ADAMS TWP — Even before its regular season finale at Mars began, the Knoch football team found itself in a hole.

And the Knights never recovered.

Thanks to the WPIAL's tiebreaking system, the Knights not only needed to beat the Planets, they had to win by no less than nine points to qualify for the upcoming Class AAA playoffs.

Knoch quickly saw its postseason chances evaporate as the Planets turned their first three possessions into touchdowns en route to a 28-0 win on Senior Recognition Night Saturday at the Mars Athletic Complex.

Mars (6-3, 3-2), which had already clinched a playoff berth before the game, did secure third place in the Greater Allegheny Conference.

Franklin Regional finishes in fourth place over the Knights (2-7, 1-4) and will also compete in postseason play.

"We knew we just had to play our game," said Knoch coach Mike King. "We weren't too worried about the points. There was a game to be played and we approached it like any other."

Mars sophomore fullback Austin Miele rushed for 132 yards and three touchdowns, the first two coming within a minute of each other in the first quarter.

After scoring on a two-yard run with 7:12 left in the period, Christopher Karns' short kickoff was muffed by the Knights and Randy Seebacher recovered for the Planets at Knoch's 29.

Three plays later, Miele was back in the end zone after a 26-yard scamper and the Planets held an early two-score lead.

"We started fast tonight," said Mars coach Scott Heinauer. "That's something we talked about this week because last week (a 21-0 loss at Indiana), we did not play well."

After the Knights were forced to punt, Mars began an 11-play, 77-yard drive that culminated with John Brake's five-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Smith with 8:36 left in the first half.

The Knights' furthest venture into Mars territory came just before halftime.

Trailing 21-0, Jake McTighe's 23-yard pass to Mitchell Shaw was followed by Tim McNerney's 11-yard run.

But facing a fourth-and-4 from Mars' 29, McTighe's pass fell incomplete with 20 seconds left before the break.

McNerney, the heart of his team's offensive attack, was held to 35 yards on 10 carries in the first two quarters.

He ended the game with 66 yards, giving him 1,041 yards for the season.

"Offensively, we weren't able to do enough things to sustain drives," said King. "We never got the engine running. It was a tough night."

Miele closed the scoring with a four-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Mars will learn its first-round playoff foe Monday at the WPIAL pairings meeting.

"I think this was a good achievement for our football team," said Heinauer. "It's our first season at (Class) AAA and the kids came through."

For the Knights, whose season began with so much promise after the team made the WPIAL semifinals a season ago, injuries to several key players proved too much to overcome.

"We're not a team that makes excuses," said King. "The seniors have been part of something special here, with last year's section title."

The game was the first meeting on the gridiron between Mars and Knoch since 1983.

The Planets beat the Knights for the first time since 1974.

Mars 28, Knoch 0

Knoch 0 0 0 0—0Mars 14 7 0 7—28K M8 First Downs 1729-80 Rushes-Yards 50-30854 Passing Yards 85-16-1 Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) 4-9-1134 Total Yards 3165-3 Fumbles/Lost 1-11-15 Penalties-Yards 4-25

First QuarterM — Austin Miele 2 run (Christopher Karns kick), 7:12M — Miele 26 run (Karns kick), 6:12

Second QuarterM — Garrett Smith 5 pass from John Brake (Karns kick), 8:36

Fourth QuarterM — Miele 4 run (Karns kick), 8:17

Individual Statistics

Passing: Knoch, Jake McTighe 5-16-54-1. Mars, John Brake 4-9-8-1.

Rushing: Knoch, Tim McNerney 19-66, Kevin Brodeur 3-5, Jake McTighe 7-9. Mars, Austin Miele 21-132, Corey Slater 9-69, John Brake 6-24, Garrett Smith 5-49, Chris Herold 1-13, Seth Geyer 3-4, Kevin Randolph 2-14, Dillon Lennen 1-4, Josh Pinkerton 1-1, Aaron Lozzi 1-(-2).

Receiving: Knoch, Mike Gallagher 1-15, Mitchell Shaw 3-35, Kevin Brodeur 1-4. Mars, Corey Slater 1-3, Austin Miele 2-0, Garrett Smith 1-5.

<a href="http://video.butlereagle.com/gridiron/gridiron.html" target="_blank">Check out video highlights of this Game of the Week on our GRIDIRON site!</a>