Forward march
ADAMS TWP — Both Mars and Indiana opened with strong drives Friday night down the field, but Mars maintained a steadier pace Friday night.
The Planets marched down their own field repeatedly in posting a 35-6 season-opening football victory.
Mars sprinkled long yardage plays into its short-yardage play style. Senior quarterback Sam Morrissey connected with senior wide receiver Eli Brooks for two of the Planets' three first-half touchdowns.
Junior running back Isaiah Johnson also found the end zone on a three-yard run to complement his 139 total first-half yards on 15 carries.
Indiana was not without its own first-half highlights. Senior quarterback Jacob Zilinskas threw for 122 total yards, including three passes of 30-plus yards.
Zilinskas connected with two tall receivers — senior Dylan Stapleton for 50 yards and junior Ryan Hoff for 82 yards.
Despite the long-ball potential, Indiana could not find the end zone in the first half and its struggles continued in the second half.
After two more unanswered Mars touchdowns in the second half, the junior varsity saw playing time early in the fourth quarter.
Indiana found a brief spark when freshman quarterback Luke Thomas threw a 51-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Thomas Arbuckle.
Mars coach Scott Heinauer said his team's focus was to shut down the mobility and timing of Zilinskas and other key players.
“That's what we came in and wanted to do,” he said.
While Mars's huddle rumbled, Indiana head coach Mark Zilinskas told his team not to look back. He said the game got out of hand.
“That's one game gone,” he said. “We were just in a panic mode from halfway through the first quarter and on. It's a shocking feeling right now.”
Morrissey totaled 124 passing yards with all three of his touchdowns finding the hands of Brooks, who finished with 88 total yards.
Johnson saw 23 touches for a total of 174 yards and two touchdowns.
Heinauer said he was pleased with Johnson's performance, the other running backs as well, who totaled 254 yards together.
Johnson said the team had been looking to the game all week, heated by their loss last season. He said he felt the pressure to be consistent.
“I'm always looking for the first down marker,” he said. “and to hit my holes hard and don't stop moving my feet.”
