The Marian Catholic Colts came out strong in their Friday night matchup against the Shenandoah Valley Blue Devils, cruising to a decisive 47-23 win.
Shenandoah Valley won the toss and elected to receive, but their first drive faltered, going three-and-out. Marian Catholic wasted no time on their first possession. On the first play, quarterback Dylan Rodino connected with Gelatko on a 39-yard touchdown pass, followed by a successful extra point by Jah Bushati, putting the Colts up 7-0 with 9:25 left in the first quarter.
Moments later, Marian Catholic's Charles Hower intercepted a pass, giving the Colts the ball on the Blue Devils’ 14-yard line. On the very next play, running back Rory Dixon ran it in for another touchdown, though the extra point attempt was blocked. Marian Catholic extended their lead to 13-0.
Shenandoah Valley’s troubles continued on their next drive as Bushati intercepted another pass, setting up Marian Catholic on the 16-yard line. The Colts capitalized quickly, with Gelatko running in a touchdown from the 3-yard line, followed by a successful extra point, bringing the score to 20-0.
The Blue Devils showed some life at the end of the first quarter when Mikey Elchisak intercepted a pass, returning it to the Colts’ 5-yard line. However, a fumble on the first play of the second quarter gave Marian Catholic the ball back. Shenandoah Valley’s defense responded, forcing a safety to make the score 20-2.
Marian Catholic continued their offensive onslaught. With 5:47 left in the second quarter, Tyler Price ran in a touchdown from 4 yards out, extending the lead to 27-2. Moments later, Michael Johnson picked off a pass and returned it for a touchdown, pushing the Colts further ahead, 34-2.
Shenandoah Valley finally found the end zone with 4:53 left in the half, as Joel Nunez broke loose for a 40-yard touchdown run, followed by a successful extra point from Sam Mentusky, bringing the score to 34-9. Nunez then picked off a Marian pass and returned it for another touchdown with just under three minutes left in the half. With the extra point, Shenandoah Valley cut the deficit to 34-16 at halftime.
Marian Catholic continued to dominate in the second half. With 6:34 left in the third quarter, Hunter Sartori dashed 30 yards for another touchdown, though the extra point was no good. Dixon added another touchdown with just over three minutes left in the third, pushing the score to 47-16.
In the fourth quarter, Shenandoah Valley’s quarterback Ethan Bench threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Todd Seiger, and the extra point made the final score 47-23.
Marian Catholic improves to 3-1 on the season and will host Mahanoy Area next week. Shenandoah Valley, still searching for their first win, falls to 0-4 and will travel to Pine Grove next Friday.
Story/Photos by J. Reed / Skook News
