What is the most dominant team in Butler County high school athletics?

Mars boys soccer is a two-time WPIAL champion and reached the state quarterfinals last year, but the Planets are struggling this season.

Seneca Valley girls soccer had its run of WPIAL playoff appearances snapped this year.

Freeport volleyball has been a consistent winner, but it's been a different story for the Yellowjackets in the postseason.

Karns City football has won a bundle of District 9 championships, but the Gremlins have lost a few games here and there.

Other consistent winning programs are out there. Seneca Valley volleyball and baseball have been strong. So have Butler's girls basketball and track and field programs.

But no team has won like Mars varsity hockey the past three years — and the Planets aren't going away.

As the PIHL season begins this week, consider the numbers the last three Mars teams have combined to post:

• 60 wins, 4 losses, 1 tie.

• Two Class A Penguins Cup championships, one Class A state crown.

• 501 goals scored, 80 allowed.

Not too shabby.

During that time, Mars underwent a few coaching changes and watched some of the best players in Pennsylvania high school hockey come and go.

Ian Finney and Michael Heltman combined to score 56 goals and 115 points as seniors in 2007-08.

Jake Robash scored 37 goals and 68 points while Steve Tracy anchored the defense as seniors in 2009.

Mike Mazotta scored 15 goals and 36 points, and Tyler Whiteford added 39 points in anchoring the defense as seniors last year.

Goalie Greg Lewis had a 0.823 goals-against average in leading the Planets' 2008 team to a 20-1-1 record.

When most programs lose players of this caliber, their overall quality drops at least a little bit.

Not in this team's case.

Yes, it's a cliche, but Mars hockey really does reload rather than rebuild.

When Lewis left, Tyler Stepke stepped between the pipes as a sophomore. All he's done is post goals-against averages of 1.02 and 1.27 the past two years in leading Mars to those two Penguins Cup crowns.

Now Stepke's back for his senior year, looking for a three-peat.

And he's not alone.

Besides Whiteford and Mazotta, Mars lost only two other seniors from last year's 20-2 team.

Loaded with firepower again, the Planets cruised to the 16-team St. Margaret Foundation Tournament earlier this month, defeating defending Class AAA Penguins Cup champion Canon-McMillan 6-0 in the championship game.

Clearly, this program has a strong feeder system. But Mars High has no ice and hockey is an expensive sport that receives no funding from the school district.

Talk about dedication to one's craft.

Looking for a dominant team?

Look no further.