By Chuck Housteau

The unbeaten Bulldogs led only 15-8 heading into the final quarter.

POLAND — When the state’s top-ranked team in Division III, Poland, trailed Niles 8-0 after the first quarter, the Bulldogs’ Luke Wollet just wanted a chance to get his team back in the game.

“I just wanted a chance to take over this game,” said Wollet, who rushed for 216 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs to a 36-8 All-American Conference victory over the Red Dragons.

“Coach [Mark] Brungard and all the coaches trust me and I trust my offensive line,” Wollet said. “[The coaches] know when to give me the ball and I listen to them and I take it from there.”

Poland needed all of Wollet’s efforts and more to turn back a determined Niles team that trailed the Bulldogs only 15-8 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Red Dragons (2-3, 1-1) held Poland to a 30-yard field goal by Weston Wagner on the first drive of the second half to fall behind by seven points.

Niles then took the ball on their own 29 and marched down to the Poland 3-yard line on some clutch passes by quarterback Morgan Brogdon and several strong runs by Zak Stanton.

Stanton finished with 89 yards rushing on 16 carries.

The Dragons elected to go for the field goal on the first play of the fourth period but Nick Liste’s effort was thwarted when Tanner Schultheis blocked the 20-yard attempt and Brett Modic picked up the loose ball and returned it 70 yards to the Poland 15-yard line.

Three plays later Poland’s Gannon Hulea raced in from 5 yards out to give the Bulldogs a 21-8 lead.

“I wanted to get points there,” said first-year Niles coach Brad Yeager. “We had to score twice to win anyhow so if it was three [points] and seven or seven and seven we had to score twice.”

Wollet helped put the game away minutes later after Poland’s Brook Rubesa intercepted a Brogdan pass near midfield.

Wollet busted several tackles on a run from the 29-yard line and raced to the end zone.

Clay Cooper added a 4-yard touchdown run to close out the scoring for the Bulldogs.

“I’m proud of the way our team responded,” said Poland coach Mark Brungard. “We won in a different way tonight and I was glad to see that.

“We came from behind and played a four-quarter game. It was tough but we found a way to do it.”

The Dragons came out playing physical football and went on an 81-yard, 11- play drive after Nic Mientkiewicz intercepted Hulea on the Bulldogs’ first series.

Mientkiewicz came into play quarterback late in that drive and powered in on a 1-yard sneak to give the Dragons the early 8-0 lead.

That’s when Wollet went to work.

The junior tailback led Poland to a score midway through the second quarter when he rambled to the end zone from 21 yards out to cut the Niles lead to 8-6.

One series later, Wollet took a reverse handoff from Greg Sabol and burst through the Niles defense for a 78-yard score and a 12-8 lead at halftime.

“There was no quit in that Niles team,” Brungard said. “No matter what we did they wouldn’t quit and made us work for this win.”