LEETONIA — To say the Leetonia Bears season has been unusual is an understatement.

The Bears have had two games canceled due to a positive covid test, and then a third game opponent pulled the plug on the entire season leaving them with no non-conference games.

Friday night, the Bears took out their frustrations on the East Palestine Bulldogs with a dominating 52-16 victory in their season opener while also christening their new turf field.

The Bulldogs drop to 0-4 on the season.

“I’m just happy we had a chance to play football. After sitting for three weeks, it’s all about just having a chance to play,” Bears coach Paul Hulea said. “We have a lot of things to clean up, but we played hard every down. That’s the key in high school football.”

“It feels great! Coming out here which is pretty much our home opener, it feels amazing,” Bears senior Mike Miller stated. “I thought it would be the same old grass field, but this stuff is amazing. I feel faster, I think everybody does.”

The Bears used the excitement of the pre-game celebrations for the new turf stadium to jump out to a 38-0 lead at halftime. They held the Bulldogs to just 127 total yards in the game, 17 at the intermission. Meanwhile, the Bears churned out 361 yards, all of them on the ground.

“We knew they were going to be amped up and ready to go. We didn’t really have any film on them, but we knew what they were going to do. They came out and executed and our guys are young,” Bulldogs Tony Foster remarked.

The Bears would score on their first seven possessions of the game, turning the ball over on a fumble in the fourth quarter to thwart the eighth attempt. Sophomore running back Hayden Cibula would score three times on the night while junior quarterback Joe Guido tallied two touchdowns along with senior running back Jake McCool with two scores.

Cibula had touchdown runs of 8 yards in the first quarter, 5-yards 27-seconds before halftime, and 26-yards on the Bears’ first possession of the second half. Guido scored on a 17-yard run on the second play of the contest and a 34-yard scamper in the second frame. McCool’s two touchdowns came on a 14-yard run in the second quarter and a 4-yard blast at the end of the third quarter.

Adding to the Bulldogs struggles was the loss of a couple of starting players in the game as Landon Price was removed from the game following an unsportsmanlike penalty, and

Zac Hostetter who suffered an injury. Hostetter was transported to the hospital as a precaution.

Tyler Bistarkey would lead the Bulldogs with 90 yards rushing and a touchdown on the night. His scoring run was 63-yards came in the fourth quarter.

“We have seventeen of you still standing. If you’re willing to play this game that we love, the greatest game out there, we are willing to coach our butts off and get better. And enjoy the game we love,” Foster told his team after the game.

The Bears will try to keep the momentum going next Friday. They are scheduled to host United, but depending on positive covid testing with United, the Bears may be looking for another opponent. Leetonia will officially have a dedication ceremony for the new turf field next Friday.

The Bulldogs will try to pick up their first victory next Friday when they host the Wellsville Tigers.

sports@vindy.com