'Special' victory
ADAMS TWP — With the talk that surrounds the Mars running game and defense, the Planets relied on their special teams to shake an early-game rut.
A 73-yard return for a touchdown by Nolan Skirtich on the opening kickoff and a 67-yard kickoff return set up another touchdown — both in the first quarter — helped to set the tone for a 55-6 Greater Allegheny Conference victory.
“We were concerned about our special teams,” Mars coach Scott Heinauer said. “Then, we get those kickoff returns and the punt return (a 57-yarder in the second quarter).”
Between the two kickoff returns — the latter which came after Highlands had tied the game at six — Mars had a 14-yard run, then minus-17 yards on the next six plays.
“We were not happy about that,” Heinauer said. “We made adjustments when we had to. You can do that when you're a veteran team. (Highlands) is a young team.”
Highlands tied the game when receiver Allen Cratsenberg connected on a 35-yard scoring strike to Deion Fletcher on a trick play.
After that, it was all Mars.
Josh Schultheis, who had minus-6 yards combined on his first four carries, scored from 8 and 20 yards out to help give Mars (4-0) a 20-6 lead after one quarter.
“We told our running backs to start running north and south,” Heinauer said.
In the second quarter, Billy Shrock caught a 37-yard scoring pass from Owen Nearhoof before Schultheis (3 yards), Jason Lozzi (2) and Alex Smith (49) each rushed for scores to give Mars an insurmountable 48-6 halftime lead.
We have five sophomores on defense and the rest are juniors,” said Highlands coach Sam Albert, who has just three seniors on the entire team. “What I'm proud of is our kids fought from the beginning. Our goal is to try and get better.
“Our kids come to play every day. Some teams would be pointing fingers. My kids won't do that. Our coaches have also done a great job,” Albert added.
With the mercy clock in effect to start the second half, Mars tacked on just one more score, a 1-yard run by Sam King with 41 seconds left in the third quarter.
With the win, the Planets are off to their first 4-0 start since 1996. Heinauer isn't sure how good this team can be, but he's liking the effort.
“We know we have a good football team,” Heinauer said. “This is a veteran team. We have no stars. This is a good solid team, but we know we have to play and focus on each game.”
Notes: Mars rolled up 275 yards rushing on 40 carries ... Kicker/punter Matt White also came up big, continually pinning opponents inside the 20-yard line. He also connected on all eight of his extra-point attempts. “Matt's a great kicker,” Heinauer noted. “He worked all summer long. People don't realize (Ryan) Gralish is gone and Matt's as good, if not better, than Gralish. Matt's been fantastic. He's done everything we've asked.”
