ADAMS TWP — It's one thing for an offense to play with confidence during a scoreless tie in the first quarter.

But no one can argue that Mars' offense earned its stripes after what the group pulled off Friday night.

Trailing Kittanning 29-27, the Planets took over at their own 35-yard line with 1:43 remaining.

All Mars did was drive 65 yards in five plays, with Bill Bair scoring the deciding touchdown from 11 yards out, in a thrilling 33-29 WPIAL Class AA first-round playoff win at Mars Athletic Complex.

The entire drive took only 55 seconds.

The Planets closed the door when Ben Howcroft recovered a Kittanning fumble on the ensuing kickoff.

The Wildcats tried a reverse on the kickoff — a play that worked when they returned the opening kickoff of the game to the 50-yard line — but this time the exchange between Derek Taylor and Bobby Keys fell to the ground and Howcroft jumped on the loose ball.

Though Kittanning (8-2) would have had less than 40 seconds to score a touchdown, it did have all three timeouts remaining.

"Our offense had been moving the ball well, and we felt confident about our chances," said Wildcats coach Sam Panchik. "But turnovers are the name of the game. You can't turn the football over."

Mars senior quarterback D.J. Cannon went 3-for-4 for 52 yards on the game-winning drive.

A 16-yard pass to Carroll Smith on a third-and-4 from the Planets' 41-yard line moved the chains.

Smith jumped in the air to make the reception and a Kittanning defender was flagged for a 15-yard face-mask penalty as he brought the receiver down.

"He was my number one receiver on that play," Cannon said of Smith, as the combination hooked up four times in the game for 81 yards. "(Kittanning) played a lot of cover three tonight, dropping three guys back. There was a nice seam down the middle of the field open during a lot of the game."

Smith's catch came on a comeback route near the right hash mark. After a holding penalty against Mars, Cannon found Smith again for 30 yards down to the Wildcats' 11-yard line.

Bair, who later left the game with an injury, scored on the next play. He ended the game with 28 carries for 193 yards and three scores.

"We know we have a good offense, and I felt confident we could move the ball and score on that last drive," said Planets coach Scott Heinauer. "Nobody panicked."

With 5:16 left in the game, it was Kittanning that was faced with a crucial drive, trailing the Planets 27-22.

Mars junior punter Ryan Schroth had just pinned the Wildcats at their own 11-yard line with a 50-yard punt.

Senior fullback Ryan Shepard got the ball three straight times, and the 1,000-yard back responded with a combined 58 yards to Mars' 31-yard line.

A 19-yard pass from Colin McKelvey to Jared Bowser was followed by two runs by Taylor, the second of which came from two yards out for a touchdown. The extra point gave Kittanning a 29-27 lead with 1:50 left.

The score was Kittanning's first since the Wildcats reeled off 22 points in a span of 3:20 in the second quarter.

Mars had gone up 13-0 after almost 16 minutes of play, with Josh Keil and Bair each scoring on short touchdown runs.

But McKelvey, who had completed only 20 passes on the season before Friday's game, connected on scoring strikes of 31 and 43 yards to Shepard and Bowser, respectively, just 65 seconds apart.

Kittanning got the ball back after the first score when the Wildcats recovered a Mars fumble at the Planets' 43-yard line.

Following a three-and-out by the Planets, Kittanning struck again when Taylor broke over left tackle and was gone for a 76-yard scoring run, putting his team up 22-13.

Much of the Wildcats' success on offense was due to McKelvey, who completed 7 of 12 passes for 126 yards and the two scores.

He also totaled 25 yards on four rushing attempts.

"What a game he had," said Panchik. "He passed well and made some plays running the ball when he had to. He did everything you can ask a quarterback to do."

The Planets cut into the Wildcats' lead before the half on Bair's 3-yard run just before the intermission.

The Planets' first score of the second half came at the beginning of the fourth period.

Mars had the ball at Kittanning's 20-yard line when Cannon dropped back to pass. After finding nobody open, he took off downfield.

He was met by a Kittanning defender at the 3-yard line and fumbled the ball into the end zone, but teammate Matt Kennedy was there for the recovery.

Bair left the game following a hit he sustained after Mars recovered Kittanning's fumbled kickoff return in the final minute of the game.

The Planets were in the process of running out the clock when Bair was met at the line of scrimmage by a Kittanning defender.

He walked off the field and did not return.

"We're not sure what happened to him," Heinauer said. "But we're getting him checked out."

Mars (9-1) will face Greensburg Central Catholic, a 50-16 winner over Shenango, next week in the WPIAL quarterfinals at a site, time and date to be determined.