In their first season playing at the Class AAA level, the Mars Planets are part of the classification's Elite Eight.

To get there, the Planets rode the back of an elite No. 8 of their own, workhorse running back Austin Miele.

A sophomore who only has been a featured back the past four games, Miele rushed for 173 yards on 29 carries as Mars went on the road to upset No. 6 seed Chartiers Valley, 15-6, in a WPIAL first-round playoff game last night.

"For being a sophomore, he's just ridiculous out there," Planets quarterback John Brake said.

"He does things you don't expect out of him. He's such a good athlete; he was just making plays all over the place."

Miele was the story offensively for the Planets (7-3), who advance to play No. 3 seed Blackhawk next weekend. But another story line for Mars was a defense that has allowed only 12.9 points per game this season and was dominating at times last night.

The Colts' lone touchdown -- a Wayne Capers 1-yard sneak in the third quarter -- came on a short field after Mars muffed a punt at its 12-yard line, and many of Chartiers Valley's 220 total yards came late in the contest.

"We thought we would do a better job moving the ball," Colts coach Chris Saluga said. "We thought we had our best week of practice since the [season-ending injury to quarterback Santino Coury a month ago].

We couldn't get into a rhythm and put anything together. We have some nice plays, and then we'd shoot ourselves in the foot."

Chartiers Valley had six penalties for 70 yards -- including three personal foul calls, two of which came at crucial points in the fourth quarter.

The first half featured only 157 yards of total offense by both teams combined, including 64 by the Colts. Six possessions in the first half ended via punt and six lasted three plays or less.

A freshman, Capers was 8 for 18 for 113 yards and an interception for the Colts (7-3).

"We wanted to show their young quarterback as much pressure as we could get on him," Mars coach Scott Heinauer said.

"We brought people from all over the place and hopefully kept him off balance. He's a good quarterback, and he'll be a very good quarterback. He's just young, and our kids were pressuring him into making mistakes making him throw the ball where he didn't want to."

Each team had three shutouts in the regular season, and the Colts yesterday actually allowed less total yards (192) than Mars, which did not get a first down in the first or third quarters.

But the Planets struck first in the second quarter on Miele's 6-yard touchdown run that was set up by a nifty 29-yard sweep by him on fourth-and-3 from the 35 with 3:07 to play in the first half.

A two-point conversion run by Chris Herold gave the Planets an 8-0 lead.

The Colts seized the momentum after Mars muffed a punt and Capers' touchdown made it 8-6 midway through the third. They had the Planets pinned back at their 10 for the last play of the third quarter.

But Mars put together a 17-play, 90-yard drive that took 7:57 off the clock. It featured two fourth-down conversions, including a fake punt at midfield when a direct snap to Miele netted 12 yards after he broke a tackle at the first-down marker.

"In big games like this," said Heinauer, "you have to take chances."

Four plays later, the Planets converted another fourth down when Miele gained 7 yards up the middle on fourth-and-6, leading to a 1-yard sneak by Brake.

"They just overpowered us that drive," Saluga said. "That's where the game was decided."