The Marlboro football team has run roughshod over its Class B competition so far this season by a stunning 140-3 margin over the course of three wins. But stepping up to face Class A opposition has proven to be trickier so far this year, as the Dukes lost a squeaker at home to Cornwall in the third week of the season and then fell 20-8 on Friday night at Minisink Valley in a game where Marlboro never found its offensive or defensive rhythm.

Marlboro (3-2) had difficulty all night containing talented sophomore quarterback Kai Colon, who scored all three touchdowns for Minisink (3-2) while controlling the game with his arm (8-12, 111 yards passing) and legs (76 yards rushing on 18 carries).

“Minisink was just a better football team tonight,” Marlboro head coach Brian Beck said. “They played incredible. They were better on offense, defense, special teams. They really turned it on. They have some really nice players over there. Kai Colon is a real stud. They’re a very good football team. Credit to Coach (Kevin) Gallagher, because he runs a solid program.”

With the two teams at a scoreless defensive standstill late in the first quarter, Colon got an angle on the defense on a quarterback keeper and burst into the right corner of the end zone for a 13-yard score to give the Warriors a 6-0 lead with only 11.3 seconds left in the period.

The Dukes struck back, taking their only lead of the game on a three-yard TD pass from senior quarterback Christian Diorio (7-16, 94 yards passing, 1 TD, 2 INTS) to sophomore receiver Chris Thorne, who made a sliding catch to give Marlboro an 8-6 lead (after senior running back Armani Banton ran in for a two-point conversion) at the 9:49 mark of the second.

The Warriors quickly answered, however, as Colon raced in for an eight-yard score to put Minisink up 13-8 with 6:48 remaining in the half, a lead they would take into the break. Midway through the third quarter, Colon added his third and final touchdown of the night, with a one-yard QB sneak to give the Warriors a 20-8 lead with 6:02 left in the third.

Marlboro made a final stand though, driving deep into Minisink territory. But on a third and goal from the Minisink five-yard line, Diorio’s pass was picked off by junior defensive back Dylan Guyette.

Diorio quickly redeemed himself, however, recovering a Guyette fumble as the Minisink player attempted to take the interception back the other way. But the ensuing Dukes’ drive ended with 6:59 left in the game when Diorio, hounded by the Warriors’ defense, threw an incomplete pass on a fourth and nine from the Minisink 14-yard line.

Behind junior running back Kyle Killenberger (89 yards rushing on 20 carries), the Warriors were able to run out the clock from there, and in a sign of sportsmanship, after Minisink had earned a first and goal on the Marlboro nine-yard line with 90 seconds remaining, the Warriors knelt three times to kill the clock instead of going for the extra score.

While Marlboro will get another crack at a Class A opponent in two weeks when they visit Wallkill, the Dukes will next host Rondout Valley in a division matchup on Friday night in their final home game of the season as they look to get back to their winning ways. “We just have to refocus,” Beck said. “We can’t let one issue become another one like tonight. We kind of let things snowball.

We weren’t very good on third down. We didn’t block very well. We turned the ball over, we missed tackles. It was just an ugly night for us. We’ve got to regroup and get a little bit healthier again, which has been the story of our season.

We’ve got to be ready to play Rondout. It’s a divisional game and it counts towards our seeding for the playoffs. So we’ve got to be ready for homecoming.”