ADAMS TWP — Mars beat the clock at the end of the first half.

The Planets could not catch the scoreboard in the second, dropping a 38-24 WPIAL Class 4A non-section football shootout to Chartiers Valley on Friday night at Mars Athletic Complex.

“This is how it’s been going for us,” Mars coach Zachary Benedek said. “We keep finding ourselves playing from behind.”

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Mars (0-3) trailed 17-7 with 3 seconds left in the first half when Nate Walker connected with Kellan Garvin in the middle of the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown, cutting the gap to three points.

Chartiers Valley (1-2) won the opening coin toss and deferred to the second half. The Colts made that decision pay off, taking the third-quarter kickoff and marching 69 yards in six plays. Owen Weagraff’s 28-yard pass to Niko Hines on third-and-22 set up Weagraff’s 8-yard run for a score.

The Planets went three-and-out on the next possession, and the Colts struck again. A 39-yard Hines reception set up a 27-yard screen pass to Zachary Efthimiades that went for a touchdown and a 31-14 lead with six minutes left in the third quarter.

“I was pleased with the way we came out in the second half,” Chartiers Valley coach Steve Spence said. “We told the guys coming in here that we had to play hard for 48 minutes to come out of here with a win.

“That’s what it took.”

Mars answered with a 14-play, 70-yard drive that resulted in a 26-yard Gus Coffield field goal. The Planet defense forced a three-and-out after that, then Brady Brennan broke free on a reception in the slot for an 87-yard touchdown play.

Just like that, Mars trailed 31-24 with 11:16 remaining.

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But one play and one long possession by the Colts sealed the Planets’ fate.

On the second play from scrimmage following the Brennan touchdown, Weagraff connected with Easton Staab for an 81-yard touchdown pass. After Mars turned the ball over on downs at the CV 37, the visitors kept the ball for 12 plays — all but one on the ground — and ate seven minutes off the clock.

By the time Chartiers Valley relinquished possession, only 1:46 remained in the game.

Walker threw for 358 yards and two touchdowns, and Mars generated 23 first downs in the defeat.

“Sometimes the offense has to pick up the defense in a game, or the other way around,” Walker said. “I don’t think I played well enough tonight. There were some open receivers that I missed.

“We don’t like being 0-3, but we can bounce back from this. Mars teams have come back from 0-3 or 0-4 before, and we can do it again.”

Brennan had nine receptions for 187 yards, and Smyth Dunaway had seven for 94 for the Planets. Jameson Garvin ran for 75 yards and Mars generated 441 yards of offense.

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“There’s a lot of talent on this team, and we shouldn’t be 0-3,” Benedek said. “Little mistakes are killing us right now. We just need to clean some things up and we’ll be fine.”

Weagraff threw for 333 yards and three touchdowns for the Colts. He ran for 46 yards and two scores, as well. Hines had eight catches for 170 yards, Staab three for 139.

“Our quarterback is a good athlete who can buy time in the pocket,” Spence said. “We have four new receivers this year who have gotten their feet wet. Tonight, we decided to cut it loose.”

Mars travels to Hampton in Week 4.

Chartiers Valley 14 3 14 7 — 38

Mars 0 14 3 7 — 24

1st Quarter

CV - Owen Weagraff 6 run (Luke Waldron kick), 7:08

CV - Niko Hines 56 pass from Weagraff (Waldron kick), 4:02

2nd Quarter

M — Jameson Garvin 6 run (Gus Coffield kick), 9:00

CV — Waldron 26 field goal, 1:00

M — Kellan Garvin 35 pass from Nate Walker (Coffield kick), :00

3rd Quarter

CV — Weagraff 8 run (Waldron kick), 8:48

CV — Zachary Efthimiades 27 pass from Weagraff (Waldron kick), 6:00

M — Coffield 26 field goal, 0:00

4th Quarter

M — Brady Brennan 78 pass from Walker (Coffield kick), 11:16

CV — Easton Staab 81 pass from Weagraff (Waldron kick), 10:59

Individual Statistics

Passing: Chartiers Valley, Owen Weagraff 18-25-333-0. Mars, Nate Walker 21-49-358-0.

Rushing: Chartiers Vally, Zachary Efthimiades 13-30, Owen Weagraff 14-46. Mars, Jameson Garvin 16-75, Carter Orehowsky 5-24, TEAM 1-(-26), Brady Brennan 1-0, Nate Walker 7-10.

Receiving: Chartiers Valley, Niko Hines 8-170, Easton Staab 3-139, Jake Sothergill 1-9, Zachary Efthimiades 2-48, Braylen Bogats 3-35, Chace Glover 1-5. Mars, Brady Brennan 9-187, Smyth Dunaway 7-94, Liam Corcoran 1-9, Kellan Garvin 1-35, Jameson Garvin 1-2, Gus Coffield 3-31.