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POLAND -- Last season, Poland blew a nine-point lead against Hubbard in the fourth quarter. This year, roles were reversed in another exciting contest.
After trailing by seven at halftime the Bulldogs dominated the second half and were able to break their offensive slump and ground the Eagles 28-21 in a thriller at Dave Pavlansky Field, Friday night.
With 10:55 left in the game Poland running back Danny Nittoli plowed through the Eagles front seven on the goaline to give the Bulldogs the lead.
With less than a minute remaining, Hubbard would have one last chance.
Needing a stop the Bulldogs' defense stood stout, only allowing Hubbard to their 10-yard line and sealing the game at their own 3 yard-line intercepting Nikolas Hendrix pass with just 47 seconds left.
Hubbard head coach Brian Hoffman said it was a hard fought football game.
"There were give and take from both teams, they made a few more plays than we did. We had an opportunity at the end there to tie it up and we weren't able to do that," Hoffman said.
The game appeared to be shifted in Hubbard's favor out of the locker room. The Eagles looked poised to move to 4-0, taking control with a 21-14 lead and forcing a Bulldog fumble to open the second half.
When things looked bleak, the game took a sharp turn, Poland's special teams shifted the momentum of the entire game with a blocked punt in the 3rd quarter, setting up the Bulldogs in Hubbard territory.
Despite a rough first half filled with two turnovers and a turnover on downs, the Bulldogs were able to wake up in the second half and play together.
"I'm just really proud of our guys. It wasn't any adjustments, it was just hey, play together, trust each other and let's stop shooting ourselves in the foot," said Pavlansky. "Credit to Hubbard for making things tough on us and capitalizing off our mistakes. It was just play like we know how we are capable of playing. We ended up playing our two best quarters we've played all year."
The turnover led to JP Genova finding his target Danny Nittoli for a 46 yard pass to tie the game at the midway point of the third quarter. From there Poland never looked back.
Friday night was a much needed game for Poland as it was the most points they've scored all season. Prior to this week the Bulldogs offense had a few rough games. Last week they lost 31-7 against Canfield and week one lost 34-2 against Chaney.
Genova had to fill in for injured starter Dominic Pagano this week. Bulldogs Head Coach Tom Pavlansky praised his senior quarterback who threw for 121 yards this evening.
"I don't have enough superlatives to describe JP. He's got the respect of his teammates, the respect of the coaches, and he is a winner. He is a tough son of a gun."
With 10:55 left in the game Poland scored the final time with a 1 yard run by running back Nittoli.
Both coaches said they need to make adjustments heading into next week but like a lot of what they saw on the field Friday night.
Friday night is the first tally in the loss column for Hubbard. They will look to bounce back when they host Struthers at Hubbard Memorial Stadium, next friday.
Poland hits the .500 mark at 2-2 on the year and will travel to face South Range at Raider Stadium, hoping to keep the momentum going, next Friday.