The Bulldogs defeated Columbiana 20-13.

The Bulldogs defeated Columbiana 20-13.
By GARY HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBIANA -- Behind the stellar rushing effort of senior Jonathan Powers, who raced for 196 yards on 24 carries and scored two touchdowns, East Palestine held on for a 20-13 win at Columbiana.
The Bulldogs (9-1, 7-0 Tri-County League) guaranteed themselves a postseason berth for the first time in school history. They were sixth this week in Division IV, Region 13 of the computer ratings.
"It's time for us to try and make some history," Powers said. "This is the first time an East Palestine team has ever made the playoffs and now we're just going to try to keep rolling and become the first team to win a playoff game. We're going to try to put East Palestine on the map."
The Bulldogs gained 243 yards rushing on 37 carries and had 17 passing yards.
Adam Fast rushed for 74 yards on nine carries for the Clippers (7-3, 4-3), while Chris Harmon picked up 61 on 18 attempts, which included a 1-yard TD run to give Columbiana a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
"Neither side deserved to lose this game tonight, I really mean that. It's a shame somebody had to come up short," said Columbiana coach Bob Spaite.
"We made the mistakes; we fumbled the ball and they didn't. So give all the credit to them, they're a worthy champion," he said. "I'm sad we lost, but I'm not depressed. This was a great effort our guys had, I wish we could have beat them."
Clips score first
Columbiana scored first in the rain-drenched contest as the Clippers covered 45 yards on nine plays on a drive that culminated with a 3-yard touchdown run by senior Ty Guy.
The Clippers took over on downs at the 45 to start their scoring drive when East Palestine gained just 1 yard on a fake punt run by Powers.
However, Powers scored two second quarter touchdowns from 5 and then again from 9 yards out to put the Bulldogs up 12-7 at intermission.
"That was a real bad call on the fake punt. We thought it was there, but in the rain that wasn't a good call and I take total blame for that," said Bulldog coach Brian Blevins. "But I challenged the kids at halftime about making up for that and they did."
United 26, Southern 0
SALINEVILLE -- Five different players scored for the Golden Eagles (7-3, 4-3).
Jordan Phillips, who rushed for 80 yards on nine carries, put United on top when he tallied on a 22-yard run in the first quarter.
Quarterback Mitch Phillis, who made placements for two extra points, connected on 14 of 21 passes for 160 yards and two TDs.
Nick Johnson, who rushed for 34 yards on 12 carries, caught a 15-yard TD strike from Phillis, and Dominic Dangelo caught a 7-yard TD pass from Phillis.
Corey Manfull returned an intercepted pass 45 yards for a TD.
Southern was limited to 42 rushing yards and zero passing.
Leetonia 38, Crestview 0
LEETONIA -- The Bears improved their record to 7-3, 5-2, while Crestview slipped to 1-9, 1-6. No further details were available.
Lisbon 48, Sebring 0
SEBRING -- The Blue Devils improved their record to 7-3, 5-2, while Sebring finished winless. No further details were available.