ADAMS TWP — Greg Botta hopes his team has learned its lesson.

Franklin Regional's veteran football coach knows two things that can quickly turn a winnable game into a disappointing loss — turnovers and penalties.

The Panthers (4-1, 1-0) have claimed each of their four wins by at least two scores.

The squad's one blemish so far was a 16-13 setback at Ambridge in Week 2.

"We had six turnovers and 90 yards worth of penalties," said Botta of the defeat. "It was one of those games when a coach feels no matter what he does, his team isn't going to win. It was a nightmare.

"But I told the team, if we can learn from that, then it was worthwhile."

Franklin Regional opened Greater Allegheny Conference play last week with a 27-3 home win over Knoch and looks to stay on track against Mars this Friday.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Mars Athletic Complex.

The Planets (3-2, 1-0) won at Highlands last week by a score of 43-0.

The Panthers have three game breakers at the skill positions in quarterback Steve Liberatore (826 passing yards, 13 TDs), halfback Chad Bowman (672 rushing yards, seven TDs) and wideout Josh Staniscia (551 receiving yards, seven touchdowns).

Liberatore, a senior, is in his first season as a full-time starter and has thrown just two interceptions.

"He played a little bit last year, starting one game because of an injury to another kid," said Botta. "The way he's played for us this season, I couldn't be more proud of him."

Staniscia leads the team with 23 receptions and is the only Panthers' player with more than seven grabs.

"He's a super athlete," said Botta. "He's a starter on the basketball and baseball team and from what I hear, he's also a scratch golfer. He's probably the best athlete in the school.

"He's a big time deep threat and can also catch the ball underneath," added Botta. "He's one of those athletes that comes along just a few times in a coach's career."

Bowman is averaging 135.2 yards per game on the ground in 2009.

"He runs downhill and falls forward," said Mars coach Scott Heinauer of what he's noticed of Bowman on film. "He's got quick feet and he makes nice cuts.

"They're the most balanced team we will have faced," he said. "The best thing we can do is run the football and hold onto it."

And running the ball is what the Planets do best, with Austin Miele leading the way with 760 yards and seven scores.

The Panthers run a multiple front on defense.

"We've done pretty well against the run so far this year, but this is the only time we see the Wing-T, when we play Mars," said Botta. "Slowing it down comes down to one thing — discipline. Everybody has to take care of their assignments. If we do that, we'll be okay, but we didn't do it last year (in a 36-21 loss to Mars)."