Marian took a big chance in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter in its 25-20 victory over Nativity on Friday night in a Schuylkill League Division 2 game at Stan Dakosty Field.

The Colts (4-3, 3-1) were faced with a fourth down and two yards to go with less than three minutes remaining at their own 49-yard line.

Rather than punt and give the Green Wave (1-6, 0-4) another possession, they chose to go for it, taking a chance of giving Nativity a short field to work with in an attempt for a come-from-behind victory in the final minutes.

Running back Tyler Price initially appeared to come up short on the fourth-down play, but a second effort gave him just enough for the first down. That allowed Marian to run out the clock to secure its second straight win and get over the .500 mark on the season.

“I thought we stopped them, but I guess we get no measurements,” Nativity coach Pat Mason said. “I couldn’t see it from where I was.”

Marian coach Billy O’Gurek could see it from his sideline, and was relieved his gamble paid off.

“We just barely made that first down,” O’Gurek said. “We were fortunate to be able to pull it out at the end. They played great and gave us everything we could handle.”

Nativity was in a position to pull off a come-from-behind win after scoring two big-play touchdowns via passes from Cole Felty to Jacob Williams of 45 and 40 yards to cut the Marian lead to five points with over five minutes remaining.

But the Colts running game was able to sustain drives and keep the ball away from the Green Wave. Price had a big game for Marian with 160 yards rushing, while quarterback Greg Tirpak threw two TD passes in the victory.

Marian got on the board first in the second quarter on a 24-yard scoring pass from Tirpack to Rocco Griguoli for a 6-0 lead with 11:34 until halftime.

Nativity tied the score late in the quarter on a 5-yard scoring run by Felty, only to have Marian answer before halftime on a 2-yard scoring pass from Tirpak to Price for a 13-6 lead.

The score would remain the same until the opening minutes of the fourth quarter when the Colts took a 19-6 lead on a 9-yard scoring run by Jason Ashfield.

The Green Wave answered with a scoring pass from Felty to Williams and a two-point conversion pass from Felty to Liam Garrity to cut the lead to 19-14.

However, Marian’s offense was able to put a much needed insurance score on the board on a 3-yard run by Ashfield with 5:53 remaining.

That score was needed because Felty and Williams connected again to cut the lead to five, putting pressure on Marian to run out the clock before it could give Nativity another possession.

“We were fortunate to be able to pull it out at the end,” O’Gurek said. “We needed this win because we have tough games coming up. It was important to put a winning streak together.”

Marian 25, Nativity 20

Marian 0 13 0 12 - 25

Nativity 0 6 0 14 - 20

M - Griguoli 24 pass from Tirpak (kick failed)

N - Felty 5 run (kick blocked)

M - Price 2 pass from Tirpak (Miranda kick)

M - Ashfield 9 run (pass failed)

N - Williams 45 pass from Felty (Garrity pass from Felty)

M - Ashfield 3 run (run failed)

N - Williams 40 pass from Felty (run failed)