Poland holds on to top rival Canfield
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CANFIELD -- The Battle of 224 proved to be just that: a battle.
And fortunately for the Poland Bulldogs, they won Friday night's rivalry game against Canfield on the road 24-21 after taking a lead in the second half and holding off the Cardinals late. The win marked Poland's first vs. Canfield since 2023 and only its second in the Battle of 224 since 2014.
"Our kids work. It’s nice to see the results that our process, it works," Poland head coach Tom Pavlansky said. "These kids have bought in. I’ve said this since last spring, when I was filling out those questionnaires and everything else: I don’t know how many games we’re going to win, but I like our guys. I like our guys because they work hard. They care about each other. Usually, when you’ve got those two things, when you have a great senior class who leads every single day in the classroom, in the hallway, in the locker room, on the practice field, on the game field, then you’re gonna have an opportunity to be in the game in the fourth quarter.
"Week 1, Week 2, we had a chance in the fourth quarter to win the game, and we came up short. But tonight, we won the game."
Both offenses clicked early Friday, with the Bulldogs taking the lead on their first possession after a fake punt by David Xipolitas, who found Nick Nittoli to convert on fourth-and-4 to extend the drive.
Three plays later, Xipolitas broke out of the pocket after nearly being sacked, hit the outside and raced to the end zone for a 69-yard rushing touchdown less than four minutes into the game.
Canfield responded with a big play of its own.
On the sixth play of their first drive, a low snap forced quarterback DJ Porter to pick the ball off the turf. Immediately after corralling the ball, Porter looked deep and launched a pass to Luke Berardino, who beat his man and ran in for the 51-yard touchdown.
Poland wasted little time in reclaiming the lead and scored in six plays of its own. The final play similarly went 51 yards; this time, Chase Jones maintained his balance and stayed on his feet after being nearly brought down. By breaking the tackle, Jones had no one else to beat en route to the end zone.
Following the first punt of the game, which coincided with the end of the opening quarter, the Bulldogs put together a drive that started at their own 27-yard line and appeared as if it would end with another touchdown.
However, on third-and-2 from the Canfield 32, Xipolitas faked an inside handoff and targeted a wide-open Ashton Sattarelle, who had run behind all of the Cardinal defenders. Xipolitas' pass proved to be too long, though, as Sattarelle, even while diving could only get a few fingertips on the ball as it fell incomplete.
On the next play, the Canfield defense stuffed Sattarelle on a run attempt to force a turnover on downs.
The Cardinals' offense rewarded their defense's effort on their next drive, which lasted 11 plays and nearly six minutes and was bookended by Joey Pannunzio runs.
Despite a block in the back penalty, Canfield quickly moved down the field. Porter completed back-to-back passes, totaling 28 yards, and, after a Sami Hout first-down run, Porter ran for another 11 to get the Cardinals in the red zone.
From there, Canfield took its time, running the ball four times inside the Poland 12, before Pannunzio punched it in. The Luke Goodrich extra point tied the game at 14 with 2:26 remaining in the half.
"We were just nice and calm," Pavlansky said of the Poland locker room at halftime. "We felt we missed some opportunities in the first half. But our guys, they were calm. Some of the seniors spoke up and voiced their opinion, and it was well-spoken. That’s all it was; really no adjustments. It was just, 'Hey, let’s continue to be better every play.' When we do that, then we got a chance."
Canfield's first drive of the second half ended with a punt. Early on in the possession, Porter tossed a pass more than 50 yards down the field to Berardino, who, despite being wide open, could not pull in the ball while extending to catch it.
The scoreless drive ignited the Poland sideline, and the momentum spilled onto the field, as the Bulldogs methodically marched toward the end zone.
Keeping it on the ground for all but one play, Poland relied on Jones and Xipolitas while eating up seven-and-half minutes on its 13-play drive. After both their star quarterback and running back suffered cramps, the Bulldogs handed the ball to Sattarelle on the goal to go ahead with 1:56 to go in the third quarter.
Poland's momentum continued to build after the kickoff, as Canfield, while running a reverse, fumbled and gave the ball back to the Bulldogs on the Cardinals' 40.
Fortunately for Canfield, it escaped without allowing a score after stopping Poland on third down. The Bulldogs then committed a false start on a hard count, bringing on a punt.
It would not take long after, though, for Poland to score again, as Porter, in trying to find Berardino on third-and-long, threw an interception to Sattarelle.
"We just stalled out on offense, and I thought our offense was responding all night long. We couldn’t stop anything defensively," said Canfield coach Joe Ignazio, who felt Poland was more physical Friday.
Opting against going for it on fourth down, Poland settled for a successful 25-yard field goal by Salvi Carramusa, who put the Bulldogs up 24-14 with 8:43 left in the game.
Needing points on their next drive, the Cardinals got just that after getting the ball back.
Canfield, for the first time since the first half, found success moving the ball, particularly on the ground. Gabe Miller capped off the sub-three-minute possession with an 18-yard touchdown run to bring the Cardinals back within a field goal with under six minutes to play.
Canfield would not get the ball back, however, as Poland largely eschewed passing and picked up key first downs to take up the remaining 5:47.
The only chance the Cardinals had to get back on offense were crushed with 37 seconds left, when the back judge whistled Canfield for a defensive pass interference on a deep, fourth-down pass to Nittoli. The flag, coming after the ball fell incomplete and the Cardinals began celebrating, sparked multiple personal-foul calls, and effectively ended the game.
"Don't put it in the officials' hands. We teach our kids that all the time," Ignazio said. "Then we turn around and lost composure, and that's completely uncharacteristic of us. Disappointing."
Canfield (0-4) visits Youngstown next Friday in need of its first win of the year, while Poland (2-2), which opened the season with narrow defeats to Salem and Kirtland, is back at home to open Northeast 8 Conference play vs. Hubbard.
"I think every single teacher, every single coach, gets into it because they like to see kids grow and have success. And that’s what these guys have got," Pavlansky said. "So it is the ultimate compliment. It’s worth more than any paycheck, watching these guys grow and continue to work and continue to believe in each other."