Yes, there were more turnovers.

And sure, it ended up being a loss.

But after giving state-ranked Tri-Valley all it could handle in the first half of Friday’s night Colonial-Schuylkill League Blue Division contest, Marian head coach Stan Dakosty couldn’t have been more pleased with his team’s effort.

“My kids played their butts off. They played their butts off, and they played hard,” said Dakosty after the Bulldogs eventually pulled away for a 33-7 victory to run their record to 9-0. “If we could somehow stop shooting ourselves in the foot, we’d have a chance to do some really nice things.

“We’re not done yet. We went through all kinds of adversity. We couldn’t practice on Wednesday, which is usually our work day. We lost three linemen, and our guys just kept plugging ... We get Pine Grove next, and we’re hoping to get into the Eastern Conference playoffs, and for this program - where we were - that would be quite an achievement.”

Jumping out to a 7-0 lead on the first play from scrimmage was also quite an achievement for the Colts against the No. 4-ranked team in the state in Class 1A.

Quarterback Bruce Hopeck tossed a pass to tight end Michael Gelatko over the middle, and the sophomore raced 62 yards to the end zone to excite the host fans on Senior Night.

“I thought we needed a jump start,” said Dakosty. “We wanted to show we were there to mean business, and it worked perfectly. The play was executed perfectly.”

Marian’s play, however, wasn’t perfect after that.

While the defense did force a punt, a fumble on the Colts’ second play from scrimmage gave Tri-Valley the ball at the Marian 9-yard line. The Bulldogs needed just one play to capitalize, as Reese Huntzinger took it in to even the score at 7-7.

Marian (4-5) dodged a bullet after having its punt blocked, as Tri-Valley fumbled into the end zone to keep the tie intact, but an interception by Jolten Flory gave the visitors good field position again. Once more, the Bulldogs took advantage as Noah Porter found a seam and broke free for a 25-yard touchdown run with just 3.4 seconds left in the opening quarter.

“That (turnovers) has been the story of this team, and that’s the frustrating part of it, because we know it’s not intentional,” said Dakosty. “We’re working hard, but we keep doing these things. I think they had two drives that started (deep in our territory). Against a team like Tri-Valley, you can’t do that.”

Three times in the second quarter the Colts reached Bulldog territory, but two failed fourth-down plays and another interception ended drives.

Moments after the pick, which came with 1:44 left until halftime, Tri-Valley’s Kole Miller threw a short pass to Jacob Scheib, who got loose down the right sideline for a 59-yard gain and set up the Bulldogs with a first-and-goal.

One play later, Miller found Jake Tietsworth in the end zone for a 6-yard score and a 20-7 lead.

“That was big because it set the tone for us,” said Tri-Valley head coach Jeff Sampson. “It kind of gave us a little springboard into the second half, so I thought it was very important for us.

“I thought we came out flat. I wasn’t really impressed with our play in that first half. I thought we played better in the second half, but there’s a lot of stuff we need to clean up.”

The Bulldogs did play better in the second half, especially on defense. Marian couldn’t move the ball on four straight possessions and were limited to minus-four yards on eight plays.

Huntzinger reached the end zone late in the third quarter on a 5-yard run, two plays after another Colt turnover, and Scheib’s 1-yard plunge early in the fourth - after a 65-yard drive - sealed yet another win for Sampson’s squad.

“I have high expectations for our defense, because they’ve been so good all year,” he said. “So, it was a little disconcerting early on when we were giving them some yardage, especially the first play of the game. But they tightened up like they usually do, and I thought they finished the game out really well.”

LOOKING AHEAD? ... Sampson admitted some of his players may have been looking ahead to Week 10, when the Bulldogs face rival Williams Valley. “I don’t want to say we were looking ahead, but obviously these are teen-aged kids, and they’re going to think what they think. So, I’m sure some of them were looking ahead to next week, but now it’s here so they need to look no further.”

TURNOVER TROUBLE ... Marian turned the ball over four times and also had a punt blocked. They have 24 turnovers this season. On a positive note, the Colts forced three miscues - including interceptions by Nova McGuire and Carsyn Chambers.