ADAMS TWP It's a familiar hurdle for the Mars football team, but Planets coach Scott Heinauer is hoping for an unfamiliar result.

Mars (9-1) will face defending champion West Allegheny (7-3) in a WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinal at 7:30 p.m. Friday at North Allegheny.

This is the fifth straight year the Planets have made it to the quarterfinal round, but it's also where they lost to Greensburg Central Catholic in 2006, to Aliquippa in 2007, to Blackhawk in 2008 and to Hopewell last season.

“It's a new football team every year,” said Heinauer, who saw his team dismantle Hollidaysburg 52-20 last Friday. “Our kids have been to this round before, but we have to find a way to get past it.”

West Allegheny defeated Trinity 35-14 in the first round.

But the Indians were dealt a dose of adversity at the beginning of the season.

In a 41-0 win over South Park Sept. 3, West Allegheny's star halfback Mike Caputo injured his left ankle while making a tackle on defense. He hasn't played since.

As a junior in 2009, Caputo rushed for 1,565 yards and a 7.5 yards-per-carry average.

“Mike is a tremendous player, no doubt,” said West Allegheny coach Bob Palko. “But we have other kids who stepped up.”

That would include senior halfback Aaron McKinney, who has totaled 1,102 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns.

“Last season, Aaron did a little bit of everything for us,” said Palko. “He ran some, played a bit at wide receiver, even threw a few passes. He is certainly not a surprise to us.”

The Indians have used a wildcat package in their offense for several years and it is evidenced by the team's offensive statistics.

McKinney has completed 10 of 13 passes for 90 yards.

Three other players Alex Sinclair (561 yards), Nick Halbedl (290) and Wes Thomas (280) have combined for 1,131 rushing yards and 11 more touchdowns.

“Blocking is very important, especially in the wildcat,” said Heinauer. “It's something they (Indians) do very well. Bob Palko and his staff do a great job.”

West Allegheny's starting quarterback is junior Dylan Bongiorni, a first-year starter who has thrown for 1,021 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions.

Mars has some offensive punch of its own. In last week's win over Hollidaysburg, senior fullback Austin Miele rushed for a school-record 448 yards seven yards shy of the WPIAL record.

“We certainly can't let their kid run for 400 yards,” Palko said with a laugh. “We have to try and slow them down as much as possible. But the Wing-T is very tough to duplicate in practice.

“And just when you bring eight guys into the box to stop the run, they'll hit a play-action pass on you,” added Palko.

Mars senior quarterback Eric Guzak enters the game with 867 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Senior wide receiver Aaron Lozzi has 17 receptions for 514 yards and seven touchdowns.

The winner will face the survivor of the Montour-Indiana game.