Jon Miller's first test as head coach of the Moon Area High School football team will be out of this world.

At least it would appear that way to anyone outside of Western Pennsylvania should they happen to look at tomorrow night's district high school schedule -- it'll be Moon at Mars.

The Tigers are coming off a winless season and the first-year coach is ready to turn the program around on the road against Mars Area in Class AAA non-conference action.

"We've seen some films on them from the last two years," Miller said. "They're a good, strong football team. They are athletic and big.

"You also know that coach [Scott] Heinauer will have his team ready to go."

Miller, however, doesn't want to get too far ahead of himself.

"I'm just anxious to get to today's practice," he said. "Each day's practice is what we're focusing on right now."

Miller enters his first year as a head coach after serving as an assistant for the past 11 years. He replaces veteran Mark Capuano, who stepped down after compiling a 143-108 record in 24 seasons.

Miller spent the past six seasons as Upper St. Clair's defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. He began his coaching career in 1998 with Erie McDowell for one season before a four-year stint at Canon-McMillan and then moved on to Upper St. Clair.

"I thought it was the right place at the right time," said Miller, who is a graduate of Peters Township and Gannon University. "Moon has great athletes and there are probably more in the building that we have yet to see.

"I like the challenge. Moon has some tough kids and it has been fun to work with them."

The Tigers went 0-9 overall last year, including a 0-6 mark in Class AAA's Parkway Conference. Moon's last win came at the end of the 2007 season against Elizabeth Forward.

"We've been preparing since the offseason," said Miller, who is a teacher at Canon-McMillan and was hired in December. "I was able to get here early in the year and have my staff in place to get things rolling, and I'm very confident in the progress we've seen with the kids.

"That takes a lot of the pressure off."

The Tigers already have been tested during a pair of tough preseason scrimmages against defending WPIAL and PIAA champion Thomas Jefferson and Keystone Oaks.

"Our scrimmages went pretty well," Miller said. "Against Thomas Jefferson, we were up on them after the first 20 plays and we kept playing well against them. It was a good scrimmage with some hard hitting. It was a very good experience and a good test for the guys."

Miller has seen promise in his first-year senior quarterback Brian Flannery (5-11, 170) as well as senior wide receiver/safety Vince Colaianni (6-0, 175) and junior running back/cornerback Mark Piccolo (5-6, 156).

The Tigers should also have experience in senior fullback/linebacker Mike Kelley (5-9, 188), junior cornerback Chad Bertrand (5-6, 147) and junior defensive tackle Ben Jeannot (6-3, 255).

"You see who's willing to compete and who's willing to step up," Miller said. "We're trying to see where we're going to be strong and work to identify our strengths as the year goes on. We want to progress as a team and know what we can do and what we need to do.

"As a whole group, we're still working. We're working to get better and working to jell together as this year goes on."

After playing Mars, the Tigers play host to Center in another non-conference contest before entering Parkway Conference play Sept. 18 at home against West Allegheny.

"The conference is going to be a challenge," Miller said. "There are a lot of great coaches [in the Parkway] who have won championships. I'm excited about it.

"We have something to prove every week and that's something I'm used to, coming from Upper St. Clair. You don't have a week off playing in that conference [Class AAAA Great Southern Conference]. I believe we're going to be able to handle the challenge."

Miller, however, understands that his group will face many challenges each and every week, starting with the Planets tomorrow night.

"The mental part of everything is going to be a big thing," Miller said. "This group of seniors have only won one game recently and when you're not winning it's easy to give up.

"We have to fight through the adversity and continue to grow. We are where we are now, but we have to continue to grow to get better."