By Matthew Peaslee

mpeaslee@vindy.com

POLAND

Austin Rehkow, a high school kicker from Washington, may have set a new standard. His 67-yard field goal in a game earlier this week captivated the nation, was named to SportsCenter’s Top-10 and featured on Good Morning America as the “Play of the Day.”

“I heard about it,” said Poland kicker Conner McFadden. “That’s pretty amazing.”

The senior won’t make national headlines with his performance in the Bulldogs’ 31-14 win over East, but he’s fine with that.

He just did his job.

McFadden drilled two kickoffs into the end zone, made all four of his PAT attempts and tied a season-long field goal of 37 yards.

That’s not to say he hasn’t had fun with his leg. One of these days he might top Rehkow’s boot.

“The guys were joking with me and said I needed to try that in a game,” McFadden said. “I try a few from 60 sometimes. Just for fun. With gale-force winds behind it — I’ve made it before.”

McFadden was one of 26 Poland seniors who played their final game at Dave Pavlansky Field. The Bulldogs are now 6-3, perhaps on the cusp of going to the playoffs for the 10th time.

“We think about it, but we focus on the task at hand — win, or it doesn’t matter,” Poland coach Mark Brungard said. “I think our kids really focused on our seniors playing their last game on their home field. We do know that, we controlled that. They finished well.”

The win completed a pattern that started with a Week 1 loss at Marlington. Since then, Poland wins two in a row, loses one, wins two, loses one, then wins two.

Next week, it faces Beaver Local in hopes of breaking the streak.

“We got to win and keep this going because we’re playing some pretty good football right now,” Brungard said.

East turned the ball over six times and four set up Bulldog scores. Tad Duran, A.J. Herdman, Alex Hubbell and Anthony Kosec each had one fumble recovery, while Abe Kasem had two.

“By far,” Kasem said, “this was my best defensive performance. It was so much fun. The best part was that everyone was involved. One of my best friends, Shane Evan, had three sacks on his senior night. No matter what my stats were, or what anybody else did, we won this game together.”

Brungard added, “The turnovers were excellent. A lot of them were their doing, but we were able to capitalize. I thought the line of scrimmage was won by us on both sides.”

Ross Gould led the Poland ground attack with 95 yards on 15 carries. Tyler Evan had 38 yards with six carries and two first half touchdowns. Anthony Marchionda caught three passes for 39 yards, including a 22-yard hook up with Jake Wolfe for a score.

Derrick Tensley had a 5-yard touchdown run just before halftime for East (3-6). He totaled 146 yards with a long of 76 that set up a JuJuan Jones score on a reverse in the final minute.

Before someone fired up the stereo with hip-hop music, the postgame Poland locker room serenaded Brungard with “Happy Birthday.” He turned 40 on Friday.

“Icing on the cake for him,” Kasem said. “I hope he has a good night.”