Mars, North Catholic meet with playoff hopes on the line
ADAMS TWP — The playoffs come a week early for a pair of WPIAL Class 4A Greater Allegheny Conference foes Friday night.
Mars (5-4, 2-3) and North Catholic (5-4, 3-2) are set to meet up at the Mars Athletic Complex for a 7 p.m. kickoff Friday night.
“You win, you’re in,” Planets coach Eric Kasperowicz said. “So, we’re excited about the opportunity.”
A victory would go a long way in boosting his team into the postseason, for sure. If Hampton loses to Highlands, though, it would mean each the Talbots, Mars, and North Catholic finish with a 3-3 record in the section.
The Gardner Points System could come into play as a tie-breaker.
The Planets could have avoided that headache by pulling one out against Hampton last Friday. That contest — a 49-42 decision in the visiting Talbots’ favor — was a whirlwind. Momentum swung like a pendulum, but a Mars pass was deflected then picked off deep in plus-territory. It sparked a game-winning drive for Hampton.
“We’ve just got to learn to finish,” Kasperowicz said. “We had that Hampton game multiple times and kept giving it back to them. So, we’ve got to learn, when we’re on top and have the opportunity to put the game away, to do that.”
The Planets struggled through an uncharacteristic 2-8 record a year ago. Getting back into the postseason mix would be a boon for the program.
“I think it would be huge,” Kasperowicz said. “One of our goals is to make the playoffs and see what happens after that ... It would be a huge accomplishment.
“We’ve got that right in front of us. We’ve just got to go 1-0 Friday night.”
For a senior class that includes Garrett Heatherington, Rafael Bartley, Noah Nesselroad, and Hayden Mayer, it could be their last Friday under the lights.
“For most of them, if not all of them — there might be a few that are going to play college — this is their last opportunity to play football in their life,” Kasperowicz said of that group. “Hopefully, they realize that and understand the magnitude of that.”
North Catholic coach Patrick O’Shea wasn’t available for comment.
