WILLIAMSTOWN — It was only the season opener.
But K.J. Snerr, Ethan Kuczynski and the rest of the Marian offense clicked like it was late October.
Snerr scored three TDs and Kuczynski threw for two scores and ran for another as the Colts rolled past Williams Valley 35-7 on Friday night at Stauffenberg Field at Viking Stadium.
Snerr scored on runs of 14 and 1 yards and hauled in a 21-yard TD pass from Kuczynski. Kuczynski was 6-for-6 passing for 71 yards, capping a big Marian first half with a 10-yard TD run.
“Everyone is nervous the first game. You have a long offseason, and you don’t know what to expect,” Kuczynski said. “We worked really hard and we wanted to execute.
“We all played good as a team. It’s a team effort out there. The line blocked well, and K.J. had a great game. We just executed.”
Marian scored on its first three possessions, taking the opening kickoff 60 yards in nine plays for its first score, a 21-yard pass from Kuczynski to Snerr.
The play was Kuczynski’s first passing attempt of the night and followed eight straight running plays. Snerr, who started the play in the backfield, ended up in the secondary uncovered after Kuczynski ran play-action.
“Once I saw their safety go, I knew exactly where I was going,” Snerr said. “Me and Zig still have that connection, and we executed it.”
After the Colts’ defense forced a three-and-out on Williams Valley’s first possession, the
Colts made it 14-0 on a 20-yard pass from Kuczynski to tight end Matt Stanziola. Like the TD pass to Snerr, the 6-foot-5 Stanziola broke off the line of scrimmage and was uncovered on the third-and-11 play.
“Their first two scores were uncontested,” Williams Valley coach Tim Savage said. “We had a guy roll up on the tight end and for some reason doesn’t cover him. They were little dump passes and we didn’t cover them.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us.”
Things didn’t get any better for the Vikings.
Quarterback Nick Rodichok fumbled on the next play, which led to Snerr’s 14-yard TD run that made it 21-0 with 1:49 left in the first quarter.
The Colts then added two second-quarter touchdowns, a 1-yard run by Snerr and the 10-yard run by Kuczynski that came with 6 seconds left in the first half.
Snerr’s touchdown came after an interception by Hunter Nause, one of three picks by the Marian defense. Kuczynski’s scamper followed a 20-yard punt return by Snerr that took the ball to the Vikings’ 22 with 27.9 seconds left in the half.
In the first half, Marian outgained Williams Valley 207-49, had an 11-3 advantage in first downs and forced three turnovers. The Vikings’ initial first down came with 9:41 left in the second quarter.
“We’re light years ahead of where we were,” Snerr said. “We’re really happy where we are right now.
“Give a lot of credit to my linemen. They’ve been crisp all week and they showed it today.”
A big reason for Marian’s first-half dominance was the play of its offensive line.
Right tackle Kyle Plesh, right guard Josh Skotek, center Ryan Malarkey, left tackle Peter Dubravski and the trio of Noah Heckman, Devin Shimko and Aaron Bailey at left guard continuously created holes for Snerr to run through and gave Kuczynski plenty of time to throw.
Heckman was lost early in the game with a knee injury, but Shimko and Bailey filled in admirably in his absence.
“Coach (Chink) Connely and Coach (J.D.) Hackenberg have the offensive line,” Dakosty said. “These guys did a great job. We think we’re as deep as we’ve been in a while on our offensive and defensive lines.”
Defensively, the Colts’ secondary of Snerr, Nause, Aaron DeAngelo and Dominic Mussoline confused Rodichok all game long. Snerr, Nause and DeAngelo had interceptions, while a pick-six by DeAngelo was called back by a penalty and Mussoline dropped another pass that also would have went for a touchdown.
Malik Zver, Plesh and Jeffrey Thomas recorded sacks, while Gunnar Rehrig had a fumble recovery.
“They have skilled kids, and their quarterback is outstanding,” Dakosty said. “Our thought was to basically pressure him and throw him off-balance. Our kids did a great job with that.
“I thought our secondary did well.”
With the mercy rule in effect after halftime, Marian’s first-teamers only played one series in the second half. Williams Valley’s only touchdown came when Dylan Rabuck scored on a 13-yard run with 1:28 remaining.
Rabuck rushed for 104 yards on 13 carries, most of which came against the Colts’ second-team defense.
“It’s always good motivation (moving forward),” Snerr said. “You can’t go undefeated unless you win the first one, and that’s what we did.”
Game Summary
Marian (1-0) 21 14 0 0 — 35
WV (0-1) 0 0 0 7 — 7
Mar — Snerr 21 pass from Kuczynski (Buscher kick)
Mar — Stanziola 20 pass from Kuczynski (Buscher kick)
Mar — Snerr 14 run (Buscher kick)
Mar — Snerr 1 run (Buscher kick)
Mar — Kuczynski 10 run (Buscher kick)
WV — Dy. Rabuck 13 run (Mini kick)
Marian WV
First Downs 11 8
Rushes-Yards 37-158 19-93
Passes 6-6-0 5-17-3
Passing Yards 71 88
Total Yards 229 181
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 2-1
Penalties 6-45 2-20
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Marian — Snerr 14-72, Kuczynski 6-57, Nause 2-18, N. Goldberg 3-9, Zver 5-8, Paluck 3-5, Litsch 2-2, Mick 1-(-4), Team 1-(-9). Williams Valley — Dy. Rabuck 13-104, Rodichok 5-(-11), Team 1-0.
PASSING: Marian — Kuczynski 6-6-0, 72. Williams Valley — Rodichok 5-17-3, 88.
RECEIVING: Marian — DeAngelo 1-23, Snerr 1-21, Stanziola 1-20, Nause 1-4, Mussoline 2-3. Williams Valley — Hand 1-45, J. Wolfgang 1-23, Dy. Rabuck 2-16, De. Rabuck 1-4.
INTERCEPTIONS: Marian — Snerr, Nause, DeAngelo.