Saturday, September 22, 2012
By Ryan buck
CANFIELD
Eighth-year Poland football coach Mark Brungard quarterbacked Youngstown State to two national titles for an iconic coach known for a very specific game plan: no turnovers, superior special teams and relentless defense. Jim Tressel would be proud of his former star as Brungard’s Bulldogs shut out rival Canfield, 13-0, in Tressel-esque fashion last night at Cardinal Stadium.
“You have to be really sound with specials and you can’t turn it over,” Brungard said. “It’s not always a pretty game plan. You trust your defense, run the ball, burn clock, kick it, change the field and let your defense work. The way our defense was playing, I wasn’t panicking and trying to do crazy things.”
Poland has now won three in a row against its bitter All-American Conference American Division rival.
“It never gets old,” Brungard said. “It’s a great rivalry and tonight was another great game in that rivalry.”
With 1:34 remaining in the first quarter and Poland ahead 3-0, Canfield made its first crucial mistake. Facing second-and-8 at its 41-yard line, the shotgun snap sailed over the head of Canfield quarterback Kimu Kim. The Poland defense recovered at the Canfield 19.
Conner McFadden’s second field goal of the game pushed the Poland lead to 6-0 with 11:48 left in the first half.
The Poland defense continued to stifle Kim and the Canfield offense. The Bulldogs held the Cardinals to 53 rushing yards, forced three three-and-outs and repeatedly won the field position battle in the first half.
On its fourth possession, Poland lined up to punt after a sack and a holding call halted a promising drive at its own 38. On fourth-and-18, the Canfield punt-block unit was called for a personal foul — roughing the punter — and Poland had new life at the Canfield 47.
Three plays later, tailback Ross Gould broke free down the right sideline for a 40-yard touchdown run and a 13-0.
“I was supposed to run inside, but there was nothing there, so I just bounced it outside,” Gould said. “It feels great, feels amazing.”
The two big miscues cost Canfield.
“You make mistakes against a good football team, you’re not going to win,” Canfield coach Mike Pavlansky said. “You make mistakes against your rival, you’re certainly not going to win. Every play’s important. We need to make sure we’re a more disciplined football team and execute at a higher level.”
Sticking to Brungard’s game plan, the Bulldogs bled the clock in the second half. Mike Turnbull and the defense stopped Canfield on a key fourth-and-4 at the Poland 30 with 4:47 to play.
The Bulldogs had big reasons to celebrate after a difficult week. Poland juniors Mike Audi and Abe Kassem are recovering from a serious car accident that occurred last Saturday. It was a rallying point for the team and their faithful.
“This community is a good community in that way,” said Brungard. “A lot of love and support went out to the Audi and Kassem families for those boys. It came after a tough loss we had against Niles, but I think it put things in perspective and allowed everyone to see a bigger picture. Today, we’re thankful for a win, but we’re thankful for a game ball to give to those boys who couldn’t be here tonight and play with us.”