Prior to his team’s first game, Mars football coach Eric Kasperowicz said of junior running back Evan Wright: “He looks tremendous. He’s ready to go.”

He wasn’t kidding.

You may soon be able to add Wright’s name to the long list of Planet running backs to put up superb seasons. He certainly set himself up for a special campaign, gaining 150 yards and scoring a touchdown in last Friday’s 34-26 victory at Montour.

Opening up holes for Wright were center Gus Aubrecht, guards Xander Painley and Alex Jablunovsky and tackles Isaak Winters and Leo Saver.

“The line was tremendous in both run-blocking and pass protection,” Kasperowicz said. “It’s a combination of things, the receivers getting open, the quarterback making the right reads and the running backs blocking. Evan had a great game running the ball.”

The Planets will look to build on their impressive start when they welcome New Castle to the Mars Athletic Complex for a 7 p.m. kickoff Friday.

Like Mars, the Red Hurricanes are being led by a new coach in Stacy Robinson, who for the past 26 years led the Scotties of Union High School near New Castle.

He inherited a program with some big holes to feel, namely at quarterback where the graduated Chris Hood passed and rushed for a combined 2,400 yards 26 touchdowns in 2021. Also gone is Mike Wells and his 700-plus yards from scrimmage and nine touchdowns. Those efforts helped New Castle reach the WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinals.

Last week, the ‘Canes had an easy time with Summit Academy, a Class 1A team, claiming a 49-0 win. They are now preparing for their first legitimate test of the season.

“There are a lot of seniors on our team, but they don’t have much playing experience,” admitted Robinson. “We have a lot of guys who need to get used to Friday night lights in a hurry.”

New Castle’s starting quarterback is sophomore Kyrell Harris, who hopes to be supported by a strong ground game. While Robinson expects a number of players to contribute in that department, he looks for Kaevon Gardner and Malik Jefferson to lead the pack. In 2021, the duo combined for 470 yards on the ground.

Kasperowicz watched his team fall behind 19-7 last week before rallying for victory.

“I’m extremely proud in how the kids fought and how resilient they were,” he said. “Things started to spiral out of control there for a while, but I think our tempo and the speed we play at caught up with (Montour) in the end.

“New Castle has talent all over the field. We have our work cut out for us.”

Freeport (1-0) at South Allegheny (1-0)

7 p.m., Friday

The Yellowjackets will help South Allegheny open a brand-new stadium, as both teams aim to stay out of the loss column early in the schedule.

Freeport came out on top in their opener in large part because of senior tailback-linebacker Zach Clark. His 61 yards from scrimmage weren’t particularly earth-shattering, but he registered three scores in a 28-8 home win over Indiana.

The Gladiators also picked up a non-conference win last Friday, downing Yough on the road, 25-7.

Knoch (0-1) at Indiana (0-1)

7 p.m., Friday

The Knights are looking to rid themselves of the taste of a lopsided loss to Hampton. Indiana hopes to rebound from a non-conference, 28-8 defeat at Freeport.

First-year head coach Tim Burchett’s Knoch debut didn’t go quite to plan against the Talbots. The Knights forced an early turnover, but couldn’t capitalize. Their best chance to get on the board resulted in a blocked field goal.

The Little Indians bring their newly-balanced attack, with QB Trevor Smith operating the unit. He passed for 168 yards and ran for another 66 in the loss to the Yellowjackets, which was much closer than the final score indicated. Indiana turned the ball over within the opposition’s 10-yard line twice.

Shady Side Academy (0-0)

at North Catholic (1-0)

(Stone Field)

7 p.m., Friday

While this is the first game of the season for Shady Side, North beat Serra Catholic last week, 37-14.

The Bulldogs return QB Max Wickland, who passed for over 1,100 yards and 11 TDs last year. The ground game will be led by Eddie Debruce and Isaiah Beckham, who bring speed and power, respectively, to the backfield.

North forced six turnovers in its victory last week, but its offense sputtered for much of the game. Junior QB Jason Siket, who won the starting job with an impressive camp, completed 4 of 6 passes for 83 yards and one TD. The team's running attack yielded 185 yards, including TDs from Jack Fennell, Samir Ware, Chase Arrington and Siket.

Mercyhurst Prep (0-1) at Slippery Rock (1-0)

7 p.m., Friday

The Rockets will try to propel themselves to a second win to start the season in hosting Mercyhurst Prep, who bowed to Fairview, 17-7, last Friday.

Senior WR John Sabo played a big part in Slippery Rock’s road triumph at General McLane, pulling in a TD reception and bring a kickoff back 98 yards for another score. QB William Mokel tossed two scores and ran for one, too.

The Lakers could only muster 152 total yards, with junior Ja’son Ellman reeling in the team’s only points of the contest.

Elk County Catholic (1-0) at Moniteau (0-1)

7 p.m., Friday

The Warriors gave away a conference game against St. Marys last Friday, losing 47-14 on the road. Meanwhile, Elk County Catholic defeated Otto-Eldred at home, 35-30.

Junior Noah Cherry toted the ball 28 times for the Crusaders, gaining 181 yards and a pair of TDs. Freshman Frankie Smith also played a big role on the ground, with ECC piling up 390 yards rushing.

For Moniteau, Hunter Stalker had 15 carries for 70 yards and a TD, while Matt Martino notched nine takedowns, including a sack.

Keystone (1-0)

at Union/A-C Valley (1-0)

(Rimersburg)

7 p.m., Friday

Keystone defeated Coudersport last week, 33-16. Union/A-C Valley topped Cameron County, 27-14.

The Panthers won the District 9 Small School-South Division title in 2021 and were one of only two teams to defeat Redbank Valley, which finished runner-up in the state in Class 1A. Keystone is under the direction of new head coach Todd Smith, who previously served as head coach at Clarion-Limestone and as an assistant at Clarion and Butler.

U/ACV's vaunted rushing attack will look for a bounce-back effort after being held to just 34 yards last week. The team's top two RBs, Mikey Card and Dawson Camper, contributed in other ways. Card caught a 16-yard scoring pass from QB Brody Dittman and Camper returned a kickoff 73 yards for another score. Camper left the game in the second half with an injury that was determined not to be serious. Card and Camper combined for over 1,500 yards and 20 TDs on the ground in 2021.

The Falcon Knights defeated Keystone last year, 26-24.

Leechburg (0-1) at Summit Academy (0-1)

12:30 p.m., Saturday

This one will feature a pair of teams looking for their first win of the year.

The Knights (0-1), who are under the direction of first-year head coach Anthony Becoate, experienced growing pains at Class 4A New Castle, losing 49-0.

The Blue Devils (0-1) tripped up in a non-conference clash, too, dropping a 34-28 decision to Apollo-Ridge. Sophomore signal-caller Jayden Floyd went 13-for-18 with 151 yards and also punched the ball in for a TD. Senor WR Tyler Foley had 114 all-purpose yards.

Brendan Howe contributed to this report