KENNEDY TWP — You’ve got to start somewhere.

Eric Kasperowicz secured his first win Friday night as Mars football’s head coach when the Planets defeated the Montour Spartans 34-26 at Montour High School in non-conference action.

“That was a great game,” Kasperowicz said. “We came out, started fast and played well at the beginning, then we got smacked back. They fought back and took the lead, but the kids didn’t quit.”

Mars took the early lead over Montour off an Evan Wright 3-yard touchdown run, but back to back interceptions by Mars quarterback Eric Kasperowicz, son of coach Kasperowicz, on their following two drives gave the Spartans life.

“We had a few things going our way with some great defensive stops early in the game,” Montour coach Lou Cerro said.

Montour capitalized on the two interceptions and followed up with an 85-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by Kaleb Platz to give the Spartans a 19-7 edge with nine minutes to go in the second quarter.

The Planets’ fast paced offense raced down the field on the their next possession, which was finished off by a 25-yard touchdown pass from Kasperowicz to Jacob Maple.

Montour tried to answer with a touchdown of their own right before halftime, but was shut down by the Mars defense at the goal line as time expired for the half.

“That series right before halftime where we didn’t score killed us,” Cerro said.

The momentum boost by the Mars defense seemed to have carried over into the second half and the Planets’ offense was much more in sync.

“We definitely made adjustments,” Kasperowicz said. “Hats off to coach Cerro and their staff, they had a great plan. They’re going to win a lot of football games, but it was just our night in the second half.”

In the second half, the Planets scored three straight touchdowns, which started with a 53-yard interception returned for a touchdown by Mason Childress.

The Planets would go onto secure the 8-point win over the Spartans, behind the legs and ball-carrying skills of running back Evan Wright.

“We knew going into the season for us to be any good he’s (Wright) is going to have to run the ball effectively,” Kasperowicz said. “We threw the ball well, but Wright was the bell cow and he carried us tonight with some huge runs.”

Wright carried the ball 22 times for 150 yards and two touchdown, while Kasperowicz completed 15 passes for 179 yards and a one touchdown pass.

The Planets will head home next week for another non-conference game against New Castle, and being new to the team, Kasperowicz is excited for the new challenges that lay in front of him and his team.

“I know they got a new great coach,” Kasperowicz said. “I’m sure they are going to be ready to go. I’m new to this conference so it’s kind of exciting to go home, turn the tape on and have a new team to study.”

Mars 7 7 6 14 - 34

Montour 7 12 0 7 - 26

First Quarter

Mars – Evan Wright 3 run (Mason Childress kick), 6:56

Montour – Brock Janeda 21 run (Matthew Marcinko kick), :49

Second Quarter

Montour – James Bundridge 9 pass from Jake Wolfe (Marcinko kick blocked), 11:54

Montour – Kaleb Platz 85 fumble recovery (2 pt failed), 9:00

Mars – Jacob Maple 25 pass from Eric Kasperowicz (Childress kick), 6:19

Third Quarter

Mars – Childress 53 interception return (Childress kick missed), 8:29

Fourth Quarter

Mars – Kasperowicz 39 run (Childress kick), 11:31

Mars – Wright 6 run (Childress kick), 8:01

Montour – Keino Fitzpatrick 71 pass from Trey Hopper (Marcinko kick), 2:05

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Mars, Evan Wright 22-150, Eric Kasperowicz 5-46. Montour, Brock Janeda 11-15, James Hazard 2-2, Jake Wolfe 17-79, Dominic DiMichele 2-2, Kaleb Platz 1-(-5).

Passing: Mars, Eric Kasperowicz 15-27-179-2. Montour, Jake Wolfe 9-14-37-1, Trey Hopper 5-11-98-1

Receiving: Mars, Noah Nesselroad 3-5, Hayden Mayer 3-82, Evan Wright 3-10, Aiden Alessio 6-57, Jacob Maple 1-25. Montour, Keino Fitzpatrick 6-86, Brock Janeda 2-13, James Bundridge 3-26, Kaleb Platz 2-10.