Rivalry with a purpose
ADAMS TWP — A potential undefeated season or a scrambled section race.
One of the two will result from Friday's 7 p.m. Greater Allegheny Conference football showdown between rivals Mars (6-0, 5-0) and Knoch (4-2, 3-2) at the Mars Athletic Complex.
“It's a great game for the community and I can't think of a better football game in Butler County,” Knoch coach Mike King said.
The Knights own a 20-10 edge in the all-time series between the teams, including a 28-3 decision at Knoch last season.
But Knoch is riding a two-game losing streak and is facing a Mars team looking to duplicate the Knights' 9-0 regular season of a year ago.
“When you're in a game involving two quality teams, you have to be nearly perfect in your play,” King said. “You can't throw interceptions, take penalties at pivotal times, you have to convert on third down ... That's the story of football.”
Mars sophomore fullback Josh Schultheis has totaled 934 yards rushing and 19 touchdowns. He is primed to become just the second sophomore in program history to reach 1,000 yards on the ground (Austin Miele, 2008).
“The holes opened by our offensive line are not north and south, they're at an angle,” said Mars coach Scott Heinauer. “A fullback in our offense has to know where the next block is coming from that can spring him into the secondary. Josh has that vision and he's getting better as we go.”
“He's the most powerful running back we've had,” added Heinauer. “He runs into piles of kids and just keeps going. That's his best asset.”
While Schultheis leads the Planets' attack, he is not the only weapon they have offensively.
“I'm impressed with how well Owen Nearhoof can throw the ball and their receivers can run down there and catch it,” King said. “And their offensive line is very strong.
“This is an important game for us in the sense that no team wants to lose three in a row and a win can tighten things up again (in the conference).”
Knoch is coming off consecutive losses to Hampton and Franklin Regional, the latter by a 23-13 score. The Knights did welcome center Travis Fogel back from injury last week “and we missed him against Hampton,” King said.
Heinauer sees several players on Knoch's offense who can make the big play.“(Running back, Ben) Tackett is the kid you look to stop first,” he said. “But Dakota Bruggeman is a good athlete at quarterback and Luke Kroneberg makes plays in the passing game for them.”Tackett leads the Knights with 105 carries for 673 yards and 13 touchdowns. Mike Cunningham has 31 carries for 241 yards along with 11 receptions for 233 yards.Bruggeman has thrown for 648 yards and seven TDs. His favorite target has been Kroneberg, a tight end who has 15 catches for 255 yards and three touchdowns.“We play Knoch in every sport,” said Heinauer. “In this rivalry, records don't matter.”
