Penn Hills lost a ton of talent from last year's team. On the other hand, the Indians are the defending WPIAL and PIAA champions.

Mars football coach Scott Heinauer would rather his team prepare for the latter.

The Planets begin Northern Conference play with a road game Friday against the Indians, who returned five starters on offense and just three on defense.

“The cupboard is not bare and they are still the team to beat in this conference,” said Heinauer.

The Indians (2-1, 1-0) began the season with a 21-0 loss to Class 6A powerhouse Pine-Richland. Last week, Penn Hills disposed of conference foe Fox Chapel, 33-13.

Indians' coach Jon LeDonne did not name a starting quarterback until late in camp. Senior Eddie McKissick won the job and has performed well after the graduated Hollis Mathis left a very deep imprint on the position. The latter accounted for 46 touchdowns last season, 40 of them coming in the air.

Through three games, McKissick has 247 passing yards with four scores and has rushed for two other scores.

“He's very raw with only three varsity games under his belt,” said LeDonne. “He's working on his reads daily and we expect him to get better.”

Junior running back Derrick Topeck leads the rushing attack and rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown last week.

Penn Hills will have its hands full against Mars fullback Teddy Ruffner, who has amassed 682 yards and 10 touchdowns.

“Against the Wing-T, you have to be quick, but you can't over-run things,” said LeDonne. “You have to read things before you react.”

The Planets (2-1, 0-0) plan to play both Drew Schlegel and Quinn Fuller at quarterback. Schlegel, a senior, was limited by injury last week and played strictly on defense as a safety. Fuller, a sophomore, completed 4 of 9 passes for 98 yards.

“They both have a skill set that we can utilize,” said Heinauer. “Drew is a better runner and Quinn is more accurate in the passing game. I thought he did a great job last week, but there are situations when we need Drew. We plan on playing both at quarterback from here on out.”

Penn Hills features two Division I college prospects in its secondary — seniors Aakeem Snell and Tony Grimes.

“They're fast and aggressive,” Heinauer said of the Indians' defense. “They try to cause havoc and rely on you making mistakes.”

Last year, Penn Hills defeated Mars, 36-15, on the way to a perfect 16-0 season.