Staff photo / R. Michael Semple Girard quarterback AJ Pearson stumbles into the end zone for a second-quarter touchdown against Poland in a Division V regional semifinal on Friday at Arrowhead Stadium in Girard.

GIRARD — Five weeks after Girard and Poland’s first meeting of the season, a one-point Indians win decided by a two-point play, history repeated itself Friday at Arrowhead Stadium.

During their first matchup, the Indians’ offense converted a two-point try late to win the game. On Friday, it was the Indians’ defense that did the job, stopping Poland on a two-point attempt with 2:58 remaining, which helped lift Girard to a 28-27 victory in an emotionally charged Division V regional semifinal.

“Our kids played so hard tonight,” Girard head coach Pat Pearson said. “Hats off to Coach Pav and that program. Those guys played unbelievable. That’s two games that are just — there are no losers in those games. … In the second half, our kids showed some true grit. It was just a slugfest the entire time, and I’m just so proud. This is a 100% team effort — coaches, our fans, our community. I mean, this was electric. This was awesome tonight.”

Girard, which orchestrated a two-minute, game-winning drive in its 29-28 win vs. Poland last month, picked up where it left off Friday.

The Indians efficiently moved the ball down the field to begin the game, picking up first downs on each of their first three plays, including a 33-yard AJ Pearson pass to Braxton Sloan. After being stopped just shy of the goal line on a 12-yard run, Pearson finished the job with a 1-yard touchdown carry, giving Girard a lead 93 seconds after kickoff.

Poland’s first drive did not go as smoothly.

Although first-down runs by Chase Jones and Vito Komara momentarily put the Bulldogs at the Indians’ 31-yard line, Komara then fumbled and recovered the ball in the Bulldogs’ backfield. The 8-yard loss preceded an Allen Hess-Cardona sack of quarterback David Xipolitas, pushing Poland back even further and necessitating a punt.

Following a three-and-out, Girard’s Mario Lipinski punted to Komara, who showed his speed and agility with a return to the 3-yard line. While the play was partially negated due to a penalty, bringing Poland back to the 32, Komara simply would not be denied.

Facing third-and-8, Komara initially carried the ball right, but with no space to operate, he reversed course, running back left with plenty of room to run. He picked up 22 yards on the carry, and with a Girard personal foul, the Bulldogs earned a first-and-goal from the 4-yard line. Pano Xipolitas took the subsequent handoff for a touchdown, and with a successful extra point, Poland tied the game at 7 with 3:03 remaining in the first quarter.

Each of the teams’ next drives ended in interceptions; Kelley Memo picked off Pearson in Bulldogs territory before Sloan repaid the favor on a fourth-down pass.

Taking over at its own 23, Girard slowly advanced down the field until Pearson found Sloan for a 42-yard pass, which suddenly put the Indians at the Poland 18. After a 15-yard rush by Sam Scott, Pearson ran for his second score of the game to give the Indians a 14-7 lead with 8:50 to go in the half.

With less than 90 seconds left in the quarter, Poland knotted the game up at 14 with a five-play, 69-yard drive. After a Sloan interception was waved off due to a defensive holding penalty, David Xipolitas found JJ Faunda for a 15-yard gain, and then Jones rumbled for the 26-yard touchdown to send the game to half with a 14-14 scoreline.

“I thought at halftime we were a little bit frustrated,” Pat Pearson said. “Some penalties against us, we left some things out there, and before the second half, I said to our kids, ‘What if I told you June 2 that it’d be tied at halftime against Poland in Week 13 with a chance to go to the regional finals. Would you take that?’ And the whole locker room exploded.”

Poland’s first drive of the second half showed promise, but numerous penalties, including successive personal fouls after a first-down run by Jones, upended it and led to a punt.

Although the Bulldogs got a second chance with Faunda intercepting a Pearson pass, the following drive ended much like the previous, as a dead-ball personal foul after the first play put Poland behind the sticks.

Girard was aided on offense by a pair of dead-ball Poland penalties, which came after Scott nearly lost a fumble in the Indians backfield. The fouls not only negated the first negative play of the drive, but they put Girard on the opposite side of the 50.

The Indians took advantage with numerous runs by Scott and Pearson, the latter of whom capped off the 87-yard drive with his third rushing touchdown of the game to give Girard a 21-14 lead with 53 seconds left in the third quarter.

“It’s an emotional game,” Poland head coach Tom Pavlansky said of the penalties. “It’s a failure on my part, and obviously we weren’t composed enough.”

A few minutes later, Poland shook off the fouls and tied the game with a 1-yard touchdown run by Jones.

But Girard, which also backed itself up with multiple penalties after its kickoff return, was ready to respond.

Much like he did last month vs. Poland, Pearson led the Indians down the field, taking 11 plays to go 71 yards and put Girard back in front with another short-yardage rushing touchdown with 5:13 to go.

Poland’s David Xipolitas, who was unable to finish last month’s game due to injury, then led a scoring drive in response. The sophomore quarterback crucially scrambled for 18 yards on a fourth-and-13 from the Bulldogs’ 32, which, if unsuccessful, very likely would have ended his team’s regional final hopes.

Two plays later, Xipolitas broke loose down the Poland sideline and ran into the end zone for a 43-yard touchdown.

Down 28-27 with 2:58 remaining, Pavlansky was met with a very similar decision to the one Pat Pearson faced last month. Pearson said then that he decided before the Week 8 game-winning drive that he would keep his offense on the field for a two-point play.

Pavlansky opted to do the same Friday, and despite both coaches nearly calling a timeout, the ball was snapped. Moments later, Allen Hess-Cardona, Girard’s star defensive end, was celebrating, having pressured Xipolitas into an incomplete pass and unsuccessful two-point try.

“Hindsight’s 20/20,” Pavlansky said. “I should’ve called a timeout and gave our kids a little bit of a breather. That’s what we probably should’ve done … but that’s what it is. We told ourselves before the game we were gonna play aggressive, play without fear. We’re not afraid to fail.”

Poland’s ensuing onside kick proved unsuccessful as well, and with a few first-down runs and kneel-downs by AJ Pearson, the Bulldogs’ season came to an end.

As for the second-seeded and undefeated Indians, they will play first-seed Cardinal Mooney, which soundly defeated fourth-seed Garrettsville Garfield on Friday, in next week’s Region 17 championship game.