D-11 Class A Semifinal: Tri-Valley shuts out Marian
Tri-Valley's Blake Schwartz threw two touchdown passes in Friday's 27-0 win over Marian in the District 2/11 Class A subregional semifinals (Photo by Kelly Wiley)
HEGINS – Coal Region football is just one of those things you gotta watch to believe.
You never know what to expect and Friday night’s Marian at Tri-Valley District 2/11 Class A subregional semifinal was one of those games.
The Colts entered on the heels of two pivotal end-of-the-regular-season victories, while the Bulldogs suffered two very lopsided losses.
Marian certainly had all the momentum and Tri-Valley, well, it needed to just get on the field and play Bulldog football.
Consider Tri-Valley’s effort a case where the team wiped the slate clean to prepare for the postseason. And how!
The Bulldogs blanked the Colts 27-0 to advance to next weekend’s subregional championship against Lackawanna Trail. The Lions defeated Nativity 47-20 to advance to the final.
The victory, coupled with Nativity’s loss, makes Tri-Valley the District 11 Class A champions.
“Everyone said that (Marian) was not the same team we played here three months ago,” Tri-Valley coach Jeff Sampson said. “And I agree with them 100 percent, but our defense came to play tonight.
“We had three really good practices and we told them after the Haven game to put it behind them and they did. They responded really well and I thought we were really loose.”
Tri-Valley quarterback Blake Schwartz connected on 7-of-9 passes for 114 yards and threw touchdown passes of 19 yards to Trey Porter for 13 yards to Max Masser.
The Bulldog defense, led by junior Cole Gemberling, stuffed the Marian run game, limiting the Colts to just 30 yards on 29 carries.
After a scoreless first quarter where both defenses shined, the Bulldogs finally got their offense in gear.
Blake Schwartz connected on a 19-yard completion to his younger brother Lucas to move the pisgkin to the Marian 23.
Two plays later, Blake Schwartz showed incredible poise by rolling to his left, avoiding a would-be tackler and delivering a 19-yard touchdown pass to Porter. Nate Hillard drilled the first of three PAT kicks and Tri-Valley led 7-0 with 2:51 remaining in the first half.
The Colts got a huge spark on the ensuing kickoff as senior Michael Johnson fielded Hillard’s kickoff at the Marian 17. The speedster broke a few tackles and returned the ball 42 yards to the Tri-Valley 41.
The Colts went to the airways as Dylan Rodino zipped a 9-yard pass to Michael Gelatko and sophomore Rory Dixon carried twice for eight yards.
On a fourth-and-2 at the Bulldog 20, Rodino’s pass went incomplete and Tri-Valley went into the halftime break ahead 7-0.
The Bulldogs started the second half at their own 21, but Marian’s Gelatko, who played a sensational game on both sides of the ball, recovered a fumble at the Tri-Valley 30.
Again the Dawgs’ defense shined as Marian failed to convert a fourth-down pass at the Bulldog 22 with 8:42 remaining in the third quarter.
For the first two quarters, Tri-Valley was relying heavily on the legs of running back Parker Hatter (19-89), but Sampson and his coaches decided to mix things up as Blake Schwartz began using his 6-foot-7 inch frame to muscle his way for yardage, and Porter and Gemberling also helped tote the ball.
“At halftime, we knew we had to make some adjustments offensively,” Sampson said. “We ran the ball early and were were stonewalled a little bit. Once we spread them out and made them commit to a different defensive look it helped us.
“Defensively, I thought our kids a great job of minimizing what the (Rory) Dixon kid was able to do.”
The Marian defense, which got a great effort from Charlie Hower the entire game, stiffened to force a Tri-Valley punt.
On a third-and-5 at their own 12, Porter came up with a spectacular interception.
Rodino’s pass to Gelatko was perfectly thrown, but somehow Porter was able to tip the pass, he began falling to his back and hauled in the ball at the Colts’ 39.
“We needed something to kick start us,” Sampson explained. “I didn’t see him actually make the play, but it was pivotal to jump starting our offense.”
Three plays later, Blake Schwartz zipped a pass to Masser, who eluded a Marian defender and raced his way 13 yards to paydirt. The Bulldogs led 14-0 with just over one minute left to play in the third quarter.
Three minutes later, after forcing Marian’s offense to go three-and-out, Tri-Valley took possession at the Colts’ 39.
Hatter busted off three runs of 19, 3 and 3 yards, and an offsides penalty on Marian gave the Dawgs first-and-goal at the 9.
Gemberling took a handoff left and breezed into the end zone to give Tri-Valley a 21-0 lead with 9:55 to play in the game.
The Colts offense sputtered as Rodino was hit from the blindside. The hit jarred the football loose as Tri-Valley’s Masser recovered at the Colt 38.
Four plays later, reserve Donovan Keeth busted off a 34-yard run to the end zone for game’s final points with 2:54 left in the game.
