Resilient Blue Devils ready for tough test

They will battle Dalton, which defeated Columbiana last week.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
LISBON -- Go ahead, call the Lisbon High football team underdog.
They relish the moniker, embrace it, even love it.
"It's nice coming in with the opponent thinking they're going to walk all over us," senior fullback/defensive end Frank Gallo said. "It makes it a little easier [to steal a game]."
Tonight at 7:30 at Canton Central Catholic's Klinefelter Field, the eighth-seeded Blue Devils (10-1) will take on fourth-seeded Dalton (10-1) in a Division V, Region 17 semifinal. The winner will play either South Range or Warren JFK.
Dalton advanced by defeating Lisbon's Tri-County League rival Columbiana, 24-7. The Devils advanced with a 21-12 win over top-seeded Gilmour Academy.
"We're definitely road-tested," Lisbon coach Jim Tsilimos said. "We met the challenges of going to United [in Week 10] and winning a big game there and winning last week."
Lisbon's lone loss came eight weeks ago, 27-13 to Columbiana. Because of that loss and the competition in Region 17, Tsilimos said the Blue Devils have been in playoff mode ever since.
"We knew we had to win out -- there hasn't been a whole lot of room for any mistakes," said Tsilimos, in his 14th season as Lisbon's coach, who guided the Blue Devils to the Div. V state title in 1995.
Challenge
About Dalton, Tsilimos said, "We've got our hands full -- we know how good Columbiana is."
The mission for Lisbon's defense is to contain Dalton tailback Derek Jackson, who ran for 2,018 yards in the regular season and 127 more against Columbiana.
Tsilimos estimates the Bulldogs run on 80 percent of their plays.
"They're devoted to running the ball," Lisbon senior Jay Yorty said. "They run the ball and then they run it again and then they run it again, and then they hit you with that long pass."
The Columbiana loss was a motivation for the Blue Devils.
"We knew we had to play a lot harder than we did that week," said Gallo, the son of former professional motocross rider Frank Gallo. "Everyone was off that week -- we were missing blocks and tackles -- we weren't doing anything right."
Gallo called last week's win special because it gave the seniors another chance to accomplish a goal.
"It was our first playoff game," Gallo said. "We had high expectations to win the TCL and we didn't get that. The next goal was to make the playoffs and win a game, and we did it. That was exciting."
Gallo came out of the Gilmour game with a leg injury, but he is expected to play tonight.
Adjustment
Lisbon made one adjustment since losing to the Clippers: moving Yorty to tailback on some plays and Tyler Heath under center.
Tsilimos called Yorty "a pretty intelligent kid" to be able to handle two positions.
"There's a lot that's been thrown at him," he said.
Yorty, who has a 3.87 grade-point average, says switching isn't a problem "because as quarterback I know what the tailback is supposed to do on each play.
"We're happy to be still playing," Yorty said. "We thought we could if we played well. It's a pretty happy atmosphere here."
What about not being the favorite?
"We like the underdog role," Yorty said. "Coach especially likes the underdog role."
williams@vindy.com