Marian's Hunter Nause may not handle the ball often.

But on Friday night, the senior made the most of his opportunities.Nause scored three touchdowns, including a momentum-changing kickoff return in the second quarter, to help the Colts pull away from Mahanoy Area for a 35-7 Anthracite League victory."There was great blocking all-around on that kickoff," said Nause. "We practice it all week and we knew we'd bust one one of these weeks. It was designed to go outside and we finally got to bust one."I love my role and I try to take advantage any time I touch the ball. Anything to help the team."Nause did more than just help his team. He changed the entire complexion of the game on that one play.After the Golden Bears intercepted a pass, quarterback Mason Ryan broke free for a 32-yard touchdown run to knot the score at 7-7.But Nause took the ensuing kick, cut to his left and went 90 yards down the sideline to give Marian (5-3, 4-3) a lead it would never relinquish."I thought the big play was the kickoff return after they scored," said Colt head coach Stan Dakosty. "Hunter has been a big-play guy for us all year. He came up real big there."That's major there. Obviously it's still anybody's ballgame but to take it back is beautiful. Not only the run, but it was beautifully blocked. Our kids did a really nice job with it. It was right in front of our bench and you could see the opening."Nause added a 35-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter to up Marian's advantage to 28-7. Midway through the final frame he reached the end zone on a 17-yard scamper that closed out the scoring."He's an athlete and a big-play kid for us," said Dakosty. "He fills in at tailback ... He's a threat any time he gets the ball."Mahanoy Area also has some threats in their backfield with Mason Ryan and Lenny Dulsky, but the Marian defense shut them down in the second half.After allowing 162 yards of offense in the opening two quarters, the Colts gave up just 61 the rest of the way."Defensively our coaches did a great job at halftime of making adjustments," said Dakosty. "They have a very good offense and our defense was very disciplined and very tough."Also, the offensive line the last few weeks has really come on strong for us. They're the guys that make it happen. We were sputtering there for awhile and were a little inconsistent but we've got some kids stepping up and we're building some depth there."INSPIRATION ... Marian recognized the 1990 state championship team with some players returning to the field during pre-game ceremonies. In addition, the staff showed clips of that season to the players. "We showed them the highlight film and it was inspiring to watch that because they played with passion and pride. I think a lot of our kids took that to heart."CENTURY MARK ... K.J. Snerr reached 100 yards rushing for the fourth time this season. The senior opened the game's scoring with an 18-yard touchdown run. Snerr accounted for all 63 yards during that drive.BIG STOPS ... With the game still in doubt (Marian leading 21-7), Mahanoy Area faced a fourth-and-one at the Colt 36 late in the third quarter. Josh Skotek dropped Ryan for a 2-yard loss to turn the ball over on downs.DAMAGE WITH HIS FEET ... Colt QB Ethan Kuczynski had two big runs for his team, breaking free for a 36-yard touchdown and gaining 16 yards on a third-and-long.