March madness invades Poland
All that is left now is 32 minutes of blood, sweat and tears.
All that is left now is one simple game that will determine whether the Poland High boys basketball team can end a 30-year state tournament drought.
All that is left standing between Poland and a trip to Columbus is Saturday's Division II regional final against Akron East at the Canton Civic Center.
One game. One dream. One opportunity.
Closer to reality: "I get chills," Poland senior Jamie Dunn said. "I've been dreaming of this since I was a little kid.
"We go down every year to watch the final four [in Columbus]," he said. "We've always dreamed that we'd get there. Finally, we have a shot. All we've got to do is get it done now."
Poland (22-2) will take its large community and student support to Canton three days after it defeated Canton South in the regional semifinal.
"It's awesome," Poland coach Ken Grisdale said of his team's run. "In the off-season, you talk about this being our goal, but it's so far off that you wonder if it's achievable.
"Fortunately, we've got kids who love each other and are willing to sacrifice for each other," he said. "They're getting what they deserve."
Before this season, the closest Poland had come to this type of madness was in 1996, when the Bulldogs lost to Orrville in a regional semifinal. Grisdale was in his third year then and carried a swagger into the regional.
"When you're young, you think you're going to do that every year," he said. "Six years later, you get another chance. You just value it more."
Expectations: Those within the Poland program saw this team's potential during the off-season. The Bulldogs had four of their top six players returning.
"We've had talented teams in the past, but we haven't always liked each other," Grisdale said. "In the off-season, we started to see that this could be something special."
Poland takes an impressive resume into the regional final. The Bulldogs lost just two games in the regular season -- both in overtime -- to Beaver Falls (Pa.) and Boardman and carry a 17-game winning streak into Saturday.
"We've got on a roll, and it's just been a lot of fun," Grisdale said.
Overshadowed: While all the talk earlier in the season centered around Niles and its state ranking, the Bulldogs went about their business.
"It motivated our kids," Grisdale said. "The last three years we're 7-0 against Niles and people are talking about them. We'll give them respect, but we work hard."
Poland proved itself against Niles with three victories this season, including a 57-52 win in the district title game, which Grisdale called "as good of a game as I can remember."
Balance and defense have carried the Bulldogs this season. While Dunn is the Metro Athletic Conference's top player, he is supported by teammates who fill their roles nicely.
"We aren't always the most athletic," Grisdale admitted. "But they listen, they do what you ask of them and they play their [butts] off."
Atmosphere: No doubt, the Canton Civic Center will be in a frenzy Saturday. It certainly was in the regional semifinal when Poland went into the heart of the Hall of Fame city and ousted one of Canton's top teams.
Do the Bulldogs have enough left to win one more and overcome that state hurdle?
"It's been a long year. You can see the wear and tear on our kids," Grisdale said. "But I wouldn't trade it for anything.
"This makes all the extra hours worth it, and our kids would say the same thing."
XBrian Richesson covers high school sports for The Vindicator. Write to him at richesson@vindy.com.