Team

Poland

Record	Div.	Conf.
6/4	Div. III	All-American Conference Red Tier

By John Bassetti

sports@vindy.com

POLAND

Open holes on opening night and a freshman starting quarterback were the themes Thursday as the Poland High School football team defeated Marlington, 31-20.

Bulldog senior running back Dylan Garver put Poland ahead, 7-0, before Marlington knotted the game at 7-7.

Garver finished with 157 yards on 14 carries. Nick Petrolla added 101 yards on 12 rushes but 14-year-old freshman Cole Kosco engineered an offense that amassed 320 yards.

“He has a presence about him that is a bit beyond his years and we’re taking advantage of it,” Poland coach Mark Brungard said of his starting quarterback.

Brungard said Kosco was expected to be inserted gradually with Nick Buccieri before the senior sustained a preseason knee injury.

Kosco threw his first high-school game completed pass to Anthony Calcagni on the fifth play of the game, then hit Tyler Smith for his first touchdown pass — an 11 yarder — in the second quarter.

Smith also had a 7-yard TD reception from Kosco in the fourth quarter.

Colt McFadden’s 35-yard field goal snapped the 7-7 tie and in the second quarter and Petrolla had a 2-yard TD run after setting it up with a 63-yard gain.

“Either of us could run an offense,” Kosco said of himself and Buccieri. “I think when he gets back, he’s more of a running quarterback who will really help our offense a lot.”

The 6-foot-2, 175-pound freshman, a grandson of former Major League Baseball player Andy Kosco, said he wasn’t as nervous as he expected.

“It turned out to be fine,” he said.

For Kosco’s first TD pass, Smith caught the ball at the goal line, then pivoted and — to leave no doubt — stretched his arms to break the plane with the ball.

As the game progressed, Kosco became more confident.

“Coach gave us a good halftime pep talk and I felt more in my comfort zone after that,” Kosco said.

Defensively, Garver had two interceptions to start his senior season after getting three as sophomore and five as a junior.

His 40-yard burst up the middle for his touchdown came with Petrolla as blocking back.

“They make my job so easy,” he said of linemen Justyn Madick, Kyle McCree, Joe Bonarigo, Ted Sacco and Evan Montgomery and other blocking backs on the night (Anthony Audi and sophomore Alec Catsoules).

How did Garver feel with a freshman quarterback in the huddle?

“It felt great,” Garver said. “We’ve been meshing and I have his back and he has mine. We don’t look at the fact that he’s a freshman.

“At his skill level, he’s doing awesome.”

Garver is 18 years old.

“That’s crazy that he’s four years younger, but he’s out there playing like he’s a day younger than me,” Garver said of Kosco.

Brungard said that the quarterback position was going to be shared until Buccieri got hurt.

“Nick is a starting linebacker for us and Cole was going to gradually assume more and more,” Brungard said. “Nick brings a physical presence, but when he got hurt, that went out the window and we became more of a two-back, three-back, power-run team while bringing Cole along.”

Against Marlington, Brungard said that Kosco was very heady in situations when he had to check a play with no huddle and make a call at the line of scrimmage.”

Bonarigo is a starting guard and defensive lineman. The 6-4, 245 Bonarigo had a non-contact knee injury in the first quarter, which worries Brungard.

“He planted his [left] knee and it popped. Pending results, we’re hoping for the best.”