By JOE SCAlzo

scalzo@vindy.com

HARTVILLE

As Poland’s “Band of Warriors” gathered in front of the marching band to sing the alma mater for the last time, one of the assistant coaches yelled out, “You are in the presence of …”

“Greatness,” they yelled.

For 12 weeks, the smallest football team of Mark Brungard’s tenure played like one of the biggest, squeezing greatness out of a group of 35 players.

On Friday, those Bulldogs went toe-to-toe with the two-time defending Division III state champions before wearing down in the fourth quarter of a 20-10 loss to Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary in a regional semifinal at Lake Blue Streak Stadium.

“It’s the third straight year we’ve gone to the second round and I’m very proud of this group,” Brungard said. “They were a ‘Band of Warriors’ this year. We had about 35 guys dressing each week and they didn’t care. They just came to play every week.”

Poland trailed just 6-3 entering the fourth quarter before its defense started to wear down. Vincent Lockett’s 11-yard TD run with 10:47 left gave the Irish a 10-point lead and they put the game away with Dom Davis’ 9-yard TD run on fourth down with 3:00 left.

Poland didn’t get a first down in the second half until just over two minutes remained in the fourth quarter.

“They just ran out [of gas],” Brungard said of his defense. “They just frustrated us on offense. They really shut us down. I tried about everything in the playbook.

“Credit to them. They’re a good team.”

Poland (10-2) kept it interesting in the final minutes, cutting the deficit to 10 on Tyler Smith’s 16-yard touchdown pass from Dom Petrony with 1:06 left. The Bulldogs recovered the ensuing onside kick at the SV-SM 38 but lost their third fumble of the game on a strip-sack of Petrony two plays later.

“We stayed up the whole time,” said senior Tate Duarte, who had an interception for Poland. “People go down when you’re losing but as seniors, we stayed up and kept the morale up.”

But Poland’s run game struggled against SV-SM, which stacked the box and dared the Bulldogs to throw. Poland ran 28 times for just 35 yards while Petrony was 7 of 18 for 102 yards, including four passes to Austin Wilson for 51 yards.

“We shut the run down completely,” SV-SM coach Dan Boarman said. “That’s been their baby. They’re a running football team.

“Our parting words when we left the locker room was it’s going to be our will against theirs and our will has to be stronger.”

Lockett ran 28 times for 144 yards for the Irish (10-2), who have won eight straight games and will meet Hubbard in the playoffs for the third straight year. The Irish won the previous two meetings against the Eagles by a combined score of 94-21. Davis aded 62 yards rushing and 37 passing.

“[Hubbard is] a fine football program and I’m sure they’re looking for us,” Boarman said. “We’ve beat them the last two years so I’m sure they’d like to get us. I’d like to get them. That’s why they strap it on on Friday night.”

Hubbard beat Poland, 54-28, in Week 5, although the Bulldogs were beat up that night, Brungard said.

“I’d like the chance to play them again but maybe next year,” he said of Hubbard. “[SV-SM] is a good team. I don’t know if they’re good enough to beat Hubbard, but if one team can beat them, it’s those guys.”