ADAMS TWP - After two disappointing losses, the Mars High School football team answered right back by soundly defeating Union-New Castle 57-14 Friday night.

Union reached the board first when a bad snap soared over the head of Planets kicker Tim Wirtz and rolled into the end zone.

Wirtz pounced on the ball for a safety.

On the free kick, Union's Linnell Robison sprinted 74 yards right down the middle of the field to put the Scotties up 8-0.

"We had a bad snap over the kicker's head, then a big return and we went behind early," Mars coach Scott Heinauer said. "Our kids didn't let it faze them."

Mars needed only one play from scrimmage to reply to the challenge.

Quarterback D.J. Cannon connected on a short pass to senior wide receiver Tim Frye, who broke two tackles and galloped 59 yards for the score.

That opened the floodgates before Mars poured touchdowns on the scoreboard.

"After the last two weeks, we knew coming in that we needed to put some points on the board," Heinauer said. "We talked about it and we felt that we should be able to score."

Junior running back Josh Keil took advantage of some good blocking up front and ran 31 yards to put Mars up 14-8 with 7:32 remaining in the first quarter of play. The Planets' defense also added some points, as junior defensive linemen Scott Brettell and Matt Eshenbaugh converged on Union quarterback Jorden Rooney for a 10-yard loss and a safety.

When the Scotties booted the free kick, the Planets' Paul Ferrese surged 66 yards down the field for a touchdown.

"Since last week we talked about seizing the moment, talked about having kids stepping up and who is going to make the big play," Heinauer said. "We can name numerous people who made big plays in this game tonight."

Mars continued the scoring in the first quarter when quarterback D.J. Cannon strode in from the 3, making the score 30-8 with 3:32 left on the clock.

The Planets' defense posted another six points when senior lineman Pete King scooped up a loose ball and made his way into the end zone for a 37-8 advantage.

The second quarter brought more big scoring plays for the Planets. Cannon hooked up with Ferrese on a short shovel pass that he took 42 yards to the end zone.

After forcing Union to go four-and-out, Mars capitalized once again when Ferrese found the end zone for the third time of the evening on a 47-yard run.

Mars scored its final touchdown of the game with just 24 seconds left in the first half. Sophomore running back Billy Bair rolled 31 yards to bring the score to 57-8.

"We had guys running the ball in and we scored on some good passes. We knew we had to take advantage of some big plays," Heinauer said.

Union reached the scoreboard for the final time in the contest when Rooney hooked up with senior wide receiver Chris Hunt on a 53-yard pass. The extra point was no good.

Mars started off conference play with what Heinauer feels is an important win.

"Obviously, we needed to get a big win under our belts. We managed to put a lot of points on the board tonight," Heinauer added.

Next week Mars will play its second conference game of the season at Laurel.

"Laurel put up 50 points against us last year," Heinauer said. "We're going to have to practice hard all week, and we know that it's going to be tough up there."