Hurricanes Pull Away From Mars on Rainy Night, 47–14

Rain fell for much of Senior Night, but New Castle’s Hurricanes  delivered the biggest blows Friday, turning interceptions and long touchdown plays into a 47–14 victory over Mars. The Planets briefly pulled even early in the second quarter before the Hurricanes scored 27 unanswered points to take control.

Mars quarterback Nate Walker reaches for a loose ball during Friday’s Senior Night game against New Castle. The Hurricanes recovered the fumble and defeated the Planets 47–14. Photo by Harold Aughton/The 228 Times.

Dropped passes, fumbles, interceptions and errant exchanges complicated an already difficult night for Mars, which at one point faced fourth-and-54 after a series of exchanges between the center and quarterback went awry.

Mars found its biggest offensive moments through the air. Nate Walker threw touchdown passes of 44 yards to Brady Brennan and 65 yards to Kellan Garvin, but the Planets struggled to sustain enough offense to match New Castle.

The Hurricanes struck first when Marino Graham scored on a 14-yard run with 6:37 remaining in the opening quarter. The extra point gave New Castle a 7–0 lead.

Mars answered early in the second quarter. Walker connected with Brennan for a 44-yard touchdown, and Gus Coffield’s extra point tied the game at 7–7 with 9:37 left before halftime.

The tie lasted less than four minutes.

New Castle’s Swayzee Reighert returned an interception 58 yards for a touchdown with 6:03 remaining in the half. Just over a minute later, Jermaine Walker scored on a 7-yard run, extending the Hurricanes’ lead to 20–7 after a missed extra point.

New Castle continued to build its advantage in the third quarter. Jermaine Walker scored his second touchdown on a 1-yard run, followed by a successful two-point conversion. Graham added a 4-yard touchdown run with 3:57 remaining in the quarter to make it 34–7.

Mars supplied one more highlight as the third quarter expired, with Nate Walker finding Garvin for a 65-yard touchdown. Coffield’s kick brought the Planets within 34–14.

The Hurricanes answered with two more long scoring plays in the fourth quarter. Gianni Moore broke free for a 43-yard touchdown run with 6:40 remaining, and Aaron Dukes scored on a 62-yard touchdown reception with 5:18 left to complete the scoring.

Nate Walker finished 8 of 30 for 152 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions. Blake Corcoran completed two of five passes for 18 yards.

Garvin led Mars receivers with three catches for 91 yards and a touchdown. Brennan caught three passes for 59 yards and a score. Colin Yurisinec carried six times for 19 yards.

Graham paced New Castle’s rushing attack with 93 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. Jermaine Walker added 52 yards and two scores on 11 attempts.

For Mars, the long touchdown connections provided flashes of offense on a wet night. New Castle’s ability to capitalize on mistakes and produce big plays, however, kept the Planets from mounting a comeback.