Mars football can’t clinch WPIAL playoff spot in loss to McKeesport, Penn State commit Kemon Spell
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Members of Mars ROTC present the flags before a football game against McKeesport on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. McKeesport won 28-7. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Mars cheerleader Mia Mirabile flips on the sidelines during a football game against McKeesport on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. McKeesport won 28-7. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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The student section gets hyped up as the Mars Planets take on McKeesport in a football game Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. McKeesport won 28-7. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Mars met McKeesport in a football game Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Brady Jordan runs the ball for Mars against McKeesport in a football game Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Jamie Compton was crowned Mars' Homecoming Queen on Friday Oct 11 during their football game against McKeesportHolly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Brady Jordan returns the McKeesport kickoff in a football game Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Eric Kasperowicz (5) is tackled by a McKeesport defender just shy of the 20 yard line in a football game Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex.
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Mars quarterback Nate Walker passes the ball as the Planets hosted McKeesport in a football game Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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The Mars varsity football team takes the field to battle McKeesport in a football game Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Mars' defense led by Gabe Hein (30), tackle McKeesport's quarterback in a football game Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Cheerleader Teagan Painter flies high for Mars during a football game Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Mars' marching band plays the National Anthem before a football game Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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The Mars marching band plays the National Anthem before a football game Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Mars’ Gabe Hein (30) blocks for Eric Kasperowicz (5) in a football game Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Mars introduced the male members of the homecoming court before a football game Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Mars' dance team performed for the crowd before a football game Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Mars’ Ethan Painley (71) celebrates with the rest of his team after a recovered fumble in a football game Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
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Zachary Angoff, Logan Truitt & Jack Muller led the student section for white out night during a football game Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Mars Athletic Complex. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
ADAMS TWP — The triple option is not the popular offense it once was, but it is alive and well with McKeesport’s football team.
The Tigers used it to gain 408 yards on the ground Friday in a 28-7 win at Mars.
The win gives the Tigers (4-4, 3-0) sole possession of first place in the Greater Allegheny Conference standings with just two games remaining.
McKeesport set the tone for the game on its initial drive, gaining 51 yards on seven plays, all on the ground. Anthony Cromerdie scored from 17 yards out just three-and-a-half minutes into the game.
Cromerdie gained 104 yards and scored twice on just nine carries in the game, but he was not McKeesport’s biggest star. That title went to sophomore and Penn State commit Kemon Spell, who gashed Mars’ defense for 202 yards and two scores on just 15 attempts.
“It’s tough to replicate it (triple option) in practice, but I think we did a good job this week,” Mars coach Eric Kasperowicz said. “But it’s a lot different when you see it at game speed.”
Spell scored his team’s second touchdown on a 46-yard run with 4:39 left in the first quarter.
Mars (3-5, 2-1) then cut its deficit in half when receiver Gabe Hein lined up at quarterback, took the shotgun snap and raced 80 yards to pay dirt. However, it turned out to be the Planets’ lone score of the game.
Mason Childress missed a pair of field goal attempts and Nate Walker had two of his passes intercepted as the Planets saw first place in the conference elude them.
Aside from Hein’s 80-yard burst, Mars gained just 63 yards rushing on 22 attempts.
“Our first priority on defense was to stop the run,” Tigers coach Matt Miller said. “They gained some yards, but except for one play, we kept them out of the end zone.”
Spell scored again in the second quarter and Cromerdie in the third.
“The triple option is all about numbers and getting the right guys blocked,” Miller said. “After that, it’s just watching Kemon do something amazing.”
Mars remains in good shape to make the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs. Conference games against Hampton next week and Indiana Oct. 25 remain on the schedule.
“We can still finish second in the standings. Our guys know that from here on out, it’s a playoff mindset,” Kasperowicz said.
McKeesport 14 7 7 0 — 28
Mars 7 0 0 0 — 7
First quarter
McK — Anthony Cromerdie 17 run (Ian Shiffler kick), 8:33
McK — Kemon Spell 46 run (Shiffler kick), 4:39
M — Gabe Hein 80 run (Mason Childress kick), 4:28
Second quarter
McK — Spell 15 run (Shiffler kick), 11:15
Third quarter
McK — Cromerdie 13 run (Shiffler kick), 2:22
Individual Statistics
Rushing: McKeesport, Brady Eastman 14-35, Kemon Spell 15-202, Anthony Cromerdie 9-104, Anthony Boyd 8-54, Valdez Stuvaints 2-8, Javien Robinson 1-12, Javier Everett 1-0, TEAM 1-(-7). Mars, Gabe Hein 8-98, Nate Walker 2-(-10), Eric Kasperowicz 11-47, Ayden Yocum 2-8.
Passing: McKeesport, Brady Eastman 3-5-39-0. Mars, Nate Walker 13-21-115-2, Gabe Hein 1-1-5-0.
Receiving: McKeesport, Anthony Boyd 1-10, Kemon Spell 1-14, Valdez Stuvaints 1-15. Mars, Eric Kasperowicz 2-(-13), Ethan Kresinski 1-5, Gabe Hein 8-111, Tyan Tsai 1-5, Liam Hein 1-2, Blake Yates 1-10.
