Mars seeks better defensive play in ‘23
ADAMS TWP — There were two sides to the Mars football team's defense in 2022.
First, the impressive: end Connor Hartle, linebacker Jacob Maple and safety Mason Childress combined for 271 tackles. Hartle and Maple accounted for 14 of the team's 20 quarterback sacks. Childress had three of the unit's 11 interceptions.
But the individual statistics masked some glaring weaknesses and in some games, the deficiencies won out.
In regular season losses to Highlands (54-22), Armstrong (55-31) and Hampton (49-42) and in a WPIAL playoff loss to McKeesport (43-0), the Planets defense was overwhelmed.
"A big factor was our inability to stop the run in a lot of games. We just weren't strong enough in that area," said Hartle. "It's a big focus for us this season."
Head coach Eric Kasperowicz believes getting the job done at the point of attack will help this year's team avoid some of 2022's shortcomings.
"We need to prevent the big play and a lot of that comes from better tackling," he said. "We have eight starters back on defense, including a dominant guy at each level, so we are anticipating improved play.
"It's a fine line these days. You don't want to lose the physicality of the game. You want kids to practice hard, but we need to do it in a safe way."
Hartle is the leader of the defensive line. He made 18½ of his 73 tackles behind the line of scrimmage last year.
"Isaak Winters plays at the other end and does a good job of forcing the ball to my side," said Hartle. "Adam Budzilek plays tackle and takes up a lot of double teams and that allows me to go 1-on-1 with an offensive lineman."
Jacob Maple made a team-leading 106 tackles from his outside linebacker position last season and Childress turned in a superb sophomore campaign as a safety.
Other starters back for the 4-3 defense include Zach Ruffner at tackle, Cole Yoshioka at linebacker and Liam Hein at cornerback.
No shortage of play-making ability returns to the offense. Quarterback Eric Kasperowicz passed for 1,353 yards, 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions as a sophomore in 2022 while adding 401 yards rushing and nine more scores.
The ground game will once again be sparked by Evan Wright, who rushed for over 1,300 yards and 18 TDs and receiver Gabe Hein returns after a freshman campaign in which he paced the team in catches (36), receiving yards (551) and receiving touchdowns (7).
"We're looking for Eric to continue his progression as a junior," Coach Kasperowicz said of his son and starting quarterback. "It was nice to get a full offseason in this year. I didn't get hired until the spring last year and that took away some time that we had to get him ready for the season."
Childress and Dom Speranza will be available to spell Wright in the rushing attack. Aidan Alessio snagged 23 passes as a junior for 251 yards and will line up opposite Hein while junior Blake Yates could see balls headed his way as well. Maple, Yoshioka and Ethan Kresinski are all viable options at H-back.
Tackles Winters and Sean Franklin and guards Budzilek and Ruffner return as starters on the offensive line while junior Ethan Painley takes over at center.
"We have high expectation for the offense," Coach Kasperowicz said. "We scored a bunch of points last year and believe we can do it again, but it all starts up front."
Childress handled placekicking and punting duties last year, but Kasperowicz said he is open to someone taking some of the load off his shoulders.
