You couldn’t have guessed it by the final score.

The Dunkirk Marauders came away with a 30-6 win over the Newfane Panthers in a Class B3 varsity football matchup on Saturday afternoon at Newfane Middle/High School.

“It just feels good. We’ve been working hard in practice all week,” said Dunkirk running back Quantavis Kleckley. “We did what we had to do.”

Dunkirk (4-0, 4-0) began the game with seven straight carries by Kleckley through the middle of the Newfane (1-3) defense. After 50 yards on seven carries, Dunkirk finally tried something different.

Dunkirk running back Rocky Radcliffe rushes the ball for a gain against the Panthers’ defense. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen.

It didn’t work.

Dunkirk fumbled in the red zone on the first carry by anyone other than Kleckley — the first of three first half fumbles by the Marauders — recovered by Newfane.

“In that first half, we really beat ourselves,” said Dunkirk head coach Mike Sarratori.

After forcing a Newfane punt, Dunkirk drove the ball right back down the field. This time, however, Kleckley got the call in the red zone. The Dunkirk star punched the ball in from six yards out for the first score of the game. After a two point conversion, Dunkirk led 8-0.

The Dunkirk elation didn’t even last one play.

Dunkirk’s Quantavis Kleckley bursts through the line for a big gain during Saturday’s game. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen.

Newfane returned the ensuing kickoff the length of the field for a touchdown. After the two point conversion attempt was no good, Dunkirk’s lead was down to only two points, 8-6.

“We’ve definitely had a problem all year with our kickoff team,” said Sarratori. “That’s something we have to fix or we’re going to lose a game against a very good team.”

After two more Dunkirk drives ended in fumbles, Newfane had a chance to take the lead going into halftime that just missed by inches. A fourth down pass into the end zone was caught by a Newfane receiver, but he was ruled just out of bounds.

Locked in a tight game at halftime for the second time this season, Dunkirk needed to play a strong second half to keep its perfect record.

The Marauders responded with perhaps their best half of football on the season.

Kleckley ran with authority through the entire second half. The highlight play of the day came on 4th and 1 from the Newfane 40 yard line with under a minute remaining in the third quarter. Kleckley ran off the left tackle, breaking multiple tackles to pick up the first down. Not satisfied with just reaching the line to gain, Kleckley bucked off a defender clinging to his neck and took off down the Dunkirk sideline for a 40 yard touchdown.

“He wanted it,” said Sarratori. “The first game or the third game of the year, we could’ve given him 300 yards rushing, but he was out before halftime. He’s a good, tough runner and he lost his running partner in Tywon (Wright). He’s trying to take the whole show by himself.”

Any concerns about Kleckley’s durability and conditioning, after not playing in the second half of both of Dunkirk’s home wins on the season, were put to rest on Saturday. Kleckley carried the ball 31 times in all, for 269 yards, with his third touchdown coming in the fourth quarter from 33 yards out. Rocky Radcliffe added a touchdown late for the Marauders to reach the 30 point mark.

“The line was putting on blocks. They’ve been working hard all week,” said Kleckley. “They got me through and I did the rest. We worked hard as a team all week and we proved it on the field.”

Despite the touchdown on the kickoff return, the Dunkirk defense held Newfane scoreless the entire game. Earl Stewart sealed the defensive shutout with an interception in the end zone in the final minute of the game.

“I’m disappointed in that (kickoff return touchdown) because our defense did pitch a shutout. We should have had a shutout,” said Sarratori.

Dunkirk remains unbeaten through the first four weeks of the season, all in league contests. This coming week is the only non-league game for the Marauders, but it may be the most challenging game of all. Dunkirk hosts Class A Hamburg on Friday for Homecoming at Dunkirk High School.

“It’s not a non-league game for us,” said Sarratori. “It’s Homecoming. We’re not looking past anything.”

“This shows us that we need to work hard in practice all week like we have been. We’re going to be alright,” said Kleckley.

Sarratori said earlier in the week that his team would need to play its best game of the year to win. If Dunkirk plays like it did in the second half on Saturday, the Marauders will be a very tough team to beat.

Twitter: @bradencarmen