On Friday night in Pine Grove, the District 11 Class A Championship battle between Williams Valley and Marian will almost certainly be won in the trenches.

The Colts defensive front, which is a vital part of the Times News area's second best defense statistically, will have a huge challenge against a potent Vikings' running game.If Marian (6-5) is going to upset top-seeded Williams Valley (10-1), the Colts' veteran front four of Matt Stanziola, Zach Falls, Kyle Plesh and Nick Erbe will need to come up big.The Vikings have been literally running through, around, and over the competition this season. Williams Valley averages an impressive 261 yards per game on the ground and have one of the best rushers in all of District 11 in Dylan Rabuck.Rabuck has rushed 185 times for 1,836 yards and 18 touchdowns this season. What stands out the most about Rabuck's video-game like statistics is his yards per carry, as he averages 9.1 yards every time he touches the ball.Marian has held opponents to 145 yards rushing per game on the the season."I really like where we're at right now. We got in a little rut the last two games of the regular season, but last week we got back to playing physical football," said Marian head coach Stan Dakosty. "Practice has been physical and high energy, which is how we will need to play against a really good Williams Valley team. They have a great back in Rabuck (6-1, 190 pounds) who can do it all, so we have to play tough up front."When Marian has been able to run the football this season that's when it has been most successful. Last week against Tri-Valley, the Colts were able to do just that, rushing for 268 yards with three of their four scores coming on the ground.Seth Paluck has been the go-to back this season on the ground as he leads the team in rushing with 625 yards and nine touchdowns. Mike Neary, who was expected to combine with Paluck to make some noise in the backfield at the start of the season, picked a perfect game to have his breakout performance. Neary rushed 11 times for 137 yards and two scores against Tri-Valley. Lastly, quarterback Ethan Kuczynski is dangerous in the run game as well as he's rushed for 470 yards and five touchdowns."On defense, our first job is to try and limit their quarterback, he's a four-year starter and can hurt you with his arm and his legs," said Williams Valley head coach Tim Savage. "I think we just have to go out and execute. Our kids are really focused and have worked hard all week long on our scheme both on defense and offense. If we can execute, we should be in good shape."The change in physicality and the improved running game obviously couldn't have come at a better time for Marian. The Colts's success in the run game allows for quarterback Ethan Kuczynski to be at his best. Kuczynski has thrown for almost 1,200 yards on the season with 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions - with most of that coming when the Colts were not running the football well. For Marian, it's best offense comes when the opposing defense can't solely focus on Kuczynski."We made some changes last week up front and it worked out for us. Our running backs did a good job running hard and it was mission accomplished for us with what we wanted to do," said Dakosty. "We need to keep that momentum going and I think it all comes down to what I was saying before about being physical."This game is won up front, so we have to continue that strong play this week."