Mars football coach Scott Heinauer is hoping his team learned its lesson last week.

The Planets missed a chance to claim a share of the Tri-County North Conference title with a 21-14 defeat to Mohawk.

But Heinauer was more concerned with the way his team was beaten.

Mohawk controlled the clock with a punishing running game, with Jesse D'Amico gaining 270 yards on 39 carries.

When all was said and done, Mohawk had 72 offensive plays, while Mars had just 38.

"Our offense didn't have the ball all that long," said Heinauer. "That's got to change."

The Planets must find a way to stop the run — not an easy task considering the team's opponent in a WPIAL Class AA first-round playoff.

The Burrell Bucs have a great running back. In fact, in terms of career yardage and touchdowns, Tyler Henderson is the greatest back in the school's history. He broke both of those records earlier this season. He currently has 1,372 yards and 17 scores in 2005.

Mars and Burrell will meet with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff Friday at Highlands High School.

Leading the way for Henderson is an experienced offensive line.

Four seniors — center Nick Seinera, right guard Ross Damico, right tackle Eric Corey and left tackle Justin Greenwald — join junior left guard Joe Serluco to give the Bucs' running game a great front wall.

"(Serluco, Seinera and Damico) are almost clones of each other," said Bucs' coach Tom Henderson. "They're all 5-foot-10 and 250 pounds. Corey is 5-11, 290 and Greenwald is the rangy one of the bunch. He's 6-3, 220."

"You just have to try and contain (Tyler) Henderson," said Heinauer. "He's a great back and they get a good push up front."

The Bucs (8-1) finished tied with Valley and Ford City for the Allegheny Conference crown. In its eight wins, the team has outscored its opponents by an average score of 44-10.

But Tom Henderson admits that his squad is susceptible to an opponent with a lot of team speed.

The Bucs' lone defeat this season was a 22-21 setback to Ford City.

"Ford City has a lot of team speed," said Henderson. "And Mars reminds me a lot of Ford City when it comes to speed."

The Planets (5-4) are a high scoring team. In weeks 5-8 — all wins — the team averaged 40 points per contest.

Senior fullback Paul Ferrese surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark in the loss to Mohawk. He currently has 1,012 yards, a 7.4 yard-per-carry average and 13 touchdowns.

Meanwhile, junior quarterback D.J. Cannon has thrown for 1,010 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Wideout Tim Frye is gaining more than 20 yards every time he catches the ball with 22 receptions for 449 yards and four scores.

"Mars throws the ball more than any other team we've played this year," said Tom Henderson. "Our defense is playing better now than it was at the beginning of the year, but we're going to have to pick it up another notch to stop Mars."

Mars and Burrell are no strangers to each other.

Until the Planets moved to the Tri-County North Conference in 2004, they played in the Allegheny Conference.

The teams last met in October 2003, with Mars winning

27-17

.

"Tom Henderson is familiar with us and we are familiar with them," said Heinauer. "You could say this is a renewal of an old rivalry. Burrell and Mars have had some great games against each other and this one should be another good one."