BESSEMER, Lawrence County — A running back with the nickname "D-Train" must be willing to carry the load.

Jesse D'Amico did — and then some.

The senior tailback carried the ball a season-high 39 times and delivered 270 yards and two scores as Mohawk claimed the Tri-County North Conference title outright with a 21-14 win over Mars Friday night.

"I love it when coach puts it all on my shoulders," said D'Amico. "It shows he trusts that I can do the job."

Just after Mars scored a touchdown with 7:46 left in the game that cut Mohawk's lead to 21-14, the Warriors needed one more series from their workhorse.

D'Amico carried the ball eight times for 48 yards on a 14-play drive that stalled inside the Mars 10-yard line.

With every broken tackle and second effort from D'Amico on the drive, the Planets' hopes for a share of the conference title faded as precious seconds ticked from the clock.

When Mars finally stopped the Warriors on a fourth-down play, the Planets took over at their own 9-yard line with just 42 seconds left.

Mars moved the ball to its own 31, but D.J. Cannon's desperation pass on the final play of the game fell harmlessly to the ground.

A mob of players and fans stormed the field to celebrate Mohawk's first-ever conference title.

"There was a lot of excitement around here this week," said Warriors coach Jason Long. "To win and not have to share the title, it's great."

While D'Amico piled up the rushing yards, Mohawk's defense managed to frustrate the Planets' balanced attack for much of the evening.

Mars (5-4, 5-2) ended the game with just 161 offensive yards.

Following Paul Ferrese's 39-yard touchdown run that opened the scoring early in the first quarter, the Planets' next six drives netted just 42 yards. Three of those series ended in turnovers.

"We had some costly turnovers," said Mars coach Scott Heinauer. "And you can't do that in big games. But I'm still proud of our kids. They played hard until the very end."

Mars' inability to sustain a drive, coupled with D'Amico's consistent gains on the ground, led to an overworked Planets defense.

By the end of the game, Mohawk had run 72 offensive plays to the Planets' 38.

"Mohawk is a very high-powered offense," said Heinauer. "And they controlled the clock, which is what we wanted to do."

It was on the Warriors' second offensive series that D'Amico set the tone for the game.

With his team trailing 7-0, the running back keyed a 16-play drive by gaining 54 yards on 10 carries. He capped the march with a 1-yard run that tied the game.

The series also included two converted fourth down plays — a fourth-and-inches from the Planets' 16-yard line and a fourth-and-four from the 6-yard line.

The Warriors converted five of eight fourth down plays in the game.

D'Amico put the Warriors (8-1, 7-0) up for good with a 35-yard run early in the second half.

Though Mars blocked the point-after attempt, Mohawk made up for it when it converted a two-point conversion following quarterback Josh Crum's 1-yard sneak that put the Warriors up 21-7 with 10 minutes left in the game.

The Planets responded with their longest drive of the night.

Following Billy Bair's 27-yard kickoff return to Mars' 48, the Planets marched 52 yards in six plays.

Cannon, who hit Dave Pisarcik with a 14-yard pass to open the drive, capped it off with an 11-yard strike to Josh Keil.

Tim Wirtz's point after made it 21-14, but D'Amico and company came up with their 7-plus minute drive to all but dash the Planets' chances.

Both teams now await the WPIAL Class AA playoff pairings, which will be released Monday night.

"We would have liked to have gotten a share of the conference title, no doubt," said Heinauer. "But we'll come back next week. We're still in the playoffs."