KENNEDY TWP — Mars football put the fight in Fightin’ Planets on Friday night.

Behind the legs of running back Eric Kasperowicz, who tallied six touchdowns, Mars was able to overcome a 21-6 halftime deficit and defeat Montour 48-42 in a shootout during the WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinals at Montour High School.

Up next, Mars will have a date with No. 3 McKeesport, which defeated Belle Vernon Friday night 34-11, in a district semifinal Nov. 8.

“That was a crazy game,” Mars head coach Eric Kasperowicz said. “That was an up-and-down game. We obviously struggled in the first half to move the ball. They were a little more physical team, but hats off to them.

“We made some adjustments at halftime and our guys never stopped.”

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Coach Kasperowicz, father of running back Eric, lost track of how many touchdowns his son scored, but that didn’t stop how proud he was as both a coach and a father.

“I didn’t know it was six touchdowns,” Coach Kasperowicz said. “We are just out there coaching and calling plays. He is such a competitor and undersized. I am just happy as a dad to continue to play with him.”

Montour came into the game ranked No. 2 and had previously defeated Mars earlier in the season 31-14 at Mars.

“We played well defensively in the first half, but not in the second half,” Montour head coach Lou Cerro said. “Early they couldn’t stop us too much and obviously we could not stop them.”

Spartans running back Kaleb Platz opened up the scoring early for Montour, one of his four touchdowns on the day.

Mars’ only score in the first half came off a Zach Dentel 25-yard touchdown interception return.

The younger Kasperowicz scored his first of six touchdowns midway through the third quarter, and was able to follow up with his second score a little more than two minutes later due to a surprise onside kick.

“That is always in our repertoire,” Coach Kasperowicz said of the onside kick. “Mason Childress is tremendous. He plays receiver, blocks for us. He’s great.”

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Childress also proved his value on kickoffs, with a vast majority of them pinning Montour deep in its own territory for most of the game.

“That is such a weapon in high school,” Coach Kasperowicz said.

The Fightin’ Planets went on to outscore the Spartans in the third quarter 20-7.

But Montour scored the first touchdown in the fourth, but Mars followed with two touchdowns of its own to take its first lead of the game with 2:21 left in regulation.

The Spartans answered on the next drive to take the lead, but they did leave 1:46 left for Mars to make some magic happen.

The game-winning drive was orchestrated by freshman quarterback Nate Walker, who was able to find Gabe Hein for a few big plays that eventually set up the younger Kasperowicz to seal the game with a touchdown with just 14 seconds left on the clock.

“We were calm in that last drive,” Coach Kasperowicz said. “We do it every Thursday in practice. I was playing for a field goal at the end, but Eric was able to pop it and score.”

Mars fell to McKeesport earlier in the season 28-7.

“It’s another rematch,” Coach Kasperowicz said. “McKeesport is a great team and have one of the best running backs in the country, so we have our work cut out for us.”

Mars 6 0 20 22 – 48

Montour 7 14 7 14 – 42

First Quarter

Montour – Kaleb Platz 1 run (Brayden Davin kick), 6:56

Mars – Zach Dentel 25 interception return (2pt fail), 3:05

Second Quarter

Montour – Platz 4 run (Davin kick), 7:13

Montour – Platz 3 run (Davin kick), :17

Third Quarter

Mars – Eric Kasperowicz 24 run (Mason Childress kick), 7:27

Mars – Kasperowicz 7 run (2 pt fail), 5:01

Montour – Dominic Baron 80 pass from Trey Hopper (Davin kick), 3:35

Mars – Kasperowicz 2 run (Childress kick), :53

Fourth Quarter

Montour – Platz 1 run (Davin kick), 6:45

Mars – Kasperowicz 2 run (Childress kick), 4:16

Mars – Kasperowicz 21 run (Kasperowicz 2 pt catch), 2:21

Montour – Platz 2 run (Davin kick), 1:46

Mars – Kasperowicz 21 run (Childress kick), :14

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Mars, Eric Kasperowicz 27-178, Gabe Hein 3-(-1), Ayden Yocum 7-30. Montour, Caden Halajcio 21-167, Kaleb Platz 10-33, James Bundridge 2-23.

Passing: Mars, Nate Walker 21-26-202-1. Montour, Trey Hopper 12-18-276-1.

Receiving: Mars, Liam Hein 2-24, Ethan Kresinski 2-35, Mason Childress 4-48, Gabe Hein 11-80, Eric Kasperowicz 1-8, Blake Yates 1-7. Montour, Dominic Baron 3-123, Marcus Battles 1-31, AJ Alston 6-80, James Bundridge 1-29, Kaleb Platz 1-13.