Staff file photo / Preston Byers Poland’s Vito Komara (10) runs with the ball during the Bulldogs’ game vs. Girard on Oct. 10 at Arrowhead Stadium. The Bulldogs and Indians play each other in Girard for the second time in five weeks Friday in a Division V regional semifinal.

Five weeks ago, Girard and Poland met in one of the most highly anticipated, important and thrilling games of the season for both teams.

On Oct. 10, two minutes after the Bulldogs took a fourth-quarter lead, Indians sophomore quarterback AJ Pearson rushed for the game-winning touchdown and two-point conversion with 1:11 remaining to give Girard its first victory vs. Poland in 29 years.

Since that Week 8 matchup for control of the Northeast 8 Athletic Conference, neither team has lost. But tonight, with the stakes even higher and a loser guaranteed, they meet again.

After that 29-28 defeat, Poland (9-2) rolled past Lakeview and Struthers to finish the regular season before beating Liberty 35-14 in the regional quarterfinals last week. Meanwhile, Girard (11-0) capped off a perfect regular season and secured its first NE8 championship with lopsided wins at Hubbard and Niles. A week ago, after surrendering a 14-point first-half lead, the Indians pulled away from Manchester in a 28-14 quarterfinal win.

The teams’ respective victories have set the stage for a Division V regional semifinal that will also be the final all-area rematch of the season and a de facto league title game rematch. But neither coach is giving any unneeded attention – or bulletin-board material – to their opponent ahead of such a critical game.

“It’s Week 13, so whether you’re playing a rival or a team you’ve never played before, I think our kids are just excited to be a part of Week 13,” Girard head coach Pat Pearson said. “They know it’s win or go home, and we really just focus on doing everything we can to try to earn another Monday together.”

“The bottom line is it’s Week 13,” Poland coach Tom Pavlansky said. “You’re playing a really good football team, no matter who it is, whether you’re familiar with them or not familiar with them. They’re a team that’s going to hit, they’re a team that’s going to hit hard, they’re a team that’s going to play hard. They’re going to compete their butt off, and they’re going to be extremely well-coached. So we got to be at the top of our game to have a chance.”

Both coaches admit, though, that there are some challenges to playing the same team twice in just over a month.

“We’re familiar with the scheme and how they try to attack, what worked, what didn’t work, all that information,” Pavlansky said. “Now, it comes down to, well, can you still do the same things that you had success with? Can you improve on the things that you didn’t have success with? And then what are tweaks, maybe, that you need to do to put yourself, put your kids, in the best situation possible to have success?”

The biggest challenge of all may not be the opponent; it just might be themselves.

During their Week 8 matchup, the Indians and Bulldogs were each called for numerous penalties, including multiple personal fouls, and the coaches, players and fans made their dissatisfaction known with the officials equally for the flags they threw on the turf and those that remained attached to their hips.

Keeping their teams’ ever-rising emotions in check during a conference rematch and this late in the season will be no easy task for either coach.

“I think that’s always a challenge for us. We kind of always play on the edge there. Our kids play really hard all the time,” Pearson said. “We just focus on the little things. We focus on each other and doing all those little things right that we’ve done all year: play for each other, play Girard football, be a great teammate and go play. We feel like that if we do that and we take care of all that, then we’ll be OK.”

“We’re making a point of emphasis about taking care of our business and trying to eliminate those penalties that don’t help the team,” Pavlansky said. “That’s where we are, just trying to make sure … [we] avoid those penalties. It’s just about making a point of emphasis, we gotta make sure we’re the best version of ourselves so we have a chance.”

The environment will do neither team any favors in staying calm and collected tonight.

Before making their first trip to Arrowhead Stadium this season, Pavlansky said other road games paled in comparison to Girard, which celebrated senior night when Poland arrived on Oct. 10.

While the weather for tonight’s game is expected to be a bit colder than the previous meeting, the atmosphere will almost certainly be white-hot as the Indians seek their first regional title game appearance in seven years and the Bulldogs try to reach their second consecutive regional final.

“The last time we played, Week 8, was one of the most electric atmospheres we’ve been a part of, probably, since our 2018 state run,” Pearson said. “And I think it’s going to be every bit of that, if not more. You got two very proud communities and proud schools, and when they came together the last time we played, it was everything high school football is about and what’s great about this valley.

“We’ve already told our kids there’s only one of two things that can happen: either you win a state championship or somebody beats you. There’s no other outcome that’s going to come out of this. So I think our kids are just more focused on living in the moment, playing for each other, believing in each other and making sure that they leave everything on that field.”