UNION TWP, Lawrence County - It's not that Paul Ferrese had never scored a touchdown.

But these two were a bit more special.

Hours after the Mars football team attended the funeral of teammate Nick Varrenti, who died Monday, the Planets showed up at Union-New Castle's Socrates Roussos Field with heavy hearts.

Behind a stingy defensive performance and two scoring runs from Ferrese, the Planets came away with a 14-13 Tri-County North victory Friday night.

"The touchdowns I scored tonight were definitely more meaningful," said Ferrese, whose 39-yard touchdown run with 10:30 left in the game, followed by Tim Wirtz's extra point, proved to be the deciding scores.

After his 67-yard run opened the scoring in the second period, Ferrese pointed toward the sky.

"I said, 'This one's for you Nick," he explained.

Ferrese totaled 165 yards on 22 carries to lead a Planets ground attack that gained 240 yards.

"These kids have been through a lot this week," said Mars coach Scott Heinauer. "They played with a lot of emotion tonight."

With 24 seconds left in the game, Union elected to attempt a 45-yard field goal attempt rather than go for a fourth and 13 from the Planets' 28 yard-line.

John Izzo's kick never had a chance, as several Planets defenders broke through the line. Brian Juda was credited with the block.

"It would have been tough to go for the first down in that situation," said Scotties coach Stacy Robinson. "And John has the range to make that kick."

It was another missed kick earlier in the game that will be haunting the Scotties more than the field goal.

With the score tied at 7 in the third quarter, Union's Adam Moore blocked his second punt of the game, returning it for a 35-yard score.

During the runback, Union lineman Josh Bable committed a personal foul on a Mars player.

The penalty had no bearing on the play, but the Scotties were forced to attempt the extra point from 34 yards.

Izzo's kick was wide left and the Scotties' lead was just 13-7.

On the night, Union was penalized 14 times for 110 yards.

"I think this was the most penalized game I've coached in, and I've been coaching for eight years," said Robinson. "If we wouldn't have made all those mistakes, maybe we would've won tonight. But we can't cry about it. We've got next week to worry about."

That left the door open for the Planets, whose game-winning drive began at their own 27-yard line with 11:48 remaining.

Dave Pisarcik tallied 46 yards on two carries before Ferrese took a handoff and headed around the left end.

After breaking several tackles, the junior raced down the sideline for the score. Wirtz converted the crucial point after for a 14-13 lead.

After struggling against the run the first two weeks, the Planets' defense surrendered just 33 yards on 28 attempts.

"We knew we needed to play good defense tonight," said Heinauer. "That's our style."

The Scotties were forced to go to the air, and senior Bobby Burkes responded with 208 passing yards and a touchdown.

The scoring strike was a 41-yard pass to Moore that tied the game at 7-7 with 4:01 left in the second quarter.

Senior wideout Danny Mukaabya led Union with six receptions for 108 yards.

"There were a few times where we had a breakdown in our coverage assignments," said Heinauer. "But, overall, I thought our defense played well. (Union) only scored one offensive touchdown."

The Planets (1-0, 1-2) will host conference foe Laurel next Friday night.