Team

Poland

Record	Div.	Conf.
8/3	Div. III	All-American Conference Red Tier

Bulldogs unable to slow air assault

By Tom Williams

williams@vindy.com

POLAND

Louisville quarterback Jake Adams’ return to Mahoning County went a lot better than his last visit.

In Week 3 of the high school football season, Austintown Fitch stole three Adams passes and returned them for touchdowns in the Leopards’ only loss (37-19).

Friday against Poland, Adams sizzled, completing 25 of 41 passes for 310 yards and two touchdowns as the Leopards ousted the Bulldogs, 42-7, in a Division III, Region 7 quarterfinal at Dave Pavlansky Field.

Poland senior safety Dylan Garver called defending the Leopards’ spread offense “extremely hard. Their wide receivers and quarterback, all of them played a great game.”

Garver said the Bulldogs’ exposure to the spread this fall was limited to Canfield showing it a little bit last week and Niles back in Week 2.

“We never played a team [running it] like this,” Garver said.

Linebacker Nick Buccieri, who got the start at quarterback replacing injured freshman Cole Kosco, said the Leopards brought a different approach.

“They are a good team — hard to defend,” Buccieri said. “We see ground-and-pound for 10 weeks so come Week 11 they spread us out and it’s hard to adjust.”

The Leopards (10-1), winners of the Northeastern Buckeye Conference for the third straight season, scored on their first two possessions to seize control early.

Poland head coach Mark Brungard said Adams “is one part of a really good unit. He’s got a great offensive line, a good set of receivers and a good running back.

“He’s the glue that makes it all go,” Brungard said. “As a unit, they were very impressive. We really struggled to get pressure on him and cover them.

“And equally we didn’t do much on offense to help our defense out,” Brungard said. “They have a team I think can make a deep run if they can get past some of these parochial giants in our region.”

Down 14-0 in the second quarter, Brungard went to his bag of tricks to engineer Poland’s score. On a fake punt, Pad O’Shaughnessy took the snap and raced 36 yards to the Louisville 20. Buccieri hit Anthony Calcagni for a 9-yard reception and a personal foul on the Leopards — one of five they committed — moved the ball to the 5 where Buccieri hit Tyler Smith for a touchdown.

The Leopards responded with two scoring strikes before halftime. With 3:15 remaining before intermission, Adams found Tyler Adams in the end zone to restore a 14-point lead. Then with just 21 seconds remaining before halftime, Jacob Adams threw an 11-yard scoring toss to Alex Jones for a 28-7.

The Bulldogs were in trouble from the start. Their first two possessions resulted in three-and-outs while the Leopards scored twice. Louisville’s first score capped an 80-yard, 12-play march. Adams scored on a 5-yard run for a 7-0 lead.

The second drive covered 78 yards and ended with Rahzul Young’s 1-yard plunge into the end zone. The Leopards added two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, triggering the running clock.

Young rushed 25 times for 134 yards.

“My senior year has been a blessing,” Garver said as the Bulldogs (9-1) won the All-American Conference White Tier. “This is just a family to me.”