NEW CASTLE — On the road at New Castle Friday night, Mars had two quarterbacks on the field.

Only one of them was cleared to sling the football.

Making his second regular season start for the Planets, junior Luke Goodworth dished it out to the tune of 275 yards and a pair of air strikes in a 42-6 win over the Red Hurricanes.

He ran a carbon copy of the Mars (1-1) attack on JV last fall until Eric Kasperowicz, the team’s starting signal-caller as a new comer and sophomore, went down with an injury at the end of the regular season. Goodworth started the Planets’ playoff game against McKeesport — a lopsided loss — and has been called upon through the initial two weeks of this go-round.

“I was really nervous,” Goodworth said, thinking back to that first start under the lights. “But, at the same time, I had to be ready. I had to be 100% even though I wasn’t used to playing with varsity.”

With Kasperowicz having had a shoulder surgery in July and patiently waiting to be able to throw, it appears Goodworth is well-accustomed now.

He went for 232 yards and two aerial touchdowns against Montour in the team’s opener and has yet to throw a varsity pick.

“This is only his third start,” Planets coach Eric Kasperowicz said of Goodworth. “Deer in the headlights there early, but very composed tonight. He sat in the pocket, made some big-time throws. ... He doesn’t have to do it himself.”

To break the seal on the scoreboard, Goodworth traversed left and found Aidan Alessio in the middle of the field on a 3rd-and-15 play on Mars’ second possession. Alessio slipped a tackle and broke loose for a 61-yard score. In the second quarter, Goodworth hit Gabe Hein on a seam route. The latter raced in untouched from 69 yards out.

The passer has had weapons around him to help ease him in. Senior tailback Evan Wright rushed for 134 yards and hit pay dirt three times on the ground in the win, as well.

“His job is not to go out and win it,” Coach Kasperowicz said. “His job is to distribute the football to the correct people, get us in the right place. Because a lot of what we do is make decisions at the line of scrimmage — hand it off, throw it, throw it to this guy.”

“Evan, me and him have been playing since youth,” Goodworth said. “I know what he’s capable of. Same with Gabe. It’s just nice having play makers, knowing that I don’t have to the work. I just need to get them the ball and see what they can do in space.”

The younger Kasperowicz, who rushed for a touchdown against New Castle (0-2), is contributing in other ways.

His short scoring surge late in the third quarter gave Mars a 42-0 edge. As a defensive back, he also upended the Red Hurricanes’ Kaevon Gardner on a tackle for loss in the second frame and had an 11-yard gain on a third down screen play in the same quarter.

“I’m proud of him just being able to sacrifice for the team and do what’s best with the injury,” Coach Kasperowicz said of his son. “We’re trying to get him the ball in different ways to pose some problems for the defense. I think he had a hell of a game tonight on defense.”

It wasn’t an easy transition, the younger Kasperowicz will tell you.

“It was tough early,” he said, adding that he doesn’t remember playing anywhere but behind center since youth football. “I think now, I’m just trying to be the best team player I can (and) do my role — offense, defense, whatever it is. I’m just trying to do my part.”

That includes nudging Goodworth every now and then.

“Our playbook’s changed up a little bit. A lot of the same. I’m just trying to give him tips along the way. He’s definitely ready. He was ready since the start.”

While Kasperowicz bides his time, Goodworth will hope to continue to operate an efficient attack, one that New Castle coach Stacy Robinson’s defense became frustrated with.

“I thought we were giving and taking the first half, or maybe the first quarter and a half,” he said. “Then we started making mental breakdowns.

“The pass game, the run game — it was a snowball rolling down the hill. We had trouble every aspect of stopping them.”

The Red Hurricanes were only able to put a dent in the scoreboard after a snap sailed on Mars punter Mason Childress. Two plays later, Gardner rumbled in from nine yards out.

Mars 7 21 14 0 — 42

New Castle 0 0 0 6 — 6

First Quarter

M — Aidan Alessio 61 pass from Luke Goodworth (Mason Childress kick), 6:41

Second Quarter

M — Evan Wright 7 run (Childress kick), 9:55

M — Wright 6 run (Childress kick), 8:43

M — Gabe Hein 69 pass from Goodworth (Childress kick), 1:30

Third Quarter

M — Wright 8 run (Childress kick), 7:17

M — Eric Kasperowicz 1 run (Childress kick), 0:39

Fourth Quarter

NC — Kaevon Gardner 9 run (pass incomplete), 4:46

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Mars, Evan Wright 22-134, Eric Kasperowicz 2-21, Mason Childress 3-5, Ayden Yocum 4-5, Nathan Tak 1-(-5), Luke Goodworth 2-(-12). New Castle, Kaevon Gardner 10-93, Malik Jefferson 6-23, Mason Cook 2-16, Nate McKnight 1-(-1), Kyrell Harris 7-(-13), TEAM 1-(-1).

Passing: Mars, Luke Goodworth 16-28-275-0. New Castle, Kyrell Harris 4-10-34-0.

Receiving: Mars, Gabe Hein 6-133, Aidan Alessio 5-120, Eric Kasperowicz 1-11, Blake Yates 1-8, Logan O’Brien 1-3, Evan Wright 1-(-6). New Castle, Kaevon Gardner 2-16, Nate McKnight 1-13, Malik Jefferson 1-5.