HS Football Week 2 preview: Dawgs, Colts meet in Blue Division clash
Tri-Valley's Cole Gemberling runs through the Marian defense during the Dawgs' win over the Colts on Aug. 30, 2024. (Photo by Michelle Schwartz)
When analyzing the Blue Division of the Schuylkill-Colonial Football Cooperative, there are several question marks.
Defending champion Schuylkill Haven and defending District 11 AA champion Williams Valley comprise the upper echelon of the division. That we do know.
But who comes next in the pecking order? Is there a team capable of challenging the Hurricanes and Vikings?
We may get some answers to those questions tonight.
Two teams with the goal of being among the upper tier in the Blue Division square off in Hometown when Tri-Valley visits Marian at Stan Dakosty Field at Men of Marian Stadium.
Both teams enter the fray 1-0 after season-opening wins last Friday. The Dawgs routed York Catholic 50-14, while the Colts galloped past Hanover Area 42-24.
The Dawgs and Colts are no strangers to each other, meeting twice the past two seasons. Tri-Valley has won both regular-season meetings, 16-6 in 2023 and 24-0 last year. Marian prevailed in the 2023 District 11 Class A semifinal 14-6, while Tri-Valley won in last year’s District 2/11 Class A subregional semifinal 27-0.
“We have taken pride in the progress our program has shown in the last few seasons,” Marian coach Billy O’Gurek said. “We know that at some point this year, we will have to go through Tri-Valley. But it’s still a “one week at a time” focus for us.
“We feel like we have a talented enough team to compete in these types of games, now it’s on our coaches and players to go out and execute on Friday night. It’s going to be a great night of Coal Region football.”
Both teams entered the season with question marks as well.
Tri-Valley needed a quarterback and has seemed to find one. Junior Trey Porter won the job in preseason camp and was efficient in the opener, completing 6-of-10 passes for 104 yards and a touchdown.
The 6-foot-3, 180-pound three-sport athlete also orchestrated an offense that generated 248 yards rushing. Sophomore Parker Hatter (14-103, 3 TDs) and senior Cole Gemberling (7-37, TD) are a formidable 1-2 punch, while Porter himself rushed five times for 35 yards.
“Trey is a tremendous, natural athlete who can be a game-changer,” Tri-Valley coach Jeff Sampson said. “I thought he played very well for his first game as a QB.
“He brings another element to our offense which opposing teams have to account for. The more he plays, the more he’ll begin to settle in there. Friday night he needs to control the game on offense and limit mistakes. He’s a dual-threat player who’s only getting better with reps.”
For Marian, the biggest question mark entering the season was up front. Could the Colts play well enough up front to create holes for talented running back Rory Dixon to run through?
The group of Dominick Rodino, Billy Ebert, Damian Rodino, Jah Bushati and Walker Sheer answered the challenge as Dixon ran for 226 yards and four TDs against the Hawkeyes and Marian compiled 362 yards of total offense.
Sophomore Gregory Tirpak also played well as the Colts’ new starting quarterback, completing 7-of-12 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown pass to Dixon, who finished with five touchdowns overall.
O’Gurek knows that his boys in the trenches will have to play well again tonight if the Colts are to reach 2-0.
“I was very happy with our line last week, mainly because it was the first significant varsity experience for many of those guys,” the second-year coach said. “You can only simulate things so much in practice. For them to actually experience the game situations and the game intensity, and the way they performed and reacted, was encouraging.
“We will need another strong performance again this week because Tri-Valley presents another set of challenges for us. They have multiple starters returning in their defensive front, including two of the best defensive ends we will see all season in Lucas Schwartz and Max Masser.”
The Tri-Valley at Marian contest can be heard live on T-102 (101.9 FM). You can get live updates by following T102 Sports Now content editor Leroy Boyer on X @pubsportsboss.
The clash is one of eight Schuylkill-Colonial cooperative contests involving local teams.
Week 2 actually kicked off Thursday night as Lehighton used three touchdown passes by Jayse Lawrence to throttle Bangor 38-7 (LINK: www.t102sportsnow.com/2025/08/29/hs-football-big-2nd-quarter-lifts-lehighton-past-bangor/).
For a look at tonight’s Pottsville at Jim Thorpe tilt, check out Bob Lipsky’s preview story here: (LINK: www.t102sportsnow.com/2025/08/29/hs-football-tide-try-to-rebound-against-jim-thorpe/).
To find out which teams the Touchdown Tips panel thinks will win this week, visit here: (LINK: www.t102sportsnow.com/2025/08/29/touchdown-tips-2025-week-2/
Here’s a capsule look at the rest of the games involving area teams this weekend:
Blue Mountain (0-1) at Southern Lehigh (1-0)
Last week: Blue Mountain lost to Schuylkill Haven 34-27; Southern Lehigh downed Quakertown 35-14
Last year: Blue Mountain 35-20
Game Notes: Eagles showed a lot of promise in their season-opening loss to Schuylkill Haven, with sophomores Brody Foose and Chase Guers excelling offensively. Blue Mountain will need a better performance in the trenches and on defense, where they gave up 508 total yards. … Last year’s loss to Blue Mountain was a turning point for Southern Lehigh, which sorted out its quarterback situation by switching to Colton Sams and going to a run-oriented attack featuring Sean Steckert. The Spartans have thrived since, going 12-2, winning a District 11 4A title and reaching the state semifinals. Sams was 18-of-27 for 277 yards against Quakertown, while Steckert rushed for 203 yards and four TDs. Containing them will be the Eagles’ goal tonight.
