CATASAUQUA - After a near miraculous come-from-behind win last week against undefeated Minersville, the Marian Colts traveled to the Lehigh Valley Friday night hoping to carry some of that momentum into a difficult assignment against the Catasauqua Rough Riders.

But momentum can take unexpected turns, especially against a good team that capitalizes on your miscues, resulting in the Colts dropping a 28-0 decision to their hosts.

The excitement the Colts showed in dropping last week’s 41-39 decision was nowhere to be found in Friday night’s game, which was delayed by lightning in the area.

Mental mistakes, penalties and turnovers played havoc with the Blue and Gold.

Field position proved to be the Colts’ nemesis throughout the first 24 minutes, but much of it was their own fault. From false starts to poor kickoff returns, to penalties, the Blue and Gold took itself out of the game early. Meanwhile, the Rough Riders (2-1) capitalized on the good field position it enjoyed all night, opening up a 21-0 first half lead.

“We didn’t show up in the first half, and that’s my responsibility,” said Marian coach Stan Dakosty. “We played them better in the second half, it was only 7-0, but it was too late. We’re disappointed in our performance, but we gotta regroup.”

To be certain, a very tough Rider defense played a role in Marian’s loss, limiting the Colts to one first down and only 21 yards of offense in the first half. Starting out its drives always deep in its own territory (21, 27, 16, 6 and 25 yardlines), the Colts struggled immensely. In fact, they never crossed midfield, with their own 35 yard line being its “deepest” penetration on offense through two periods of play.

“We were concerned about Marian running the ball because we hadn’t stopped the run too much this year,” said Catty coach Travis Brett. “But, overall, I was pretty proud of our defensive effort.”

The Colts had no answer for talented quarterback Aiden Hess, who threw for 127 yards and two TDs. The touchdowns were to receiver Ian Juica, who caught 6 passes for 11 yards, including tallies of 24 and 14 yards.

“He’s our go-to guy,” Brett said. “He has the best hands on the team and is a senior who has played for us for four years.”

Running back Hunter Reitz scored the other two touchdowns, on runs of 2 and 9 yards, while placekicker Jayden Olivencia split the uprights on all four tries to complete the Catasauqua scoring.

Behind Hopeck, 8-19-122, the Colts managed to move the ball in the second half, when they picked up 7 first downs. Receiver Nova McGuire caught three passes for 83 yards, and also had a fumble recovery for the Colts.

Having scored only once after intermission, Brett said, “We had a lot of mistakes that we have to clean up. We played hard and you can’t complain about a shutout, but the second half was only 7-0 and we could’ve done a better with the football.”

As for the Colts, a comeback similar to last week’s game with Minersville was not in the cards this time around. “These kids have to learn that we can’t put ourselves in a hole like we’ve been doing,” said Dakosty. “But Catasauqua is a good football team, probably the best team we will play all year, so give them credit. We just have to do a better job than what we did tonight.”

COLTS GET TURNOVERS ... After Catty went up 28-0 with 8:03 left in the third quarter, Marian held their hosts scoreless the rest of the way, thanks to an interception by Brandon Klitsch and a recovery by McGuire.

LEADING RUSHERS … Freshman Rory Dixon led the Marian ground game with 33 yards on 14 tries. Jyzaiah Bonilla copped rushing honors with 74 yards on 14 carries for the Roughies.

THE RECORDS … Catasauqua improves to 2-1 while the Colts fall to 1-2.

UPCOMING GAMES … The Colts will play host to Sayre Area next Friday while Catasauqua will travel to Mahanoy Area.