Rinaman runs wild in Mars' 42-27 playoff win
MCKEES ROCKS — Mars senior running back Ori Rinaman glided through the steady rain, giving the television viewers at home plenty to watch.
Rinaman showed little signs of a knee injury he sustained three weeks ago. He piled up 235 yards on 33 carries and scored six times to help 10th-seeded Mars upset seventh-seeded Montour 42-27 in a WPIAL Class AAA first-round football playoff game Friday night at Thomas J. Birko Memorial Stadium.
Mars will play No. 2 seed Thomas Jefferson (10-0) next Friday at a site to be determined in the quarterfinals.
Rinaman, who feels healthy after being in-and-out of practice the past few weeks, wasn't overly concerned about the television audience.
“I wasn't worried about the PR side of things,” Rinaman said. “We just practiced hard and came ready to play like a normal Friday night game.”
It was a standout performance from the offensive line, as Mars (7-3) rushed for 379 yards. The Planets' line helped close out the game after Montour (7-3) cut the lead to 35-27 with 4:27 remaining on an 11-yard pass from Randall LaBrie to Kailen Grimm.
Mars recovered the onside kick and marched 51 yards in nine plays, scoring on a 5-yard touchdown run by Rinaman with 29 seconds remaining.
“They've done a great job. We saw that from the sideline and we thought man-on-man our kids were more physical,” Mars coach Scott Heinauer said. “I think that was the difference in the game. As long as we stay on our guy, our running backs will still run hard.”
Turnovers were prevalent early. Mars defensive end John Castello recovered a fumble by LaBrie five plays in. The Planets capitalized with a 2-yard touchdown run by Rinaman.
Montour tied the game in the second quarter when Jake Rosswog was intercepted by Brandon Hopay. Hopay caught the ball on a deflection after it was popped loose from Isaiah Johnson and returned it to the Mars 9.
LaBrie scrambled in for a score on the next play to cut the lead to 7-6. Montour took its only lead, 14-7, on a 5-yard run by David Hasaleu followed by a two-point conversion catch by Logan Deboer.
Mars surged ahead in the final six minutes of the first half. Two personal foul penalties helped the Planets cap an 80-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown run by Rinaman with 1:14 left in the half.
Then the Planets' defense, which forced four turnovers and blocked two extra points, came through again. After Mars nearly sacked LaBrie for a safety on first down, Montour tried a half-back pass from Haseleu on third down.
Planets freshman safety Rob Carmody stepped in front of Haseleu's pass at the 38-yard line and returned it 29 yards. Rinaman took a pitch around the end for a 9-yard score on the next play, giving Mars a 21-14 halftime lead.
Montour had two 100-yard rushers, Haseleu finished with 136 and LaBrie 107. Rinaman scored on a 31-yard run after halftime to push the Planets ahead 28-14 with 8:58 left in the third. Haseleu answered with a 31-yard scoring run for Montour nearly six minutes later.
The scoring, plus the television timeouts, made the game feel like it lasted forever.
“It was a long game. It was the longest game I've been involved in,” Heinauer said. “All these other games are over and guys are saying these guys won and it's unbelievable we're still playing. I guess it helps us, our kids are used to it. Not that we are used to it, we don't have long practices, but our kids are used to physical play.”
Rinaman scored again with 2:10 left in the third quarter, finding room up the middle and racing untouched to put Mars up 35-21.
Justin Taylor stopped a Montour drive in the fourth quarter with a diving interception in the redzone. The Planets only attempted five passes.
Isaiah Johnson also rushed for 78 yards for Mars.
On many carries, Rinaman was surprised by how much space he had.
“My line, I have to give them all the credit tonight,” Rinaman said. “Half the time, I wasn't even getting touched.”
