Josh Schultheis planted his left foot and saw bodies begin to pile up around it.

Then he heard a pop.

“Someone landed on my leg,” said the senior Mars running back. “I thought it was just a twisted ankle or a high ankle sprain.”

Schultheis said the Mars training staff thought the same thing when he came off the field.

The X-rays taken later Friday night following the Planets' 29-26 loss to Indiana told a different story.

Schultheis, the defending Butler Eagle Scoring Trophy winner, had a break in his fibula.

His season may be over after it had barely begun.

“It's broken all the way through,” Schultheis said. “I'm not sure yet (if it's season-ending).”

It was just one of a rash of major injuries to befall some of the best high school football players in the Butler County area Friday night.

Seneca Valley senior quarterback T.J. Holl, Freeport quarterback Andrew Romanchak and three key Karns City players also were bitten by the injury bug.

Mars was particularly hard hit. Standout offensive and defensive lineman Marshall Robinson was also felled with a broken big toe and a sprained foot.

He said he is most likely out three to four weeks.

“But I'll try to be back as soon as possible to help my team,” said the 6-foot-3, 380-pound star.

The prognosis is much worse for Schultheis, who was scheduled to see a doctor today for further evaluation.

“It kind of stinks because it's my senior year,” said Schultheis, who busted out on a 42-yard run on the first play of the game against Indiana and finished with 67 yards on six carries.

He's hoping those won't be the last yards and carries of his high school career.

“I'm just hoping for a fast recovery,” Schultheis said. “I plan on being at all the games, being with the team and supporting them. I'm not going to quit on the team.”

The news was better than expected for Holl, who left in the fourth quarter of the Raiders' 14-0 loss to North Allegheny with a right knee injury.

“Well, the good news is the MRI showed no tear,” said Seneca Valley coach Don Holl, who is also T.J.'s father. “It's just a knee sprain and it looks like he'll be back as early as three to four weeks.”

T.J. Holl passed for 2,098 yards and 12 touchdowns and rushed for 821 yards and 14 TDs last season and is the linchpin of Seneca Valley's up-tempo offense.

Junior Korbin Kessler is the most likely candidate to fill in for T.J. Holl at quarterback.

“We prepare all the time for eventualities like this,” coach Holl said. “You always have a plan in place.”

The news was very good in Freeport, where Romanchak took a shot to his upper body and missed the entire second half.

Freeport coach John Gaillot said Romanchak is “day to day. It looks like he should be ready for Friday.”

Freeport wide receiver and defensive back Justin Brestensky was also injured and will likely miss a week, Gaillot said.

The status of a trio of two-way players at Karns City is still mostly uncertain after the Gremlins rolled to a dominating 60-6 win over Brookville Friday.

Slotback and safety Ethan Conto may miss half the season with a cracked clavicle. Fullback and linebacker Mav Kelsea and tight end and defensive end Cooper Shepard are still awaiting word on their leg injuries.

Karns City coach Ed Conto said his team's depth will pay off now more than ever.

“That's why we play so many guys,” Conto said. “You saw (Friday) when those guys went out, we didn't miss a beat.”

And even Schultheis is finding a silver lining in what could be a lost season.

“It was my left leg,” Schultheis said before chuckling. “So I can still drive.”