By Hayden Myers
POLAND OHIO- The Poland Bulldogs pulled away with the win on Friday night, knocking out the Liberty Leopards in the second round of the OHSAA playoffs
It started fast for Poland, who got on the board first when quarterback David Xipolitas found star receiver Vito Komara from 12 yards out and an early 7-0 lead.
Liberty responded later on in the first quarter, as quarterback Dawaun Moody ran it in for an 8 yard touchdown to knot it up at 7-7.
The Bulldogs did not falter, as they proceeded to score 28 unanswered points spanning the final three quarters. Pano Xipolitas found the endzone on a 2 yard rushing touchdown to put Poland back in front. A Chase Jones interception, followed by a 70 yard rush from David Xipolitas, and Pano found his way back into the endzone, this time from 3 yards out. Poland took that 21-7 lead into halftime.
To open up the second half, a couple of defensive stops had both offenses guessing, until Chase Jones took matters into his own hands, taking a screen pass 72 yards and extending the lead to 21. The Bulldogs found more success on defense, when Pete Zoumis snagged an interception and another forced turnover.
In the fourth quarter, Poland salted the game away with a rushing score from Vito Komara, followed by another interception from Chase Jones, his second on the day. Liberty broke the scoring drought late, when Dawaun Moody ran in from 2 yards out and cut the lead to 35-14, which the Bulldogs would hang onto and win.
For Liberty, their season ends after a successful 9 win campaign, including a playoff win against Claymont in round 1. As for the Poland Bulldogs, they will be on the road next week to battle their conference rivals, the red hot, still undefeated Girard Indians in what will be a top matchup in the state of Ohio.