Marian and Pius X have long and storied playoff histories full of District 11 championships and trips to the PIAA playoffs.
Despite the combined 10 district crowns, however, the Colts and Royals have never met in a District 11 playoff game.
That unusual statistic will be erased Saturday.
Two of District 11’s storied small-school programs will clash Saturday night when Marian faces Pius X in the Class A championship game at 7:10 p.m. at Nazareth Area High School.
The top-seeded Royals (9-2) advanced with a 26-7 victory over Mahanoy Area, while the second-seeded Colts (8-3) rolled past Williams Valley 35-12. Saturday’s winner advances to the state playoffs and will take on the District 12/1 champion next Friday at a District 11 site.
“Since I’ve been here, we’ve kind of had a sporadic relationship,” Marian coach Stan Dakosty said. “They’ve been on our schedule, then off the schedule. There’s been no consistency.
“We’ve fared OK against them, but not great, especially in recent years. They’re always a tough team.”
According to Marian football records, the Colts and Royals have played 22 times, with Pius X winning 17. The schools were regular opponents from 1958-67, then again from 1970-75, with Pius X winning 13 of those 16 contests.
Since Dakosty took over at Marian in 1977, the teams have met six times, all since 2003. The only postseason meeting came in 2003, when Pius X defeated Marian 32-27 in an Eastern Conference Class A semifinal.
“They have a lot of athletes who are tough to tackle in space. They have athletes who can make plays,” Dakosty said. “Their athleticism stands out.”
The best of Pius’ athletes is junior quarterback Tre Jordan. The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder has thrown for 2,310 yards and 31 touchdowns with just three interceptions, while running for 363 yards and nine scores.
It was Jordan’s running that stood out in the win over Mahanoy Area, as he rushed 18 times for 107 yards and two touchdowns.
“I think that what makes him so dangerous ... obviously he can throw. But when he doesn’t run, he escapes, and that doesn’t show up in the stats,” Dakosty said of Jordan. “He could be pinned in the pocket and trapped, but he escapes and makes the throw. That’s the dangerous part of his game.
“He runs outstanding, passes outstanding and when you think you have him, he’s able to make a play or extend the play.”
Mahanoy Area dropped several defenders in coverage against Jordan, and the Royals used their running game to combat it. Dakosty said his secondary, which includes Matt Karnish, Angelo Maskornick, Nico Agosti, Hunter Nause, K.J. Snerr and Dominic Mussoline, will need to be on its game if the Colts are to be successful.
Offensively, the Colts have had a good balance with the running of Snerr (175-1,341, 13 TDs) and the throwing of sophomore QB Ethan Kuczynski, who has completed 65-of-111 passes for 1,185 yards and 15 touchdowns.
The Colts’ abundance of weapons is what scares Pius X coach Phil Stambaugh.
“What impresses me about Marian is their explosiveness,” Stambaugh said.
“We played against Maskornick when he was a freshman in the district title game when he was with Shenandoah. Snerr is a kid who hits the hole well.
“We’re going to have our work cut out for us trying to stop them.”
Both programs are appearing in a District 11 title game for the 11th time. Pius X won Class A crowns in 1995, 2001, ’04 and ’11, while Marian won Class A crowns in 1985, ’89, ’93 and 2007 and Class AA titles in 1998 and 2000.
For these Colts, winning a district championship will be the culmination of a climb from a 2-8 record in 2010 to a 5-5 record in 2011, a trip to the district semis in 2012 and an Eastern Conference Class A crown last year.
“Our motto in the offseason was that last year was the next step. This year, we go one more step,” Dakosty said. “Winning the Eastern Conference is great, but districts is what you shoot for.
“You can’t win it unless you’re there. And we’re excited about being there.”