HOMETOWN — Dylan Rabuck’s 71-yard kickoff return to the Marian 5-yard line had swung momentum in Williams Valley’s favor and put the Vikings in position to tie Friday’s District 11 Class A semifinal.
The Vikings never reached the end zone.
Marian’s defense turned away Williams Valley three straight times from the 1-yard line, mounting a goal-line stand that was the critical point in the Colts’ 35-12 victory over the Vikings at Men of Marian Stadium.
Williams Valley advanced inside the Marian 20-yard line three times in the first half, and each time came
away with no points. The Colts rode that momentum en route to a 21-0 halftime lead and never looked back, advancing to the District 11 championship game for the first time since 2007.
Marian (8-3) will face the winner of today’s Mahanoy Area vs. Pius X semifinal contest next weekend at a site and time to be determined.
“It goes to show how determined we are to win,” Marian linebacker Nick Sully said. “When push comes to shove, we’re there and we’re ready to make the play.
“I think our defense was just ready to make the play. We’re all physical guys on the line. We were pumped. We knew we had to stop them, and we did.”
Marian capitalized on Nico Agosti’s interception to score the game’s first points on an 8-yard pass from Ethan Kuczynski to Aaron DeAngelo. The first of five Tim Buscher conversion kicks put the Colts up 7-0 just 5:12 into the game.
On the ensuing kickoff, Rabuck fielded the ball at his 25, dropped it, then cut back through the defense. The freshman broke a couple of tackles and nearly scored, getting tripped up at the 5-yard line.
On the first play, Matt Miller rumbled down to the 1, coming within inches of a touchdown. Nick Rodichok followed with two quarterback sneaks, each time getting stopped short of the goal line. On fourth down, the Vikings tried Rabuck off the left guard, and he was stopped at the 1.
“On paper, it’s two equal teams. But if you can’t put it in from the half-yard line on three chances, you don’t deserve to win,” Williams Valley coach Tim Savage said. “That changed the entire momentum, it changes emotion.
“It was a great defensive stand by them and it propelled them to the victory. Kids are very emotional, and they feed off the positives and the negatives. They got all the momentum and we lost any that we could have attained.”
The ability to score in the red zone was the difference in the second meeting between the teams this season.
Marian scored on three of its first four possessions, as Agosti scampered in on a 37-yard run off a scissors play early in the second quarter, and Angelo Maskornick hauled in a 10-yard pass from K.J. Snerr midway through the quarter to give the Colts a 21-0 lead at intermission.
Marian’s balance on offense was too much for the Vikings. Running through big holes created by his offensive line, Snerr paced a potent ground game with 149 yards on 27 carries. He added a 6-yard TD run in the fourth quarter for Marian’s final points.
Kuczynski completed his first five passes and finished 7-for-10 for 87 yards. The sophomore slinger gave Marian a 28-0 lead early in the third quarter when he capped an 11-play, 67-yard drive with a 10-yard TD pass to Agosti.
“We’ve been working really hard the past couple of weeks,” Kuczynski said. “The line blocked really well, we got K.J. going there and we just executed.
“The way K.J. is running ball, it sets up the passing game so easily. All you have to do is look for open holes in the defense and just execute.”
Williams Valley rode the strong running of Matt Miller to effectively move the ball against the Marian defense, but struggled in the red zone.
The Vikings reached the 1, 16 and 4 on consecutive possessions in the first half and didn’t score, and reached the Colts’ 11 in the fourth quarter only to come away empty.
Matt Miller finished with 202 yards rushing on 29 carries, breaking Cole Barnhardt’s single-season school record of 1,712 yards set two years ago.
Marian, meanwhile, looks to win a championship for the second straight season after capturing the Eastern Conference Class A crown last year.
“I’m very pleased,” Marian coach Stan Dakosty said. “We ran effectively and we threw effectively when we had to. Our defense made two big stands and we got a big win.
“We’re playing for the district championship. We’re excited.”
Game Summary
District 11 Class A Semifinal
Wms. Val. (6-5) 0 0 6 6 — 12 Marian (8-3) 7 14 7 7 — 35
M —DeAngelo 8 pass from Kuczynski (Buscher kick)
M —Agosti 37 run (Buscher kick)
M —Maskornick 10 pass from Snerr (Buscher kick)
M — Agosti 10 pass from Kuczynski (Buscher kick)
WV —C. Miller 30 pass from Rodichok (kick failed)
M —Snerr 6 run (Buscher kick)
WV —M. Miller 2 run (pass failed)
WV Mar
First Downs 16 17
Rushes-Yards 36-207 43-233
Passes 7-25-1 8-12-1
Passing Yards 96 97
Total Yards 303 330
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 1-0
Penalties 4-25 2-28
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Williams Valley — M. Miller 29-202, Harris 1-4, Rodichok 4-1, Zimmerman 1-0, Dy. Rabuck 1-0. Marian — Snerr 27-149, Agosti 4-44, Sully 8-41, Rehrig 2-4, Neary 1-(-2), Kuczynski 1-(-3).
PASSING: Williams Valley — Rodichok 7-24-1, 96; M. Miller 0-1-0, 0. Marian — Kuczynski 7-10-0, 87; Snerr 1-2-1, 10.
RECEIVING: Williams Valley — C. Miller 4-57, M. Miller 2-24, Harris 1-15. Marian — Agosti 3-51, Maskornick 3-23, DeAngelo 2-23.
INTERCEPTIONS: Williams Valley — Zimmerman. Marian — Agosti.