Marian is at its best when its run game sets the tone.

That’s exactly what the Colts were able to do with their big boys up front, and their super sophomore running back Rory Dixon against Panther Valley on Thursday night.

The Colts got their run game going early, and were able to get consistent push up front on both sides of the ball to help them defeat the Panthers 27-0.

It was apparent from the start that Marian was looking to pound the football. On the Colts first play, Dixon picked up 20 yards, but a few plays later Marian coughed up the football, with PV recovering at its own 36-yard line.

After the Panthers put together a nice drive taking the ball down to the Marian 33-yard line, the Colts would get a big defensive stop, forcing an incompletion with pressure and turning PV over on downs. The Colts would go right back to the run, riding Dixon to go on a seven-play scoring drive capped off by a 3-yard Dixon touchdown to give them a 6-0 lead at the 1:45 mark. Dixon carried the ball 10 times for 92 yards in the first quarter.

“We have some tough guys up front, and they played well tonight. Aidan Milkovits, Julian Hermany, guys like that. We were even down a guy with Zach Holt out tonight,” said Marian head coach Billy O’Gurek.

“So, we had other guys step up. Mason Solt, Sam Turrano, and Connor Rehnert; those guys were big for us as well. Our line did a good job of establishing physicality at the line of scrimmage early on.”

Panther Valley would do its best to hang around though in the first half. The Panthers’ defense came up with a huge interception in the second quarter on a Marian fourth-and-six from the PV 16-yard line. Logan Fisher jumped in front of the pass at the 9-yard line to thwart the Colts drive.

But like most of the night, PV couldn’t get anything going on offense to take advantage of the momentum.

Once again, Marian (2-1, 1-1 CL/SL Blue) went back to its rushing attack for the rest of the first half, and the Colts tacked on another score around the 4:30 mark of the second quarter. A 21-yard Dixon run set up a 3-yard Michael Gelatko rushing score to make it 13-0.

The Panthers got another big stop right before the half, blocking a 40-yard Marian field goal attempt to stay within striking distance at the intermission.

“The opening drive we were physical, but after that their line took over. Both their linemen and their linebackers played great tonight, and we didn’t have an answer for it,” said Panther Valley head coach Mark Lavine.

“To keep it within two touchdowns at the half, we were okay with that. We made some adjustments, but they beat us up front as well in the second half. But our kids never gave up. They fought until the end. We’re doing things the right way. So, we just need to keep working.”

The Colts seized control in the third quarter and put the Panthers (0-3, 0-2 CL/SL Blue) away by dominating in the trenches. The Marian defense forced three punts in the third, and on offense Dixon scored two more rushing touchdowns to make it a 27-0 Colts advantage after three.

Field position certainly favored Marian throughout this one. The Colts’ first score of the third started at the PV 22-yard line, and their second began at the Panthers 29.

“I thought we were a little sloppy in the first half. We told the guys that we knew they were a better team than what they showed in that first half. That we needed to come out strong and make some plays right away,” said O’Gurek.

“We made some adjustments, and we did some different things with our run game, going more to the weak side and our kids responded. And Rory was great for us tonight. We know going into every game we want to establish the run, and we have a guy back there in Rory who can do that for us.”

SUPER SOPHOMORE … Dixon served as the workhorse for the Colts offense, rushing 30 times for 175 yards and three touchdowns.

LINE OF SCRIMMAGE … The Colts controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, but were especially impressive on the defensive end. Marian held the Panthers to just 116 yards of total offense, with many coming off a late 49-yard run by freshman running back Troy Nunez with the reserves in the game.

UP NEXT … Marian heads to Shenandoah next week, while PV hosts Pine Grove.

Marian 27, Panther Valley 0

Marian 6 7 14 0 - 27

Panther Vy. 0 0 0 0 - 0

Scoring Summary

M - Dixon 3 run (kick failed)

M - Gelatko 10 run (Bushati kick)

M - Dixon 5 run (Bushati kick)

M - Dixon 14 run (Bushati kick)