Experienced backfield keys Poland

August 25, 2013 at 12:00a.m.

poland

Yes, Poland football coach Mark Brungard lost eight first-team all-conference players to graduation and yes, he said it will be a challenge to replace them.

But ...

“It’s the same challenge every year,” Brungard said. “We’re in this business for that reason, these challenges of making it work and figuring out what you can do well this year compared to last.

“That’s the fun part of it.”

Added senior quarterback Jake Wolfe, “We had a lot of good guys that are gone now, a lot of leadership, but we’ve got a lot of new guys that are going to step up this year, so we should be fine.”

Plus, one of last year’s seniors did leave something behind. Guard Jake Moffo told Brungard his 2013 team motto should be “Whatever it takes.”

“I said, ‘I kind of like that,’” Brungard said. “We’ve been shouting that quite a bit.”

OFFENSE

Offensively, Poland returns its entire backfield in Wolfe, senior running back Ross Gould (who rushed for 1,100 yards and 12 TDs) and senior FB Jake Aiello.

“That’s an awesome luxury,” Brungard said.

Do-everything WR Tyler Evan — who lines up all over the offense — is back, as is TE John Markota and WR Art Duran, who each lettered last fall.

Up front, tackles Liborio Ricottilli and Nick Rizzo will provide production and leadership for a unit replacing three starters.

DEFENSE

Defense is more of a question mark, but seniors Abe Kassem and Zach Bader are back on the line and Markota will start playing both ways as he mans the end spot.

“I’ve been playing for a long time so I can be a leader for the other guys stepping up to play,” said Markota, who started playing varsity as a sophomore. “We’ve got a lot of guys who can play and a lot of guys with experience, so we should be able to step up and fill the roles of the guys we lost.”

Senior Mike Audi and junior Adam Wollet (the younger brother of standout Luke Wollet) will lead the linebackers, but the secondary is all new.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Standout kicker Connor McFadden is now at Youngstown State, but his younger brother Colt is in the mix to replace him, as is junior Robert Devito. Junior Austin Wilson is back at punter.

OUTLOOK

Poland plays host to Marlington in Week 1 after routing the Dukes 38-0 in the first round of last year’s playoffs. That ended Poland’s three-game regular season losing streak to Marlington.

“We really had a great night in the playoffs; everything went our way,” Brungard said. “I think it certainly opened their eyes to respecting us a little more.”

The Bulldogs then play Canal Fulton Northwest followed by a big Week 3 game against Boardman just before league play begins.

Poland has gone to the playoffs in six of the last eight years and should be in the mix again for a league title and a postseason berth.

“We’ve got to worry about the first game,” Wolfe said. “Hopefully we can beat Marlington and then Canal Fulton in Game 2 and see where it goes from there.”