Livonia, Mich. - After a deadlock score of 7-7 in the first quarter, the 14th-ranked Marian football team flexed their muscle and scored on nine consecutive drives in a runaway 58-7 victory against Madonna on Saturday afternoon. Marian's road victory improves the team's record to 4-1 overall on the season. 

The Knights got off to a slow start, going three and out on their first series of the game before fumbling away their second possession of the game. The defense picked up the offense and forced two quick punts, and on the third drive, Marian got it rolling as Tristan Polk capped a 96-yard scoring drive with a 62-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Coverstone. 

Madonna would immediately answer and put Marian in a bind as Kwame Miller squirted through the line on the next play from scrimmage, rushing 70 yards for a touchdown.

The score snapped Marian into a new groove, as the Knights found a new gear and generated five consecutive scoring drives to end the first half. Keagan La Belle finished off the first of three first-half touchdowns with a 10-yard rush near the end of the first quarter, and in the second quarter, Hunter Newman plowed in from six yards out for his second score of the season to make it a 20-7 lead.

Marian's final three scores of the half came within the final four minutes of the half, with the first coming on a 29-yard field goal from Kenny Curry. The defense got the ball back with under two minutes to play, and the offense executed a two-minute drill that saw La Belle haul a 12-yard touchdown pass from Polk. A Cade Houseman interception on the next play of scrimmage put the Marian offense immediately back on the field. The Knights capped the 33-yard drive with La Belle's third touchdown of the half, finishing a 30-point run to end the half with the lead surging to 37-7.

The second half started much as the first ended, with the defense forcing a punt as the unit led by Clay Emmrich halted the Crusader attack. Another scoring drive followed for Marian to extend their run, as Polk tossed his third touchdown of the game to Jake Reichard.

Reichard's score came with 7:21 to play in the third quarter, and he logged his 100th career reception, becoming the 10th player at Marian to record 100 catches. Reichard's score also moved him into 10th all-time in career receiving touchdowns at Marian.

Marian's reserves came on and capped nine consecutive scoring drives with two fourth quarter touchdowns, under the direction of quarterback Ben Schoster. Uriah Buchanan scored the first of two fourth quarter touchdowns on a five-yard scamper, while with 6:21 remaining, the backup quarterback connected with Zarik Chmielewski on a 34-yard touchdown, finalizing the scoring in the 58-7 final score.

The Knights owned nearly every aspect of the final box score, out-gaining the Crusaders 543-159. Marian threw for 304 yards as a team, while running for another 239 yards.

Polk finished the game with 253 passing yards and three touchdowns, while Schoster threw for 51 yards and one score. Alijah Price led the running backs with 12 carries for 81 yards, while La Belle had 11 carries for 70 and two touchdowns. The senior back had over 100 all-purpose yards, catching another three balls for 44 yards and a touchdown. Jameson Coverstone had a team-high 79 receiving yards, and Reichard had 33 yards and one touchdown on four catches.

Defensively, Reis Walker led the team in tackles with four, while Zion Woods was one of several Knights with three total stops. Houseman and Downey each had interceptions in the win, and Tylen Cunningham and Logan Carrington each had one sack. 

Marian will finish their non-conference play next weekend, traveling to (RV) Taylor for a 7:00 p.m. matchup with the Trojans.

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