Marian will be looking to capture its first district championship since 2015 when it meets Minersville in the District 11 1A title game on Friday night at Blue Mountain.

The game will be a rematch of an edge-of-your-seat thriller that the Colts (7-4) and Miners (9-2) played back in Week 2 of the regular season - a game that Minersville won, 41-39.

In that contest, the Colts stormed back after trailing 34-13 going into the fourth quarter. Three touchdown passes from quarterback Bruce Hopeck - two to Jesse Rodino and one to Brandon Klitsch - and a 44-yard interception return by Klitsch nearly earned the Colts a comeback victory.

The rally ultimately fell short in large part because Minersville running back Luke Stevenosky stole the show. Stevenosky - one of the most talented running backs in all of District 11 this season - rushed for 316 yards and four touchdowns in the game.

Stevenosky has been putting up those numbers all season long, as he has rushed for 2,183 yards and 32 touchdowns, averaging 198.5 rushing yards per game and 9.4 yards per carry. He leads a Minersville rushing attack that averages 260.1 yards per game.

Miners’ quarterback Dante Carr has also been a formidable option in the ground attack, rushing for 627 yards (10.5 yards per carry) and 10 touchdowns.

“Tackling is something we’re going to need to do a better job of this time around for sure,” said Marian coach Stan Dakosty. “But of course, that is easier said than done against a really good running back. They also run the ball well with the quarterback, so we have to be aware of him as well.

“We also have to limit the big plays. We know they have guys that can break big runs, so again it comes down to making plays and making tackles.”

Other than the Week 2 contest against the Miners, the Colts’ defense has been stingy throughout the season. The Colts gave up just 37 rushing yards and allowed just seven first downs to Tri-Valley in the district semifinals last week.

“I can’t say enough about this team’s defensive effort this season,” said Dakosty. “Our players and coaches work hard every week, and it shows. I think that group has played very well, with few exceptions this season. I think they have been one of the better defenses in our area this season.”

There’s no doubt that both Marian and Minersville like to run the football, but it was the Colts’ passing game that came up huge for them last week against Tri-Valley. Hopeck put together some nice numbers against the Bulldogs throwing for 159 yards and two scores - on spectacular touchdowns receptions from Jesse Rodino and Nova McGuire.

Hopeck has been playing some good football down the stretch for Marian, and is now up to 1,249 passing yards and 10 touchdowns on the season.

“Our passing game came up huge for us last week, and I think Bruce (Hopeck) played very well for us,” said Dakosty. “He is playing with a lot of confidence right now.

“Our receivers also made some clutch receptions in that game, which were big for us, but I want to also give credit to our offensive line. That group did a good job of protecting so we could make some plays downfield. We need to continue to be balanced, and execute in the passing game again this week.”

Marian has been competing in some knock-down-drag-out slug fests as of late. In fact, in the Colts last four games, the average margin of victory for the winner has been just 9.5 points.

“This is going to be a tempo game. They are a tempo team, so we need to come out from the very start and set the tone and set the tempo,” said Dakosty. “We came out last week and we went on a 12-13 play drive, and we were able to score and take time off the clock. That is again the start we will be looking for.”