was outscored 415-44 last year ... Ambridge has been outscored 183-14 this season with RB Deyvon Gill-Martrin scoring all 14 points.RB Matt Goodlin leads Knoch's offense with 706 yards on 82 carries. ... QB Kam Grassi rushed for 85 yards last week and has completed just three of 11 passes this season. Two of those completions were touchdown tosses to Scott Fraser and Jared Schrecengost ... The Knights' defense has allowed only 27 points all season and has posted two shutouts.
7 p.m. FridayThe Yellowjackets defeated Uniontown 55-18 last year in the only previous football game between the schools.Third-year Uniontown coach Cedric Lloyd is still looking for his first win with the Red Raiders. He is 0-24. ... Craig Soltis, a freshman, is Uniontown's quarterback. ... The Red Raiders have been outscored 145-30 this season, including a 43-0 loss to Burrell last week.Freeport is off to an 0-3 start for the second straight year. ... QB Garret Schaffhauser has thrown for 506 yards and 5 TDs. Brodey Woods has been his prime target, catching 15 passes for 182 yards and three scores. ... Sophomore DB Garrett King leads the Yellowjackets with 25 tackles. LB Ricky Hunter has 24 stops.
7 p.m., FridayMars Athletic ComplexDerry won a Big East Conference meeting last week with Mount Pleasant, 7-0. North Catholic dropped a 35-14 non-conference decision against Central Valley.Derry QB Paul Koontz has thrown for 270 yds. with five TDs and five INTs this year. ... Derry relies heavily on RB Justin Huss, who has tallied 676 rushing yards and nine TDs. He is also the team's leading receiver with seven catches.North senior QB Zack Rocco has passed for 706 yards and six TDs. His favorite target is WR Nick Maher, who has 14 catches for 310 yds.Derry defeated North Catholic twice last season, 27-0 in the regular season and 36-29 in the district semifinals.
7 p.m., FridayThe MASH unit that has been the Moniteau football team may be on the road to recovery.The Warriors are expecting at least one of their wounded, offensive lineman Donnie Thomas, to return this week. Quarterback Brady Thompson is expected back in action next week.Moniteau hopes to get well on the field against Bradford, a team that has been outscored 198-6.“I'm not really putting too much on their scores,” said Moniteau coach Bob Rottman. “Ours don't look too flattering, either.”Bradford has averaged a mere 2.8 yards per carry.Moniteau led Karns City 6-0 at the half last week, but the Gremlins scored 21 unanswered for the win.“I'm proud of them,” Rottman said. “They had an opportunity to win. I went back and watched the tape and we started to wear down in the second half. We were just a couple of steps slower.”
7 p.m., FridayBoth teams won non-conference games last week as Union/A-C Valley upended Otto-Eldred 32-26 and ECC defeated Port Allegany 35-7.Falcon Knights' junior RB Kylar Culbertson had just 25 yards rushing on seven attempts before exploding last week for 150 yards and two scores on 19 carries. Senior QB Luke Bowser has passed for 428 yards, four TDs and six INTs this season. He has also added six rushing TDs. ... Sophomore LB Carter Terwint paces Union/A-C Valley with 35 tackles.Over the last two weeks, ECC RB Sam Kaul has rushed for 323 yards and three TDs.The Crusaders defeated Union/A-C Valley last year 42-6.
