Mars earns playoff berth with 21-14 win over North Catholic
ADAMS TWP — Lending his weight to crutches in the trainer’s room, Mars sophomore quarterback Eric Kasperowicz blinked away tears and gritted his teeth.
More so than the stinging pain in his right ankle, he was already concerned with what’s to come for his Planets, who clinched a playoff berth with a 21-14 win over Greater Allegheny Conference foe North Catholic Friday night.
“I’m fine,” said Kasperowicz, who passed for a score and ran for another before being helped off with the injury in the final minute. “We played a good game. We’ve just got to get better for next week.”
It was the first time that the schools — which are separated by only five miles — had ever met on the gridiron.
“It’s a local rival,” Mars coach Eric Kasperowicz said. “A lot of those kids (on the Trojans’ roster), I believe, are Mars kids, so it was a big, big game for these guys and this community to be able to get that win.
“Hey, we’re in the playoffs, and that’s all that matters.”
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