Armstrong’s Cadin Olsen capitalizes on Mars’ mistakes in high-scoring Greater Allegheny win
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Saturday, October 15, 2022 | 12:38 AM
Armstrong quarterback Cadin Olsen throws a pass under pressure from Mars’ Connor Hartle during their game on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, at Armstrong High School.
Armstrong’s Ian Olsen scores on a pick-six next to Mars quarterback Eric Kasperowicz during their game on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, at Armstrong High School.
Armstrong’s Ian Olsen celebrates with Connor Jacobs (88) and Jaxson Crissman (6) after his pick-six against Mars during their game on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, at Armstrong High School.
Armstrong’s Kyan Kline celebrates his second touchdown against Mars on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, at Armstrong High School.
The Armstrong student section cheers on the River Hawks during their game against Mars on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, at Armstrong High School.
Armstrong quarterback Cadin Olsen stands on the sideline during a homecoming ceremony at halftime against Mars on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, at Armstrong High School.
Armstrong quarterback Cadin Olsen throws a pass against Mars on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, at Armstrong High School.
Armstrong’s Isaiah Brown takes a touchdown pass away from Mars’ Hayden Mayer during their game on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, at Armstrong High School.
Armstrong’s Isaiah Brown celebrates his touchdown next to Mars’ Hayden Mayer during their game on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, at Armstrong High School.
Armstrong’s Ethan Crissman sacks Mars quarterback Eric Kasperowicz during their game on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, at Armstrong High School.
Armstrong’s Ethan Crissman celebrates after his sack against Mars on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, at Armstrong High School.
Armstrong’s Alex Patton carries through the Mars defense during their game on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, at Armstrong High School.
Armstrong’s Joe Bartolowits eludes Mars’ Mason Childress during their game on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, at Armstrong High School.
Armstrong’s Isaiah Brown tackles Mars’ CEvan Wright during their game on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, at Armstrong High School.
Armstrong’s Ian Olsen catches a long pass in front of Mars’ Noah Nesselroad during their game on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, at Armstrong High School.
Armstrong quarterback Cadin Olsen throws a pass under pressure from Mars’ Connor Hartle during their game on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, at Armstrong High School.
Armstrong quarterback Cadin Olsen scores on a 2-yard run against Mars on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, at Armstrong High School.
Giving Armstrong quarterback Cadin Olsen short fields, time to pass and extra possessions is a dangerous combination.
The Penn recruit passed for 349 yards, threw four touchdowns and rushed for two more Friday night as Armstrong capitalized on four Mars turnovers to win 55-31 in the highest-scoring game in River Hawks history.
The win keeps Armstrong (7-1, 4-0) tied atop the Greater Allegheny standings, setting up a de facto conference championship game at Highlands (8-0, 4-0) next week.
Olsen completed 19 of 25 attempts with touchdown passes of 50, 15, 4 and 22 yards.
The 6-foot-5 senior scored Armstrong’s first two touchdown on a pair of 1-yard runs. Each came shortly after a Mars turnover, giving the River Hawks an early 14-7 lead they never lost.
“That was definitely our mindset,” Olsen said. “We knew we had to (capitalize on) those mistakes on their end and gain some momentum.”
Armstrong led 41-10 at half and brought on the running clock of the mercy rule midway through the third quarter when the lead topped 35 points.
Isaiah Brown had six catches for 120 yards and two touchdowns (50- and 22-yarders), while Kyan Kline (4-yarder) and Dozick Zablocki (15-yarder) also caught touchdowns. Ian Olsen had four catches for 119 yards.
Alex Patton added 64 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Cadin Olsen surpassed 2,000 passing yards for the third consecutive season, reaching the milestone on a third-quarter touchdown pass to Brown on fourth-and-11.
Armstrong’s offense doesn’t throw short and run long. Cadin Olsen had a number of downfield completions, including three longer than 40 yards.
“That’s kind of what he does. We’re a vertical pass game,” Armstrong coach Frank Fabian said. “A lot of these spread teams now are bubble screens and quick game. We throw the ball down the field. That’s his strength.”
Mars (5-3, 2-2) was trying to force its way into the conference title race, but the Planets hurt themselves with some first-half miscues. They muffed a punt early in the first quarter, lost another fumble in the second and threw two interceptions — one returned 46 yards for a touchdown by Ian Olsen, the quarterback’s younger brother.
“That’s a good football team. They’re what, 7-1?” Mars coach Eric Kasperowicz said. “We just weren’t ready to play at their level, their intensity, their execution.”
Armstrong had its own issues, throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble, but Mars scored only three points from those turnovers. In comparison, Mars’ turnovers led directly to 27 points for Armstrong, which scored touchdowns on five of its first seven possessions.
“That’s kind of what an experienced team does,” Kasperowicz said. “We’re not that right now. We’re close. We’ve got some guys that can make some plays, and we’ve got some guys who aren’t making plays. We’ve got to figure that out.”
The 86 combined points were the most scored in an Armstrong game during the eight-year history of the program. The total topped a pair of 85-point games in 2016, when Armstrong defeated Latrobe, 69-16, and McKeesport, 43-42.
Friday’s score kept increasing because Mars didn’t quit.
The mercy rule was enacted with nearly six minutes left in the third quarter, yet the Planets scored three times in the second half with a running clock.
Mars running back Evan Wright rushed for 261 yards and scored three times, including two long touchdown runs after halftime. His TDs covered 2, 94 and 81 yards. Mars quarterback Eric Kasperowicz Jr. had a 24-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, cutting into an Armstrong lead that peaked at 38 points.
“You look at their film and see what they’ve done to some teams this year with their offense,” Fabian said. “They’re getting better. They’re young. I kind of told (my players), if you’re going to get them, this is the year to get them.”
This could’ve been a scenario for a so-called “trap” game, had Armstrong allowed itself to look ahead to the matchup next week with undefeated Highlands.
That didn’t happen.
“Coach Fabian says … focus on this game and make sure we get the job done before we can move on to next week,” Olsen said. “Now our mindset is almost on Highlands. That’s the conference championship. Everyone has that game circled on the calendars, and we’re super excited.”
Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.
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