HOMETOWN - As Eddie Titus was about to gather in a pass from quarterback Thad Zuber early in the first quarter of Friday night's football game at Men of Marian Stadium, the junior tight end said to himself, "Don't drop the ball!"

The only thing between Titus and the end zone was green turf, teammate Zeke Wassell and a Marian defender.Titus didn't drop the ball, Wassell scored big on the Richter Scale with a massive downfield block, and the Tamaqua tight end legged it 77 yards to the end zone.It was the beginning of glorious night for the Raiders who went on to score a 27-0 knockout punch over their biggest rival."I was thrilled to score the first touchdown," said Titus. "I just wanted to get into the end zone ... it was important for us to score first."The plaudits for the win go to the entire club. From a defense that handled the Colts front line, to an offense that pushed Marian up and down the field.The Colts could only muster 91 yards rushing."Our defense was big all night," said Tamaqua coach Sam Bonner. "We got off the field on third and fourth downs and that was important because our last two games against (Jim) Thorpe and North Schuylkill we gave up some pretty big plays."Tamaqua was the big play team Friday night, starting with a pair of backs - freshman Nate Boyle and power runner Nick Breiner - who scorched Marian's defense. Boyle scooted for 119 yards on 13 carries, including a 55-yard touchdown run with 11:05 to play that iced the victory."Nate is a little different runner than Nick is," said Bonner. "He's a little more versatile than Nick, who is more a power runner. But we got some big help from our fullback Chance Szabo who did some great blocking for (both) runners."Marian, on the other hand, had only one real scoring opportunity as it drove from the Tamaqua 43 to the seven in the first half.But two breakdowns on runs and a pass interception killed off the threat."We shot ourselves in the foot on that drive when we missed a simple blocking assignment ... it's so frustrating," said Marian mentor Stan Dakosty.The Colts were ugly in the third quarter as they fumbled the ball twice early in the period with both turnovers leading to touchdowns.The first miscue gave Tamaqua the ball on Marian's 37 and, on the third play after the turnover, Breiner snapped off a 30-yard touchdown run to make it 13-0."That run was so big for us," said Breiner. "Our (offensive) line did such a great job. I'm so glad for our seniors that we got this (win)."Three plays after the second Tamaqua touchdown, Marian gave it right back with its fourth turnover in the game. After Boyle's 25-yard run to the five, Tamaqua started to stall, losing two yards, and going offside. But Zuber quickly regrouped his troops, by hitting wide receiver Casey Rother for a 12-yard touchdown pass. That score seemed to take its toll on the Colts."I was just so glad that we got the win," smiled Boyle, who also had an interception on defense. "Everyone just came together."SLING SHOTS... Tamaqua piled up 332 total yards. The Raiders passing game produced 131 yards with five different receivers getting catches.BOUNCE BACK... Marian will need to regroup in a hurry for next week's first round District 11 Class 1A playoff game at Tri-Valley.TAMS ROAD WARRIORS... Tamaqua will be part of the eight-team District 11 Class 3A field and will likely play at Pen Argyl in the quarterfinals.