Jim Thorpe dominates Marian

On the game’s very first play, Jim Thorpe set the tone.

The Olympians carried that tone throughout the rest of the contest Friday as they cruised to a 42-0 victory over Marian.

Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger called for a flea-flicker as running back CJ Selby took a direct snap from center, handed the ball to Dom Madera, who then tossed it back to quarterback Davier Calcano. The Olympian signal-caller then found wide receiver Noah Snisky wide open in the middle of the field for a 51-yard touchdown pass.

Jim Thorpe never looked back en route to its big win. Thorpe’s Red Swarm defense dominated, as they pushed back the Colts’ offense to a negative 42 yards that included multiple sacks of Marian quarterback Mason Miller.

When they had the ball, the Olympians were just as impressive, totaling 375 yards. Selby led the way with 136 yards rushing.

The Colts had an early chance to stay in the game when Nick Falls intercepted a pass, giving his team a first down at JT’s 31-yard line. Two running plays to Falls and a short pass from Miller to Jared Wimmer gained a first down, but the drive stalled with a missed field goal attempt.

Marian then forced a punt, but on third-and-11 from their own 21- yard line, JT’s Keegan McCartney intercepted a pass. After a holding penalty, Selby broke free around the right end for 27 yards and on the very next play, Madera took the rock around the left side for a 17-yard TD run that put the Olympians up 14-0 with three seconds left in the opening quarter.

After a Marian punt in the second session, Thorpe finished a 12-play, 53-yard drive with Selby’s 6-yard TD blast down the left sideline.

The Colts, with six punts and only four first downs, could muster no offensive drives in the game and could only get to the JT 13-yard line in the fourth quarter after a high snap sailed over the Olympian punter’s head for a 30-yard loss.

Thorpe would go up 35-0 at the half. With 4:43 left in the second quarter and with the ball on the Marian 39, Selby gained a first down before Madera took a pitch from Calcano and broke outside for 28 to the three-yard line. Madera busted up the gut on the next play for a 28-0 lead.

On the next Thorpe possession, Jason Bowen took a pitch for 26 yards to set up Calcano’s 12-yard TD toss to Snisky on an out pattern.

Despite the dominance, Rosenberger was critical of his team’s preparation.

“We knew that they were up against it with low roster numbers and our plan was to tire their two-way players out with our fast paced offense.”

After the game, Marian coach, Pat Morgans told his team that he was proud of their effort.

“We played our hearts out,” he said. “With 20 kids dressed, we ran out of gas against a great football team.

“We’ll hang together and we’ll be OK. If we can get healthy, we can definitely be competitive.”

Jim Thorpe will seek its third straight win Friday when they travel to Panther Valley, Marian, meanwhile, visits Trinity.

END OF A RIVALRY ... With next year’s merger of the Schuylkill and Colonial Leagues, Marian and Jim Thorpe will no longer be scheduled to play each other. Thorpe has won the last five straight against the Colts.

NEW FACES CARRY THE ROCK ... Thorpe’s running attack featured some new names. David Fiorito, Bowen, and Cameron Tinajero combined for 116 total yards on the ground and one touchdown.