Scoring touchdowns the first five times they had the ball, the Marian Colts unleashed a potent offensive attack Friday night, winning easily 41-7 at home over the visiting Redskins of Sayre Area.

From the opening kickoff - a beautiful 80-yard run by Brandon Klitsch that put the Colts on the board in just 16 seconds - Marian dominated their visitors from upstate Pennsylvania, evening its record to 2-2 and ending a two-game skid. Sayre dropped to 0-4.

“I thought we played well,” Marich coach Stan Dakosty said. “Our kids did a great job. The game plan was to spread the ball around because we have skill people who are capable of making big plays.”

Those big plays came early and often for the Blue and Gold, considering they scored on each of their four possessions after Klitsch’s opening tally.

The next time the Colts got the ball, quarterback Bruce Hopeck quickly tossed a 30-yarder to Klitsch, moving the ball to the Sayre 44. And with tailback Jayden Fermin returning to the lineup after being sidelined with a shoulder injury, it gave Marian an opportunity to go to its ground game.

In three Fermin runs, he scored the second TD, galloping 30 yards with 4:00 on the first quarter clock to make it 13-0.

The Colt dominated up front, as linemen Aidan Milkovits, J.T. Price, Mason Soult, Julian Hermany and James Rodino controlled the line of scrimmage, giving Hopeck and company an opportunity to mix things up nicely. The senior signal caller tossed only four passes, all completions, covering 125 yards while Fermin lugged the ball 81 yards on just six carries.

Leading 13-0, the Colts took just five snaps to score a third time. Hopeck connected with tight end Michael Gelatko for 30 yards, Jesse Rodino picked up 11 yards on his only carry of the night, and Fermin did the rest, rushing for gains of 2, 17 and 18, the latter being his second score with 9:46 left before the intermission.

“I was happy with what we were able to do,” Dakosty said. “We had to win the way we won. We showed we are able to do some things offensively. I was very pleased.”

Reserve running back Rory Dixon scored the Colts’ fourth and fifth touchdowns, tallying at the 7:31 mark of the second quarter on a three-yard run. The third (of four tries) PAT attempt by Caden Kash made it 27-0, followed by a four-yard six-pointer by Dixon with 2:39 left before intermission. A pass from Hopeck to Jesse Rodino added two points and a 35-0 lead.

Marian made it 41-0 when reserve QB Dylan Rodino scored on an eight-yard run with 8:49 left in the third period.

The Redskins, who got a solid rushing performance from Kaden Bennett, 25 carries for 117 yards, tallied their first score of the season at the 11:11 mark of the final stanza when QB Nick Pellicano ran for a 13-yard score. William Crossett added the PAT to round out the scoring.

Losing coach Ricky Linblad, while citing the Colts’ many offensive weapons, said he was proud of the effort of his team. “The guys on the field for us didn’t quit,” he said. “We wanted to put some points on the board, and we managed to do that. We’ve been battling some injuries, and we’re down in numbers, so depth hurts us. But our kids look across the field and see about 40 Marian players suited up, and realize we have to work to get to that point.”

Sayre dropped its varsity schedule a year ago, a factor Linblad also pointed out. “We’re trying to rebuild the program, but it’s been a rough couple of weeks.”

ALL-AROUND PLAYER ... Klitsch does many things really well for the Colts. In addition to returning the kickoff for the score, he had one catch for 30 yards and rushed once for 38 yards. He is also a talented defensive back.

DEFENSE LOOKS TOUGH .. The Colt defensive front of Gelatko, James Rodino, Mikovits and Jesse Rodino, linebackers Julian Hermany and Charlie Hower and backs Klitsch, Michael Silliman, Nova McGuire, Dylan Zullo and Michael Johnson made things difficult for the Redskin offense all night.

COLTS LOOK AHEAD .. Dakosty said his team hopes to build on the solid-performance victory; they head to North Schuylkill next Saturday to face a 3-1 Nativity team. “There are no easy ones,” Dakosty said of next week’s opponent.