Bulldogs bounce Tigers, 24-14

Poland has its sights set on the MAC championship,but still faces two tough league opponents.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
HOWLAND -- Howland coach Dick Angle walked out of the narrow Tiger locker room, breathed a big sigh and shook his head.
He was tired. He was sweaty. He looked like a man who had just spent the last two and a half hours running around and yelling and putting his whole heart into the biggest game of his season so far.
Not enough: But his Tigers had come up short at Richard Lombardo Stadium Friday night, losing to Metro Athletic Conference rival Poland 24-14.
And Angle was drained.
"We played good enough to win," Angle said. "But it came down to a delay of game call on us and that was my fault. End of story. Poland beats Angle."
Probably not. Poland had a 10-point lead when the Tigers were hit with a delay of game penalty on a fourth-and-two at the Bulldog 31 late in the fourth quarter. It basically ended the drive, but the Tigers were in trouble long before that.
Howland lost because Poland got two key second-half interceptions.
It lost because the Bulldogs got over 200 yards on the ground, including 17 carries for 126 yards from senior tailback Lou DaVanzo, who had a 32-yard second quarter touchdown.
In the air: It lost because Poland junior quarterback Sean Clayton (6-5, 205) threw for 175 yards, had a touchdown running and passing, and gave the Bulldogs a nice balance offensively.
"It was nice to see our offense clicking," said Poland coach Paul Hulea. "We put ourselves in some bad spots in the first half, but we made some nice plays in the second half."
Poland (7-1, 3-0) outscored Howland 10-0 in the second half, including a nifty 15-yard touchdown pass from Clayton to senior tight end Josh Bero. Two plays earlier, Poland defensive back Tony DiNunzio picked off Howland quarterback Rick Clark and ran it to the Tigers' 30-yard line.
"Our defense did a nice job," Hulea said. "They made a couple big plays. We were down [in the first half] and we came back. It was a great football game."
Clayton finished 16-of-28 and completed his first seven passes of the game. He was 12-for-17 in the first half for 112 yards. He hit eight different receivers in the game.
"My line blocked like crazy and my receivers just made plays," said Clayton. "We knew the winner of this game would probably win the MAC and tonight we came out and got the job done. But we're not satisfied. We want to win the MAC."
Remaining games: Poland, fifth in both the AP poll and in computer points in Division III, Region 9, rebounded from a tough loss to Chaney two weeks ago and still has two tough league games remaining. The Bulldogs play host to Canfield on Friday and then meet Struthers the following week.
Senior wideout Jake Bajerski caught six of Clayton's passes for 63 yards and caught a two-point conversion that tied the score at 14 in the first half. Jim Mitolo had five carries for 73 yards and caught two passes for 22 yards. Kicker Shawn O'Halloran was 1-of-2 on field goals, hitting a 37-yarder and missing from 46 yards out.
Clark was just 4-of-11 for 43 yards and finished with 33 yards rushing. Poland's Vince Antonucci picked off a halfback option pass by tailback Mark Rek for the Bulldogs' other interception, which stifled a fourth quarter drive by the Tigers.
Interception: Rek finished with 12 carries for 90 yards, including a 72-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Fullback Brian Spence had 13 carries for 53 yards and a touchdown. The score was set up by an interception by Howland's Don Spence after Eric Rhodes hit Clayton as he threw the ball and Spence returned it 31 yards to the Bulldog 10.
It was the second straight tough defeat for Howland (6-2, 2-2), which lost to Niles 14-0 last week. The Tigers entered the game ranked second in Division II and fourth in computer points in Region V. They'll visit Struthers on Friday and then host Warren Kennedy the final week.
"We made some nice plays in the first half," Angle said. "We didn't make the plays defensively.
"We'll rebound. We haven't got a choice."
scalzo@vindy.com