By Tom Williams

Ohio State-committed Storm Klein lived up to his hype in the 41-7 win in Division III.

NEW PHILADELPHIA — The Poland High football team arrived at Woody Hayes Stadium with a Storm warning on its radar.

And Licking Valley running back Storm Klein lived up to his impressive credentials, rushing for 183 yards on 18 carries.

But it was Panthers quarterback Drew Ryan’s fancy footwork that put the Bulldogs in a deep hole early, rushing for three touchdowns in the first half en route to Saturday’s 41-7 defeat of Poland in the Division III Region 11 semifinals.

“They were great players,” said Poland senior quarterback Gannon Hulea, who suffered a hip pointer in the second quarter. “They’ve been doing this all year.”

Hulea, who also is a defensive back, said the Bulldogs weren’t caught off guard with surprises.

“We were pretty prepared for most of it, but things didn’t go our way,” Hulea said.

Poland coach Mark Brungard chose to focus on the positives of a 9-3 season.

“We lost to a great team. We got roughed up a little bit tonight, but our kids have so much heart,” the fourth-year head coach said. “I just love them to death.

“We came so far this year,” Brungard said. “I don’t think anybody projected us to have the year we did, to be league champs and get a home playoff game and get the Canfield monkey off our back.”

The Bulldogs, with a 14-7 win over Canfield in Week 10, tied Canfield and Howland for first place in the first season of the All-American Conference Red Tier.

“We have a lot to be thankful for and remember from this year,” Brungard said.

The Bulldogs’ defense excelled during the Panthers’ first possession, forcing a three-and-out.

And momentum seemed to be on the Poland sideline after Weston Wagner’s second punt bounced inside the Licking Valley 5.

But two plays later, the Panthers had a 7-0 lead as Ryan broke through the Poland defense for a 91-yard touchdown run with 4:34 to go in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs struggled mightily in the second quarter, surrendering 209 yards and three touchdowns.

“We played tough but made some mistakes,” senior lineman Nick Colombo said.

Ryan capped scoring marches of 69 and 79 yards with 11-yard touchdown runs that extended the lead to 21-0.

Hulea was intercepted by Mitch Flowers, setting up the Panthers’ fourth touchdown on a 15-yard run by Klein.

After limiting Klein to nine yards on two first-quarter carries, the Ohio State recruit gained 117 on 11 carries in the second quarter.

The Panthers limited the Bulldogs to 72 yards rushing and 22 yards in the air in the first half.

“It hurts,” Hulea said of getting knocked out of the game. “I took [quite] a shot. I don’t know what happens but it hurts quite a lot.”

Hulea called watching from the sidelines “the worst feeling, but I’m really proud of our team to go this far. We fought so hard every game.”

Brungard said Hulea “couldn’t push off to throw. He was getting some yards running the ball so that really limited us,” Brungard said.

Teammates Greg Sabol and Tanner Schultheis suffered injuries in the third quarter, but returned.

“I’m proud of the heart of our kids because we were never the bigger team really in any game this season,” Brungard said. “But our heart was always big. Tanner made a fourth-down stop with three minutes to go.

“We had a beat-up crew and they were a very physical team who took advantage,” Brungard said.

williams@vindy.com