ADAMS TWP — Mars coach Scott Heinauer knew Pine-Richland had the offensive weapons.

His best defense? Keep the ball as long as he could.

The Mars offense ran 63 plays, the last one was a 32-yard scoring burst from Austin Miele with 52 seconds remaining to give the Planets the only lead they ever enjoyed in a 29-24 football victory Friday.

The win snapped a six-year Rams winning streak in the St. Barnabas Medical Center Cup game, which was last contested in 2005. Pine-Richland leads the Cup series 7-6.

"Coming in, we knew they had a very potent offense," said Heinauer. "We felt like we had to hold the ball, and if we did, we had a chance to win"

Mars had scoring drives of 19, 14 and 15 plays.

Miele shouldered the load most of the night, carrying 31 times for 163 yards and two touchdowns.

"To tell you the truth, I thought our defense would be our forte," said Rams coach Clair Altemus. "We only needed to get our offense moving. I'm disappointed in our offense the first two games."

The Rams (0-2) broke a 10-all tie at the half by using a nine-play, 76-yard drive, capped by a Justin Williams 10-yard run with 7:11 left in the third quarter, to retake the lead.

On the ensuing possession, Mars quarterback Eric Guzak connected with a wide-open Aaron Lozzi for a 72-yard scoring strike to tie the game just over a minute later.

Pine-Richland responded with a 10-play, 67-yard drive that ended with a Conor Mincer 20-yard run for a 24-17 advantage.

The Rams looked as though they might pull away after Mars kick returner Jacob Wright fumbled the kickoff and P-R recovered at the Mars 27.

Facing a fourth-and-10 at the Mars 15, Altemus passed on a field-goal attempt and had Rams quarterback Andy Borgen attempt a pass.

Lozzi pulled down the interception just inside the end zone and returned it to the Mars 31.

Mars then embarked on a 15-play drive, including a conversion of a key fourth-and-7 at the P-R 15.

Lozzi couldn't hang on to a Guzak pass in the end caught a 9-yarder on fourth down to keep the drive alive.

On third-and-goal from the 3, Guzak found Brian Cassidy in the middle of the end zone with 3:56 to play.

Mincer blocked the extra point and the Planets trailed 24-23.

The Mars defense stifled the Rams on the next drive as Williams was held to one yard, then a holding penalty and an incomplete pass set up third-and-18 at the P-R 11. Borgen ran for 14 yards, but the Rams were forced to punt.

With 2:43 to play, Mars converted a pair of third downs, including a third-and-10 at the P-R 47.

Miele was stopped for no gain, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against P-R gave the Planets a first down at the 32.

Two plays later, Miele broke free for his scoring run.

"I hadn't gotten into the secondary all night," said Miele. "That was pretty much it. ... That's just what our offense is made of: to keep the ball.

"And, our defense stepped up in the fourth quarter," Miele added.

Notes: Before the game, Mars honored its five Athletic Hall of Fame inductees for 2010: Jean Santom Schmiedel, Leda Best, Michele Ross Goodworth, Bobby Matter and Brandon Mueller.