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NILES -- After sitting out a week because of COVID, the Niles McKinley football team was anxious to return to action Friday at Bo Rein Stadium.
Unfortunately for the Red Dragons, the opposition was an old nemesis who was anxious to record a win following back-to-back losses.
The Poland Bulldogs set the tone early and then cruised to a 35-7 win over the Red Dragons.
With the win, Poland evens its record to 3-3. Niles falls to 3-2.
Poland and Niles have met every year since 1990, and the Bulldogs now own a commanding 28-4 lead in the series. The Bulldogs have outscored the Red Dragons 801-269 and have held the Dragons to seven or fewer points 22 times in the 32 games played between the schools.
Poland scored on its first three possessions Friday night to build a 21-0 lead in the second quarter, and the Bulldogs never looked back.
"We were definitely focused and hungry to get a win this week," Poland coach Tom Pavlansky said. "Our coaches and players did a great job all week sticking together. We had a great week of practice, we stuck with our game plan and it paid off."
Following a Niles three-and-out, Poland's first possession was a 61-yard drive consisting of six running plays. Senior quarterback Jack Fulton capped the drive with a 15-yard quarterback draw that resulted in a touchdown.
Another Niles three-and-out gave Poland the ball at its own 42, and this time the Bulldogs wasted no time to build a 14-0 advantage. On the first play of the possession, Fulton hooked up with a wide open Ross Dedo for a 58-yard touchdown.
Poland went back to its ground game on its third possession, putting together an 11-play, 86-yard drive to go up 21-0.
Fulton finished the night completing 4-of-8 passes for 101 yards, including a pair of touchdown strikes to Dedo. Fulton also rushed for 81 yards and a touchdown.
"Jack is a special athlete who has a very strong desire to compete and win," Pavlansky said. "He's one heck of a competitor."
Poland gained 393 total yards, including 264 rushing yards. Dom Parker gained 74 yards on 11 carries. Dillon Smith rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown.
Sophomore quarterback Antuan Gardner led the Red Dragons with 115 yards on 23 carries.
"We didn't execute early and Poland did, hats off to their coaches for having their team ready from the start," said Niles coach Jim Parry. "We made too many mistakes early. We got behind right from the start and that played right into their hands."
Parry wasn't about to blame the week off for Niles' slow start.
"Our execution at the start was a little rusty but in some ways we came out fresh, so it's all on us," Parry said. "Poland, they never do anything fancy, they are just always so fundamentally sound and that's why they succeed.
"Quite honestly we have to take a page out of their playbook because it's about our execution and our fundamentals more than anything else."
Meanwhile, Pavlansky hopes the win will propel his Bulldogs through the rest of the regular season. Poland's three losses have come at the hands of teams who are a combined 17-1.
"We'll find out whether or not that strong early season schedule was valuable," Pavlansky said. "Right now our only concern is today, our only concern is moving forward from this point on. We have to be ready for now."
Niles returns to action Friday with a home game against South Range. Poland travels to Girard.
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