Correspondent photo / Michael G. Taylor Poland head football coach Tom Pavlansky, center, hugs senior Antonio Medina (88) and sophomore Vito Komara (10) after defeating Canfield.

POLAND — If you look at the statistics, the Poland Bulldogs have boasted staggering numbers on both sides of the ball during their 2023 season.

Among many other factors, Poland’s early season success can be attributed to a senior class that is playing some of the best football of its varsity career.

The Bulldogs are currently undefeated at 5-0 and are coming off a 53-0 rout of Hubbard to open Northeast-8 play last Friday. They’ll test their mettle tonight against the defending Division V state champion South Range Raiders (4-1).

“I think it starts with our seniors, we got a group that cares about each other, a group that’s willing to play for each other,” Bulldogs coach Tom Pavlansky said. “In that group, they all know what their role is and they’re willing to bring it all to the table. They’re not hesitant. They’ve been doing this since I’ve known them for the most part.

“We’ve had a good offseason, a good summer, a good fall camp. Now we’re trying to put days together, trying to improve and we just know that the meat of our schedule is coming up and it starts here with South Range. They’re the defending state champion and arguably the best team we’ve faced here so far.”

Pavlansky credits a lot of success to the special teams unit, which has produced multiple touchdowns and blocked kicks on the receiving end of the field.

Senior quarterback Dominic Pagano has contributed a lot to Poland’s success as well. Now fully recovered from a Lisfranc injury — which impacted his foot ligament and was sustained during week three of the 2022 season — he’s been on a tear to start his final season of high school football.

He’s completed 28 of his 44 passing attempts for 419 yards and seven touchdowns while throwing no interceptions. That’s in addition to 175 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground.

“When the injury was fully healed maybe four weeks after our playoff game, I got right back in the gym, working on my speed, trying to be the best to show everyone how good I am as a player and just want to be the best version of myself,” Pagano said. “Once we get that first touchdown, everyone is up, everyone just wants to put more on the board. I give a lot of credit to our line, that’s what we run through. When the line is hyped, we roll.

Panlansky added. “Dom is a football kid. He loves the game, he finally got healthy at the end of February and it couldn’t happen too soon for him. Since then, he’s worked really hard. He has grown as a leader, as a teammate and definitely as a quarterback. I think Dom has his best football ahead of him still. We’re excited for him, he knows that he has to play well for us to have a chance.”

Growing up watching Poland football, Pagano admired the toughness of some of the teams that came before him. Because of them, he knows establishing the run is key to any successful campaign.

“I looked up to that my whole life, how I run the ball, I try to replicate what Poland football is,” he said. “It’s just hard-nosed running football. I’ve tried to put my run game into what Poland football is.”

It also helps when you have a multitude of options in the backfield.

Seniors Cole Fulton (48 carries, 335 yards, three touchdowns) and Danny Nittoli (31 carries, 225 yards, and three touchdowns) have been key options for the Bulldogs this season and are leading the way for the offense.

“(Cole) and I love hyping each other up, if Cole has a good run, I hype him up. If I have a good run, Cole hypes me up. We just try to stay up, and if we stay up, I think we’re a deadly duo back there,” Pagano said. “I love throwing the ball, but everyone loves a hardcore pound offense just running the ball. That’s always fun, passing the ball is also real fun, but I just think running the ball and pounding teams is so much more fun sometimes.”

The defensive numbers are eye-opening as well. With shutout wins over Hubbard and Howland, the Bulldogs are only allowing their foes to average 5.3 points per contest, with 14 being the most they’ve allowed in a single contest all season.

Senior Matthew Boccieri has been a force at the mike linebacker role, leading Poland with 29 tackles, seven for a loss, and four sacks. Junior Josh Macejko (three interceptions), senior Paul Greco (two interceptions), and sophomore Vito Komara (two interceptions) have played lockdown defense in the secondary, which also includes junior Oliver McCully who has two fumble returns for touchdowns.

Among many others, it’s a group effort by all 11 players on either side of the football for Pavlansky and company.

“Their communication, the effort, it’s every day so far,” he said. “There’s a reason why we’ve been successful and had opportunities to be successful, because of how hard they’ve worked.”

Their next conference test comes on their home turf tonight versus the Raiders at 7 p.m.