The Mars football team is right where it wants to be.

The Planets (2-4, 2-2) are currently tied for the third and final playoff spot from the Tri-County North Conference with Riverside and Mohawk.

Mars will meet those teams Oct. 15 and 22, respectively.

"By this time of year, you want to be able to control your own destiny," said Scott Heinauer. "And we are in that position right now. We know if we win our last three games, we'll be in the playoffs.

"It seems we are in this position every year and that's a good thing."

Heinauer knows it all starts with his team's game against Shenango on Friday. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

The Wildcats (1-5, 1-3) are coming off their first win of the season, a 31-20 triumph over Summit Academy.

It is a rebuilding year for sixth-year coach Brian Cooper and his team.

Shenango went 17-1 over the last two regular seasons and entered this year as two-time defending champions of the conference.

"We were hit hard with graduation," said Cooper. "We had just three starters coming back on offense and four on defense."

"(Shenango) is a young football team," said Heinauer. "And they are similar to us in that they have turned the ball over at times this year and their opponents have capitalized off of them."

After being outscored 112-13 in their first three games of the season, the Wildcats have been competitive the last three weeks.

Losses to Riverside (17-7) and Mohawk (34-19) were followed by the victory over Summit.

"We're improving every week," said Cooper. "We have a lot of young kids at the skill positions, but they are coming along."

Quarterback Rocco Colavecchio leads the Wildcats in rushing with 258 yards, but the team's ground game received a boost last week.

Spencer Haben and Rich Cialella both rushed for more than 100 yards against Summit.

The Wildcats did surrender 321 yards to the Knights last week.

Paul Ferrese will lead the Planets' offense. He's gained 829 yards and 10 rushing scores in six games.

"Stopping the run has been a concern for us all year," Cooper said. "But a lot of those runs came toward the end of the game last week. Overall, I thought we played much better defensively. We just have to put a complete game together."