Mars uses turnovers to beat Kiski Area, win 5th straight

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, October 19, 2018 | 11:48 PM

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Kiski Area knew it needed to avoid mistakes to put an end to its losing streak and clinch a WPIAL playoff berth.

Instead, the Cavaliers couldn’t stop making them, and a powerful Mars team readily accepted the advantage.

Five turnovers, a pair of special teams breakdowns and some defensive lapses highlighted a night of miscues by Kiski Area as Mars rolled to a 38-0 victory in a Class 5A Northern Conference game at Richard J. Dilts Field.

“Against a team of that quality, if you make mistakes, (you lose),” Kiski Area coach Sam Albert said. “I know I’m sounding like a broken record here because we keep making them.”

Albert pulled out all the stops, including his lucky combat boots and camouflage pants, in an effort to halt Kiski Area’s four-game losing streak. Instead, the Cavaliers (3-6, 2-4) found only misfortune and a fifth consecutive loss, making next week’s regular-season finale at Armstrong a must-win to clinch a playoff berth.

To do that, Kiski Area will need to avoid the errors that became a plague Friday.

Starting quarterback Ryne Wallace threw three interceptions, including one in the end zone, and backup Ethan Guercio tossed another. The Cavaliers fumbled a pitch inside their 30-yard line that led to a Mars touchdown, a botched snap on a punt led to another Planets score and a first-half field goal attempt was blocked.

“I don’t have any magical words,” Albert said. “Am I frustrated? Of course I’m frustrated. It’s hard when your kids come out, and they’re willing to play hard, but if you make mistakes and play hard, it doesn’t work. Until we correct our mistakes, we’re going to have our hands full.”

Khori Ramseur-Fusco intercepted two passes for Mars (8-1, 5-1), which won its fifth consecutive game and posted its first shutout since Oct. 14, 2016. Teddy Ruffner and Thomas Sheehy added interceptions.

“(Wallace is) the guy you’ve got to stop, and that’s what we came in to do,” Mars coach Scott Heinauer said. “We got some pressure on him, we made some big plays, we got interceptions, and that’s what we need to do.”

The Planets also got another strong offensive performance from running back Garrett Reinke, who rushed for 179 yards and three touchdowns and added a 43-yard receiving score, and quarterback Tyler Kowalkowski, who passed for 127 yards and two touchdowns.

Twice, Mars scored immediately after Kiski Area miscues. The first came when a snap sailed over the head of punter Jared Custer and was recovered at the 15-yard line. Reinke ran in on the next play. Then, after Mars recovered a fumbled pitch play at the Kiski Area 29, Kowalkowski hit Andrew Recchia for a 29-yard touchdown on the ensuing play.

A 19-yard Blake Edwards field goal and Reinke’s receiving touchdown made it 24-0 at halftime, and Reinke added touchdowns of 1 and 63 yards in the second half.

Kiski Area sacked Kowalkowski five times by bringing consistent pressure, but the Planets made the Cavaliers pay a few times when they broke the line of scrimmage.

“I think that’s the difference in the game tonight,” Heinauer said. “We made big plays when it counted, and we held them to no big plays.”

Wallace passed for 57 yards, and Guercio added 44 for Kiski Area, which had Drew Dinunzio-Biss and Troy Kuhn playing through nagging injuries. Dane Fitzsimmons caught seven passes for 57 yards, and Dinunzio-Biss rushed for a team-high 36 yards. Leading receiver Jack Colecchi rushed for 27 yards out of four wildcat carries but didn’t catch a pass under blanket coverage from Recchia.

“I’ll never fault our kids’ (effort). They come out, and they’re physical and they play hard,” Albert said. “But if you make mistakes and you miss an assignment, you can’t win a game, and that’s where we’re at. Until we change that, it’s an uphill battle.

“We’ve got one left, and if you beat Armstrong, you’re in the playoffs. We’ll see where we go.”

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Doug at dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dgulasy_Trib.

Tags: Kiski School, Mars