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Zubick runs wild as Springfield upsets E.P.
His 322 yards broke a school record as Springfield rolled to a 35-6 victory.
NEW MIDDLETOWN — With little more to play for than a final game at home against a top-ranked opponent, Springfield’s tailback Jimmy Zubick hoped he’d have one last moment ... in the mud.
“I always dreamed of [playing in the mud] like this,” said Zubick who rushed for a school-record 322 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Tigers to an impressive 35-6 upset win over East Palestine on a rain-slicked field at Springfield.
“Tonight [the dream] came true,” Zubick said. “I didn’t know it would be this good.”
Springfield (5-4, 3-3) was coming off three straight losses after opening the season 4-1 and many didn’t give the Tigers much of a chance against East Palestine.
The Bulldogs (7-2, 4-2) were ranked fifth in the Division IV, Region 17 computer rankings and were second in the Inter Tri-County Tier One standings behind one of the most proficient offenses in the ITCL.
But Springfield’s defense totally shut down East Palestine, limiting the Bulldogs to 18 yards rushing and 61 yards of total offense.
The rest of the night belonged to Zubick and an offensive line that enabled the Tigers to rush for 411 yards.
“I have to give all the credit to my offensive line and my fullback Dylon DeJane because I didn’t get touched until I was five yards through the line,” Zubick said.
Zubick scored on runs of 2, 55, and 43 while DeJane scored on a 6-yard run and quarterback Brad Ferraro added a 2-yard touchdown jaunt.
“We came out to play tonight,” said Springfield coach Sean Guerriero. “We talked all week about playing a whole game and we did that tonight.
“We came out and right off the bat we took it to a great team.”
Guerriero said the weather and field conditions played a role in helping the Tigers and limiting the offensive weapons possessed by the Bulldogs.
The Tigers took the opening kickoff and traveled 85 yards in three plays to score the first touchdown on a 6-yard run by DeJane. Zubick set the tone early with a 79-yard run on the second play from scrimmage.
Zubick’s sister, sophomore Alexis Zubick, kicked the first of her five extra points to give Springfield a 7-0 lead.
East Palestine came back late in the first quarter to score on its only real drive of the game.
The Bulldogs marched 77 yards in 10 plays as quarterback Shane Peterson completed four passes in the drive for 59 yards. Peterson scored on a 2-yard run but the extra point kick attempt was blocked to make it 7-6.
It was all Springfield after that.
“We played terrible, flat out,” said East Palestine coach Jeff Sharkey. “They played great.
“We knew what they would do. They don’t try to fool you. They come right at you and we just couldn’t stop them tonight.
Springfield scored on a Zubick 2-yard run for a 14-6 lead at halftime.
The Tigers put the game away in the third quarter when Zubick broke free for touchdown runs of 55 and 43 yards and Ferraro’s fourth quarter touchdown closed out the scoring.
Zubick’s 322 yards on 31 carries broke the previous mark held by Danny Zitkovic during the 2001 season.