The first three weeks of the high school football season have brought plenty of highlights and memorable moments.

From big-time bowouts to nail-biters that go down to the wire, teams have found ways to win games in a variety of ways.

Last Friday was no different.

Pleasant Valley used several key defensive plays - including a stop at the 1-yard line - and a late touchdown to remain undefeated with a tough 7-6 win over East Stroudsburg South. The Bears stopped a two-point conversion try before Rory Robinson hit the go-ahead extra point after a touchdown run by Valentino Byers-Robinson to provide the difference.

Northwestern’s Cade Christopher, the Times News Football Player of the Week, returned a kickoff for a score in the Tigers’ win over Blue Mountain. A dynamic playmaker, Christopher had a punt return for a score the previous week.

Trailing late, Marian used a blocked punt to seize momentum en route to a win over Catasauqua.

Big special teams plays for every team are no accident.

This week’s OVERTIME column will focus on the Colts’ success in a crucial spot, and how special teams can turn the tables late in a game.

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So, what makes special teams so ... well, special?

Everything.

Coaches often tout winning “all three phases” of the game, having success on offense, defense and special teams.

Veteran Marian mentor Stan Dakosty knows there can’t be a successful program with one of those areas lacking.

Staring at a 7-6 deficit late in last week’s game against Catasauqua, the Colts needed a big play.

They got it from junior Jesse Rodino, who sprinted through the Rough Riders’ line to block a punt with a little over two minutes tleft o give Marian a chance at the win from the 10-yard line.

The Colts cashed in with Matt Martin, who scored what would be the winning touchdown and put them up 12-7 with 1:56 to play in the game to improve to 2-1 on the season.

“Our kids showed a lot of intestinal fortitude. There were many times in that game they could have folded the tent, and this team doesn’t do that,” said Dakosty. “They compete right to the end, and made a big play right there and blocked the punt. But our defense played super all game, and they really shut them down in the second half.

“We made some plays offensively; we’d like to make a little bit more offensively, but I also thought our special teams made some big returns and had some big plays for us.”

Rodino’s play was the result of countless hours put in by both the players and coaches to capitalize on certain situations.

“We really work on that,” Dakosty said. “We scheme our blocks; I think we blocked three punts this year and two extra points so far, and Coach (Billy) O’Gurek is our special teams coordinator and we work on that the same way we do offense and defense, and basically look at what we think we can hit, and our kids executed it perfectly. You’ve got to tie certain people up, and our kids did and one guy came clean and got the block so it was not by accident; it was by practicing during the week and getting things done.

“People tend to make special teams a small part (of the game), but it’s a major part of the game. It’s critical for field position and as we saw on Friday night, momentum. The kids enjoy it. We treat a kickoff as a defensive play, and a kickoff return as an offensive play.

“The extra point is the only play in football where a team can score a point and the other team can’t. They can block a field goal, but if they block an extra point, they can’t score. So it’s one point there for us to get, and we kind of approach it that way. Our coaching staff does a great job with it.”

The result was a tremendous effort that ultimately helped the Colts pull out a victory.

“He came clean on it. The guys who were suppose to tie their blockers up did a great job, and allowed him to come clean,” said Dakosty. “And it takes some guts to block a kick when you come clean, and he did a great job doing it.”

It was the type of play that can be the difference with the game on the line.

And one that can provide a boost the Colts will hope to build on this week against Line Mountain.

“We have a nice trip, a long trip, but we’re going to go out and compete,” said Dakosty. “Our guys have a really great attitude; they’re working hard to get better at everything we do, every day, so as a coach I can’t ask for anything more than that. And to come off a win like that (against Catasauqua) the way we did, and the way we just kept grinding away and grinding away is really something that, as a head coach, you like to see that in your football team.

“We have a lot of confidence in our kids, and we know we have a tough test going into Line Mountain, but we have confidence in them and know that they realize that also.”

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BEAR FACTS ... Pleasant Valley pulled out a 7-6 victory over East Stroudsburg South last Friday to improve its record to 3-0.

The last time the Bears scored only seven points in a game and still won was Sept. 23, 2011 - 110 games ago - when it trimmed Lehighton by an identical 7-6 score.

Starting the season 3-0 is an even rarer occurrence for PV. The last time it won its first three games of the season was 1993 when it downed Wilson, Saucon Valley and East Stroudsburg. The Bears ended that season with a 9-2 record.

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QUITE A CATCH ... In Palmerton’s game against Palisades last Friday, Matt Machalik threw for a school-record 302 yards (see graphic). During that record-setting effort, the Blue Bomber completed six passes to Daniel Lucykanish, and five to both Kendall Robinson and Dalton Drake.

Over the past 25 years, that marked just the fifth time that an area team had three different players catch at least five passes during a game. Pleasant Valley has accomplished that feat twice, once on Oct. 27, 2017 (Brent Beck nine catches, Mike Brown eight and Samir Hoxha seven) and again on Nov. 5, 2010 (Rich Irving six, Jalen Blot five and Rob Getz five). Lehighton has done it once - on Oct. 7, 2011 (Anthony Farole seven, Jacen Nalesnik seven and Steve Shanton five), while Palmerton also did it once before - on Oct. 26, 2018 (Cody Waterhouse seven, Eli Rivera six and Aaron Stasko five).

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NO OFFENSE NEEDED ... Marian pulled out a 12-7 victory over Catasauqua last Friday despite not producing much offensively.

The Colts managed just 85 yards of offense in its win over the Rough Riders.

Over the past 35 years, Marian had been held to under 100 yards of offense just 25 times, and its record during that span was 0-25.

Before Friday, the fewest yards the Colts had gained in a win (since 1988) was the 120 they mustered against Exeter in a 7-6 victory on Oct. 6, 1995.

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KICKOFF RETURN ... Northwestern’s Cade Christopher - this week’s Football Player of the Week - had an important kickoff return for a touchdown in last week’s game against Blue Mountain.

Christopher - who had a punt return for a score the previous week- is the first Tiger to take a kickoff to the house since Oct. 27, 2017 when Dylan Frantz returned one 80 yards against Catasauqua. That score occurred 49 games, or roughly 195 kickoffs, ago.