Tough Start
ADAMS TWP — It was a hot and muggy night at the Mars Athletic Complex on Friday. So hot that much of the Mars student body was wearing Hawaiian shirts.
The problem, however, was that the North Hills offense also was hot in its 37-0 non-conference victory in the football season opener for both teams.
A near-capacity crowd welcomed back high school football, but unfortunately for the Mars faithful, North Hills had the lead before all the fans were in their seats with running back Liam Tracey racing around left end on a 76-yard touchdown run less than three minutes into the game.
Tracey finished with 127 yards on 10 carries, including 118 yards in the first half.
The Planets rallied back with a 17-yard toss from quarterback Rafael Bartley to Hayden Mayer, but the drive stalled and others never gained much momentum.
“We have a young team and you can't make mistakes,” Mars coach Scott Heinauer said. “When you make mistakes, you can't win football games. You've got to learn from your mistakes.
“We had opportunities early. We have to get better.”
The Planets managed only 117 yards of offense, passing a total of 20 times for 80 yards. Starting QB Bartley completed 9 of 17 for 68 yards.
Going into the game, the talk was of Mars changing from mostly running the ball to a spread offense, but Class 5A North Hills gave the Class 4A Planets few opportunities.
“You have to stick with the changes,” Heinauer said. “We put a lot of time and effort into it. We have to move forward, that's all. We're not going to change back. We're too far along at this point in time.”
North Hills scored on a second big play before the first quarter was over. Robert Dickerson returned a punt 58 yards with 1:07 remaining. Tracey fought his way up the middle from 12 yards out for his second TD of the quarter as time ran out.
“When you play a veteran team, they capitalize on your mistakes,” Heinauer said.
North Hills made it 28-0 just before halftime, the big play a 28-yard gain on a fake handoff and keeper by quarterback John Green and later his plunge into the end zone from a yard out. North Hills rushed for 240 yards total and added more than 100 yards passing.
The Indians tallied their final touchdown with 8:27 left in the third quarter when a wide-open Dickerson grabbed a 37-yard pass from Green.
They added a safety in the fourth quarter thanks to a long punt and swarming coverage against the Mars kick returner.
Mars failed to capitalize during a series in the third quarter when North Hills was called for major penalties on three successive plays, giving the Indians a 1st and 46 problem. But two gains of 10 yards and the 37-yard Green to Dickerson bomb bailed them out.
The Planets also failed to take advantage of a fumble by reserve quarterback Jayden Smith, who failed to handle the snap, then kicked the ball downfield with Dominic Gigliotti recovering.
The Planets will have a chance to rebound next Friday at Shaler.
