O'HARA TWP — Two early touchdowns and two costly turnovers were too much to overcome.

West Mifflin jumped out to a 14-0 lead after the first quarter and held off Mars for a 28-13 victory in a WPIAL Class AAA football quarterfinal on Friday night at Fox Chapel High School.

The disappointing defeat ends a stellar season for the Planets (9-2), who earned the No. 2 seed in the WPIAL playoffs after winning the Greater Allegheny Conference title.

“Hats have to be off to West Mifflin. They made no mistakes tonight and we made some mistakes,” said Mars coach Scott Heinauer. “You can't do that in a big game like this. You can't let their big boys take over and take control of the game.”

Jimmy Wheeler paced the Titans (10-1) with 144 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries, while quarterback Derrick Fulmore added 108 yards and the game-sealing score on 14 attempts.

“They make us go,” said West Mifflin coach Ray Braszo. “Obviously, you always have to give credit to the offensive line. I think they did a great job on Mars' defense. ... We won it up front.”

The Titans outgained the Planets 298-72 on the ground and churned out a 16-9 advantage in first downs.

“We managed to keep moving the ball most of the game, get the first downs and keep the ball away from them,” Braszo explained. “Our defense did a great job of not letting them get down in the red zone.”

West Mifflin opened the game with an eight-play, 72-yard march, capped by a 20-yard touchdown scamper from Wheeler.

Mars fumbled on its second offensive play from scrimmage and West Mifflin's Colton Weber pounced on the loose ball.

The Titans capitalized 12 plays later with a Wheeler 19-yard score for a 14-0 cushion as the first quarter came to a close.

“That's something that really lifts you when you can get ahead early like that,” said Braszo, “but then Mars fought back.”

The Planets did, indeed.

Jason Lozzi made a sliding grab in the back-right corner of the end zone on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Owen Nearhoof. The play completed a 12-play, 65-yard drive and put Mars right back in the game.

Wheeler nearly deflated the Planets with a 79-yard return on the ensuing kickoff, but Mars later stuffed the junior for a 2-yard loss on a fourth-and-3 from the 8-yard line to prevent further damage before halftime.

“Our kids showed a lot of character,” said Heinauer. “We weren't panicking at halftime.”

However, the second-quarter momentum didn't last.

A deflected Nearhoof pass was intercepted by Fulmore on the Planets' opening drive of the third frame. Nine plays later, Wheeler plunged into the end zone from 3 yards out to provide West Mifflin with a 21-6 advantage.

“In a game like this, it's always the same thing,” said Heinauer. “The team that makes the least mistakes is the victor and that's what happened tonight.”

Nearhoof and the Planets bounced back, though, as Garrett Ashbaugh hauled in an over-the-shoulder 40-yard touchdown pass from the junior quarterback, trimming the gap to 21-13 with 27 seconds left in the third quarter.

A stop on fourth-and-8 with 7:58 to play gave the Planets an opportunity to tie the game, but a holding penalty and a drop on a deep pass doomed the drive.

“We needed some breaks to go our way. We needed to make a couple of big plays,” said Heinauer. “We just didn't do that tonight.”

Fulmore sealed the game on the ensuing drive, racing 47 yards down the right sideline on a third-and-3 to boost West Mifflin's lead to 28-13 with 4:14 remaining.

Mars ended up with more passing yards (88) than rushing yards (72) for the first time this year. Josh Schultheis led the ground game, but West Mifflin limited the standout sophomore to just 45 yards on 15 carries.

“We did a great job on (Schultheis),” said Braszo. “He's really a great back and we were worried about him.”

The loss brings an end to the high school football careers of 22 Mars seniors.

“Our kids had a valiant effort and they did a great job. I'm proud of our kids who are seniors. They showed a lot of leadership, a lot of character,” said Heinauer. “They're why our program is as strong as it is. ... We're going to miss those kids.”

West Mifflin 28, Mars 13

West Mifflin 14 0 7 7 — 28

Mars 0 6 7 0 — 13

WM M

16 First Downs 9

53-298 Rushes-Yards 26-72

32 Passing Yards 88

4-8-0 Comp.-Att.-Int 6-13-1

330 Total Yards 160

0-0 Fumbles-Lost 1-1

2-20 Penalty Yards 1-10

First Quarter

WM — Jimmy Wheeler 20 run (Dom Gajdos kick), 8:27

WM — Wheeler 19 run (Gajdos kick), 0:46

Second Quarter

M — Jason Lozzi 15 pass from Owen Nearhoof (kick failed), 7:40

Third Quarter

WM — Wheeler 3 run (Gajdos kick), 6:17

M — Garrett Ashbaugh 40 pass from Nearhoof (Matt White kick), 0:27

Fourth Quarter

WM — Derrick Fulmore 47 run (Gajdos kick), 4:14

Individual Statistics

Rushing: West Mifflin, Jimmy Wheeler 29-144, Derrick Fulmore 14-108, John Green 5-32, Diallo Mitchell 5-14. Mars, Josh Schultheis 15-45, Jake Dufford 1-16, Owen Nearhoof 6-8, Alex Smith 2-4, Jason Lozzi 1-0, Team 1-(-1).

Passing: West Mifflin, Derrick Fulmore 4-8-32-0. Mars, Owen Nearhoof 6-13-88-1.

Receiving: West Mifflin, AJ Olasz 1-13, Davon Dutrieville 1-10, Colton Weber 1-5, Jarod Wright 1-4. Mars, Garrett Ashbaugh 2-52, Jason Lozzi 2-27, Chris Smith 1-11, Billy Shrock 1-(-2).