GREENSBURG — Tyler Kowalkowski rushed for three touchdowns and threw for another and the Mars defense nearly pitched a shutout as the Planets roughed up Greensburg Salem 35-7.

The Planets led 35-0 after three quarters.

Mars head football coach Scott Heinauer was pleased with his team's ability to keep Greensburg Salem's weapons bottled up.

“They've got some dangerous kids out there,” Heinauer said. “They're some big boys, but our kids came to play.”

Mars started strong, piling up 28 first-half points.

“We played like we know how,” Heinauer said. “We didn't make a mistake.”

Heinauer said this game differed slightly from the first two non-section games when fumbles were a persistent issue.

Heinauer attributed the win to preparation, even though practices leading up to this game were difficult to get through because of the extreme heat Tuesday and Wednesday.

“We did a lot of mental prep,” he said.

The Planets (3-0) relied heavily on its strong running game, which set up Kowalkowski to hit on a few big pass plays.

Kowalkowski was 7 of 7 for 130 yards.

Meanwhile, Mars' defense didn't allow Greensburg Salem to get much going.

Tyler Patrick was a bright spot for the Lions, completing 10 of 16 for 103 yards. But the running game didn't give Greensburg much help.

The Lions rushed for just 59 yards.

“We kept them penned in,” Heinauer said.

Kowalkowski scored on TD runs of 3, 1 and 22 and also connected with Andrew Recchia for a 20-yard touchdown to close the Mars' scoring.

Greensburg Salem's lone score came on a 10-yard run by Patrick, which was set up by the quarterback's 29-yard completion to Dajaughn Hertzog.

“This is what we're capable of doing,” Heinauer said. “We can win a lot of games. (They) showed how good they can be, and we're getting ready for next week.”

Mars 14 14 7 0 — 35

G'burg Salem 0 0 0 7 — 7

First Quarter

M — Garrett Reinke 23 run (Blake Edwards kick), 5:11

M — Tyler Kowalkowski 3 run (Edwards kick), :26

Second Quarter

M — Kowalkowski 1 run (Edwards kick), 3:17

M — Kowalkowski 22 run (Edwards kick), :48

Third Quarter

M — Andrew Recchia 20 pass from Kowalkowski (Edwards kick), 8:22

Fourth Quarter

GS — Trent Patrick 10 run (Ethan Turnbowl kick), 11:05

Individual Statistics

Rushing:Mars, Garrett Reinke 15-81, Tyler Kowalkowski 4-30, Teddy Ruffner 3-25, Nicholas Ferro 4-17, Evan Thompson 2-6, Joey Tepke 1-0, Christian Kay 2-6 Greensburg Salem, Trent Patrick 16-29, Aaren Putt 9-14, Dajuahn Hertzog 3-11, Jalen Page 2-19, Roberto Smith 3-(-14)

Passing:Mars, Tyler Kowalkowski 7-7-130-0. Greensburg Salem, Trent Patrick 10-16-103-0, Roberto Smith 1-3-21-0

Receiving:Mars, Mitchell Wright 1-3, Thomas Sheehy 2-41, Drew Schlegel 1-11, Chuck Green 1-49, Teddy Ruffner 1-5, Andrew Recchia 1-15. Greensburg Salem, Dajaughn Hertzog 5-66, Ryan Thomas 1-11, Tyler Williams 1-4, Aaren Putt 2-11, Jalen Page 1-11, Adam Cuccia 1-6, Javon Thompson 1-5.