Staff photo / Brian Yauger East Palestine’s Tanner Morrow (4) attempts to break tackle from Western Reserve’s Dominic Krut during the first half of a Division VII playoff game on Friday in East Palestine.

EAST PALESTINE — What started as a defensive battle quickly became a pair of teams showcasing their offensive prowess.

Western Reserve and East Palestine’s offenses exploded in the second half, going tit-for-tat. When the dust finally settled on Friday’s Division VII, Region 25, first-round matchup, it was the Bulldogs who survived and advanced, defeating the Blue Devils, 36-35.

“It’s only the second time it’s ever happened. It’s first time ever back-to-back, and only second playoff win ever,” East Palestine coach Michael Demster said. “You can see how excited everybody is and how emotional everybody is. It’s everything right now.”

The Bulldogs made the most of their opening drive, moving down the field swiftly thanks to the help of RJ May, who caught a pass from quarterback Clark Rutledge that was a bounce away from being intercepted by Western Reserve. The drive culminated in a 6-yard pass from Rutledge to May, converting on a fourth-and-6.

Western Reserve matched them midway through the second. Two plays after Shane Ashburn intercepted a pass from Rutledge, Blue Devils tailback Nate Alexander broke loose down the side of the field, running 61 yards down the field nearly untouched to even the score.

The Blue Devils were approaching the red zone with a chance to take the lead, before Bulldogs senior Zach Schnelle forced and recovered a fumble to give East Palestine a chance to take the lead before halftime. But Alexander intercepted Rutledge with 21 seconds left in the second quarter, stopping the Bulldogs in their tracks.

But East Palestine found the end zone with its first possession of the second half. On a third-and-15, Rutledge went through the air, connecting with May again, this time on a 45-yard pass.

Western Reserve responded immediately, however, with Timmy Serensky taking the ensuing kickoff back 70 yards to paydirt as the Bulldogs’ lead lasted for 16 seconds.

That gave the Blue Devils momentum, stalling the ensuing East Palestine drive. Western Reserve gave Alexander the ball again, and he found the end zone once more. Once Alexander broke through the trenches, he was off to the races, reaching the end zone from 63 yards out.

The Bulldogs were down, but not out, however.

The duo that led to East Palestine’s first two touchdowns struck again, this time Rutledge connected with May in the middle of the field, and May bobbed and weaved through the defense to score on a 22-yard pass.

“Those two tonight were electric,” Dempster said. “RJ is a special football player. If we can get him the football, we’re trying to get him the football. He does a lot with it, and he did what we needed to do tonight.”

A first half, which was determined by stout defenses imposing their wills on each other, quickly became a track meet.

Just over a minute after the Bulldogs tied the game, Western Reserve struck back. Dominic Krut connected with sophomore Jayden Goddard in stride, completing a 46-yard pass and giving the Blue Devils a 28-21 lead.

But East Palestine had a counter primed and ready.

Driving down the field, the Bulldogs knotted the game back up, with Rutledge calling his own number this time. The quarterback ran 9 yards up the middle to help re-tie the game at 28 with 5:50 remaining in the game.

One play after Alexander was a turf trip away from scampering into the end zone, Serensky carried the mantle, breaking through the hole and running 55 yards to score.

Like clockwork, the Bulldogs punched back. At the goal line, Rutledge called his own number, powering through.

With hopes to end the game before overtime, Rutledge called his own number again on the two-point conversion, giving East Palestine a 36-35 lead, and the Blue Devils two-and-a-half minutes to respond.

Going for two was a no-doubt call. Both coaches were in lockstep on the decision.

“That’s the right play,” Blue Devils coach John Armeni said. “He made the right call. I would have done the same thing. It’s a gutsy call, you know, and that’s why they’re moving on.

While offense dominated the second half, it was the East Palestine defense who made the game’s most important play.

Senior Ayvre Klingensmith dove on a loose ball, forcing a turnover, and giving the Bulldogs the chance to ice the game. With a first down caused by a personal foul call, East Palestine moved the chains, allowing them to kneel on the ball and clinch victory.

Western Reserve ends its season at 4-6.

Right before the Bulldogs scored their go-ahead touchdown, they fumbled on the 1-yard line. It appeared the Blue Devils came up with it, but the ball just didn’t bounce their way.

It was the story of their 2025 campaign.

“That seems to be the motto of our year,” Armeni said. “We’ve had a lot of, a lot of close calls, and seems like we never got a break, but our kids kept fighting. You have to be proud of that. We lost 11 coin tosses this year. I don’t even know what the probability of that is, but that’s been the kind of year we’ve had. But also, I’m awfully proud of the resolve and the perseverance that our young men played with.”

The Bulldogs (8-3) will advance to the second round where they’ll hit the road to take on third-seeded Mogadore.