Brandon Klitsch isn’t a name that blares over the loudspeakers too often at Marian football games, but he was the center of attention Friday night against Pottsville Nativity.

The soft-spoken, 5-10 junior made a clutch catch, pulling in a 47-yard pass in double coverage while the clock was quickly winding down and set up his team’s winning touchdown.

Power-runner Matt Martin, also a sophomore, completed the job scoring with 1:38 to play, giving the Colts a 15-12 victory.

It was a game that almost got away from Marian. Poorly timed penalties on Marian and two long pass plays for Nativity almost doomed the Colts.

“We’re still growing. We’re not where we want to be but it’s a process,” Marian coach Stan Dakosty said. “When you get those penalties, they take plays away. We adjusted at halftime and the kids responded.”

In mentioning how the team is improving, he said, “Remember how the team was a couple of years ago and we’re 3-2 now.”

Marian looked like the more dominant team in the first quarter, holding Nativity to negative rushing yardage, not letting them have a first down, breaking up the Green Wave’s only two pass plays and jumping out to an 8-0 lead.

But Nativity’s Noah Dolbin, a sophomore, made two incredible pass plays that not only kept them in the game but put them ahead.

The Colts raised a lot of fuss but couldn’t do much damage until the end of the game.

With a little over two minutes left, Nativity ran into a fourth down situation on their own 48. Nativity lined up in punt formation but instead of kicking the ball, Noah Dolbin decided to run. Marian’s defense stopped Dolbin about a yard short of the first down on the Marian 42.

Colts junior quarterback Bruck Hopeck threw the ball to Michael Galatko who made an excellent sideline catch that advanced the ball 31 yards. Two plays later, Hopeck heaved the ball to Klitsch who got ahead of his two defenders. The ball was thrown perfectly, just over the reaching hands of the defenders and into the grasp of Klitsch who held onto it. He was stopped on the eight yard line.

Martin carried twice, the second time breaking through the middle for a touchdown. Caden Kash kicked the extra point.

That was the second touchdown of the night for Martin. Late in the first quarter, he broke through left tackle and crossed the width of the field diagonally, running 25 yards for six points. Hopeck got the two-point conversion on a quarterback keeper.

Midway through the second quarter, Nativity finally scored when quarterback Benjamin Kreitzer tossed long to Dolbin for a 62-yard touchdown play. A pass play for the points after failed.

A 30-yard pass from Kreitzer to Dolbin set up the second Nativity touchdown, giving them the ball with a first and goal at the one. Samuel Spolski, a sophomore, took it into the end zone.

Nativity head coach Pat Mason was obviously disappointed with the outcome.

Referring to Klitsch’s catch, he said, “The kid made a great play in double coverage. Now we’re going to move on from here. We’re going to regroup and come back at them next year.”

FORMER CHAMPIONS HONORED

... During halftime, members of the championship 1971 Marian football team were honored. About a dozen members of that team from 51 years ago were present and given lifetime free admission to all Marian sporting events.

NEXT UP

... The Colts will have a tough task next week when they travel to Mahanoy Area. In two weeks they return home against Shenandoah.

GOOD DEFENSIVE SHOWING

... No question Marian’s defense stood up to the task against Nativity. In the third quarter, the Green Wave got deep into Marian territory when Samuel Walborn intercepted a pass on the 25 and returned it to the 15. They advanced the ball to the six where the Colts held them.