Mars' Cade Hetzler, left, scored two goals as the Planets downed Cathedral Prep by a score of 18-8.

WEXFORD — It was early in the game, but not too early for a pep talk.

Six minutes into his team’s PIAA Class AA first round playoff against Cathedral Prep, Mars boys lacrosse coach Bob Marcoux called a timeout.

The Planets trailed just 2-1 at the time, but Marcoux knew something just wasn’t right with his squad.

“I don’t know if our guys were tight or a little over-confident, but I didn’t recognize the team early in the game,” he said. “We weren’t getting the groundballs, which is not like us. We told the kids to get back to playing Mars lacrosse.”

The Planets did, and the result was an 8-0 run that the Ramblers never recovered from as Mars posted an 18-8 victory at North Allegheny’s Newman Stadium.

Mars (20-2) will face Hershey (16-7), which disposed of Quaker Valley, 16-6, in Saturday’s quarterfinal at a site and time to be determined.

Junior attackman Brendan Moyer began Mars’ scoring spree less than a minute after the timeout.

Goals from five different Planets followed, including two apiece from Anthony Grieco and Cade Hetzler.

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