Nov 15, 2025
Employees photograph / R. Michael Semple Poland quarterback David Xipolitas (1) fights for yardage as Girard’s AJ Pearson makes the sort out through the first quarter of Friday’s Division V regional semifinal at Arrowhead Stadium in Girard.
GIRARD — 5 weeks after Girard and Poland’s first assembly of the season, a one-point Indians win determined by a two-point play, historical past repeated itself Friday at Arrowhead Stadium.
Throughout their first matchup, the Indians’ offense transformed a two-point attempt late to win the sport. On Friday, it was the Indians’ protection that did the job, stopping Poland on a two-point try with 2:58 remaining, which helped raise Girard to a 28-27 victory in an emotionally charged Division V regional semifinal.
“Our children performed so laborious tonight,” Girard head coach Pat Pearson mentioned. “Hats off to Coach Pav and that program. These guys performed unbelievable. That’s two video games which are simply — there aren’t any losers in these video games. … Within the second half, our youngsters confirmed some true grit. It was only a slugfest all the time, and I’m simply so proud. This can be a 100% crew effort — coaches, our followers, our group. I imply, this was electrical. This was superior tonight.”
Girard, which orchestrated a two-minute, game-winning drive in its 29-28 win vs. Poland final month, picked up the place it left off Friday.
The Indians effectively moved the ball down the sphere to start the sport, selecting up first downs on every of their first three performs, together with a 33-yard AJ Pearson cross to Braxton Sloan. After being stopped simply shy of the purpose line on a 12-yard run, Pearson completed the job with a 1-yard landing carry, giving Girard a lead 93 seconds after kickoff.
Poland’s first drive didn’t go as easily.
Though first-down runs by Chase Jones and Vito Komara momentarily put the Bulldogs on the Indians’ 31-yard line, Komara then fumbled and recovered the ball within the Bulldogs’ backfield. The 8-yard loss preceded an Allen Hess-Cardona sack of quarterback David Xipolitas, pushing Poland again even additional and necessitating a punt.
Following a three-and-out, Girard’s Mario Lipinski punted to Komara, who confirmed his velocity and agility with a return to the 3-yard line. Whereas the play was partially negated as a consequence of a penalty, bringing Poland again to the 32, Komara merely wouldn’t be denied.
Dealing with third-and-8, Komara initially carried the ball proper, however with no area to function, he reversed course, working again left with loads of room to run. He picked up 22 yards on the carry, and with a Girard private foul, the Bulldogs earned a first-and-goal from the 4-yard line. Pano Xipolitas took the following handoff for a landing, and with a profitable further level, Poland tied the sport at 7 with 3:03 remaining within the first quarter.
Every of the groups’ subsequent drives resulted in interceptions; Kelley Memo picked off Pearson in Bulldogs territory earlier than Sloan repaid the favor on a fourth-down cross.
Taking on at its personal 23, Girard slowly superior down the sphere till Pearson discovered Sloan for a 42-yard cross, which instantly put the Indians on the Poland 18. After a 15-yard rush by Sam Scott, Pearson ran for his second rating of the sport to provide the Indians a 14-7 lead with 8:50 to go within the half.
With lower than 90 seconds left within the quarter, Poland knotted the sport up at 14 with a five-play, 69-yard drive. After a Sloan interception was waved off as a consequence of a defensive holding penalty, David Xipolitas discovered JJ Faunda for a 15-yard achieve, after which Jones rumbled for the 26-yard landing to ship the sport to half with a 14-14 scoreline.
“I believed at halftime we had been somewhat bit pissed off,” Pat Pearson mentioned. “Some penalties in opposition to us, we left some issues on the market, and earlier than the second half, I mentioned to our youngsters, ‘What if I advised you June 2 that it’d be tied at halftime in opposition to Poland in Week 13 with an opportunity to go to the regional finals. Would you are taking that?’ And the entire locker room exploded.”
Poland’s first drive of the second half confirmed promise, however quite a few penalties, together with successive private fouls after a first-down run by Jones, upended it and led to a punt.
Though the Bulldogs obtained a second probability with Faunda intercepting a Pearson cross, the next drive ended very like the earlier, as a dead-ball private foul after the primary play put Poland behind the sticks.
Girard was aided on offense by a pair of dead-ball Poland penalties, which got here after Scott practically misplaced a fumble within the Indians backfield. The fouls not solely negated the primary adverse play of the drive, however they put Girard on the alternative aspect of the 50.
The Indians took benefit with quite a few runs by Scott and Pearson, the latter of whom capped off the 87-yard drive along with his third dashing landing of the sport to provide Girard a 21-14 lead with 53 seconds left within the third quarter.
“It’s an emotional sport,” Poland head coach Tom Pavlansky mentioned of the penalties. “It’s a failure on my half, and clearly we weren’t composed sufficient.”
A couple of minutes later, Poland shook off the fouls and tied the sport with a 1-yard landing run by Jones.
However Girard, which additionally backed itself up with a number of penalties after its kickoff return, was prepared to reply.
Very like he did final month vs. Poland, Pearson led the Indians down the sphere, taking 11 performs to go 71 yards and put Girard again in entrance with one other short-yardage dashing landing with 5:13 to go.
Poland’s David Xipolitas, who was unable to complete final month’s sport as a consequence of harm, then led a scoring drive in response. The sophomore quarterback crucially scrambled for 18 yards on a fourth-and-13 from the Bulldogs’ 32, which, if unsuccessful, very possible would have ended his crew’s regional ultimate hopes.
Two performs later, Xipolitas broke unfastened down the Poland sideline and bumped into the top zone for a 43-yard landing.
Down 28-27 with 2:58 remaining, Pavlansky was met with a really related choice to the one Pat Pearson confronted final month. Pearson mentioned then that he determined earlier than the Week 8 game-winning drive that he would preserve his offense on the sphere for a two-point play.
Pavlansky opted to do the identical Friday, and regardless of each coaches practically calling a timeout, the ball was snapped. Moments later, Allen Hess-Cardona, Girard’s star defensive finish, was celebrating, having pressured Xipolitas into an incomplete cross and unsuccessful two-point attempt.
“Hindsight’s 20/20,” Pavlansky mentioned. “I ought to’ve referred to as a timeout and gave our youngsters somewhat little bit of a breather. That’s what we most likely ought to’ve executed … however that’s what it’s. We advised ourselves earlier than the sport we had been gonna play aggressive, play with out worry. We’re not afraid to fail.”
Poland’s ensuing onside kick proved unsuccessful as nicely, and with just a few first-down runs and kneel-downs by AJ Pearson, the Bulldogs’ season got here to an finish.
As for the second-seeded and undefeated Indians, they may play first-seed Cardinal Mooney, which soundly defeated fourth-seed Garrettsville Garfield on Friday, in subsequent week’s Area 17 championship sport.
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