Photo by Leroy Boyer

HOMETOWN — Jason Ashfield is what coaches like to call an unsung hero.

The Marian junior fullback/defensive end isn’t among the names commonly mentioned when talking about the Colts. He doesn’t grab headlines or garner much media attention, simply just goes out and does his job every practice, every game, mostly unnoticed.

Thursday night in a Schuylkill-Colonial Blue Division clash with Nativity, it was hard not to notice Ashfield and his gold No. 44 jersey. He seemed to be everywhere.

The 5-foot-10, 207-pounder paced a dominating Marian defensive effort with five tackles for loss as the Colts clinched a home game in the District 2/11 Class A subregional playoffs with a 41-14 victory over the Green Wave at Stan Dakosty Field at Men of Marian Stadium.

Rory Dixon rushed for 194 yards and a touchdown while Tyler Price and Jake Tom each added two scores as Marian (7-3) notched seven wins in a regular season for the first time since 2014.

“Jason has been one of our mainstays at defensive end. He’s tough on the edge, it’s tough to get outside of him,” Marian coach Billy O’Gurek said of Ashfield.

“On offense, it’s always Rory, Tyler and those guys. Jason is one of those guys, he’s like an unsung hero for us. We wouldn’t be where we’re at right now without him.”

Ashfield serves as the lead blocker for Dixon, who opened the scoring with a 92-yard run on Marian’s second possession. It was one of six runs of 12 yards or more by Dixon, who went over 1,000 yards rushing on the season and now has 1,112 yards.

“That touchdown was the farthest run of my life,” Dixon said of his TD run. “That run felt like forever.

“Without Jason, without my line, without Tyler Price, without quarterback Greg Tirpak … that would never happen. All credit goes to those guys for that run and for the game I just had.”

The Colts quickly made it 14-0 two plays later when Jake Tom picked off a Colt Mason pass and scampered 27 yards into the end zone for a pick-6 touchdown.

In one of the amazing stats of the season, Tom’s TD was the eighth defensive touchdown in 10 games for the Colts. Marian enters the playoffs having picked off 19 passes while recovering nine fumbles.

Tom upped the margin to 21-0 on the Colts’ next possession by going 69 yards on a jet sweep. A 6-yard run by Price made it 27-0 at intermission.

In the first half, Marian held Nativity to 36 total yards, 33 rushing.

“Coach Hack emphasizes stopping the run,” Ashfield said, praising defensive coordinator J.D. Hackenberg. “Defensive line, get through, make a tackle, wrap, make plays in the backfield.”

A 40-yard TD pass from Greg Tirpak to Price upped Marian’s lead to 34-0 before the Colts rewarded their unsung hero on their next possession.

After a 32-yard pass from Tirpak to Price and runs of 25 and 13 yards by Dixon, the Colts were sitting with first-and-goal at the Nativity 4.

It was Ashfield who got the call and he plowed his way into the end zone for his first touchdown of the season to make it 41-0 after three quarters.

O’Gurek said it was important to get Ashfield into the end zone. Ashfield was overjoyed.

“From blocking the whole game, blocking for Rory … the O-line had a great game,” Ashfield said. “It was just put your head down, get in the end zone.”

Nativity (4-6) ended Marian’s bid for a shutout with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns, one on a 60-yard run by Colt Mason and the other a 6-yard run by Bentley Werez.

The Green Wave learned Wednesday night that they had secured a spot in the District 2/11 Class A subregional playoffs when Holy Cross of District 2 opted out of the postseason. Nativity will travel to top-seeded Lackawanna Trail in next Friday’s subregional semifinals.

For Marian, the Colts notched their second straight win after three straight losses and booked a semifinal date with Tri-Valley next Friday on their home field.

“The past two years, our freshman and sophomore years, we came up short in both of those years,” Dixon said, referring to the playoffs. “We know Tri-Valley is going to be a challenge, they always are. We beat them 17-14 in the second week here, so we know it’s going to be another dogfight. I have confidence in our guys. Hopefully this time we can pull through.”

Game Summary

Marian 41, Nativity 14

Nat (4-6, 3-6)             0          0          0          14  — 14

Mar (7-3, 6-3)             14        13        14        0  —    41

Mar — Dixon 92 run (Bushati kick)

Mar — Tom 27 interception return (Bushati kick)

Mar — Tom 69 run (Bushati kick)

Mar — Price 6 run (kick failed)

Mar — Price 40 pass from Tirpak (Bushati kick)

Mar — Ashfield 4 run (Bushati kick)

Nat — Mason 60 run (Cooper Felty run)

Nat — Werez 6 run (run failed)

Team Statistics

                                    Nat               Mar

First Downs                9                   13

Rushes-Yards              34-167          32-302

Passes                          3-14-2          6-8-0

Passing Yards             0                   118

Total Yards                 167               420

Fumbles/Lost              2-0                1-1

Penalties                      4-40              3-20

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: Nativity — Mason 17-95, Cooper Felty 8-38, Trezise 1-15, Connor Felty 3-12, Werez 4-12, Cole Felty 1-(-5). Marian — Dixon 19-194, Tom 1-69, Price 5-30, Koslop 2-6, Ashfield 4-5, Cabrera 1-(-2)

PASSING: Nativity —- Mason 3-13-1, 0; Cole Felty 0-1-1, 0. Marian —- Tirpak 6-8-0, 118.

RECEIVING: Nativity — Werez 3-0. Marian — Price 3-77, Spino 1-27, Tom 2-14.

INTERCEPTIONS: Marian — Tom, Marsch