To watch the full game, scroll to the bottom of this story.
POLAND, Ohio (WKBN) – It was another instant classic Friday night on the WKBN 27 High School Football ‘Game of the Week’ as Poland held on to defeat Northeast Eight Conference rival Struthers Friday night, 28-27 in overtime.
Poland scored a touchdown in their opening overtime possession and Struthers quickly matched it with a score of their own but opted to go for two and the win, but the Bulldogs’ defense held.
The Bulldogs were led by Dominic Pagano‘s three total touchdowns and a defense that recovered three fumbles in the game, two by Logan Hackstedde.
Devin Braham had three touchdowns in a losing effort for the Wildcats.
Poland improves to 9-1 on the season, while Struthers falls to 7-3.
Now both teams will wait to find out their official place in the Division IV, Region 13 playoff picture. Entering Friday, Struthers was ranked #5 and Poland #6. Check WKBN.com on Sunday afternoon for the official playoff pairings.
Struthers turned the ball over via fumble on the opening possession of the game, allowing Pagano’s 10th rushing touchdown of the season to give Poland the first lead of the game.
The Wildcats would get their first lead on the back of two Braham scores, the first a 56-yard touchdown pass from Jason Dukes, and the second a rushing score.
The game would go into the locker room tied at 14-14 with Pagano’s second rushing touchdown of the night coming with just under 30 seconds of play remaining.
A 27-yard touchdown run from Dukes put the lead back in Struthers’ hands late in the third quarter, they would take their 21-14 lead into the fourth.
Cole Fulton found the endzone for the Bulldogs early in the final frame, tying the game at 21 apiece with ten minutes to play.
With the Wildcats driving deep into Poland territory with three minutes remaining in regulation, Hackstedde’s second fumble recovery of the game, and third overall for the Poland defense, would keep the Wildcats from getting another possession in the fourth.
The Bulldogs worked the clock down to three seconds remaining in the game, but a game-winning 36-yard field goal attempt was no good.
Poland got the first possession in overtime and Pagano quickly found Danny Nittoli for a 12-yard touchdown pass. A successful extra-point attempt gave the Bulldogs a 28-21 lead.
Struthers got the second possession and got down to the one-yard line on the first play, ultimately culminating in Braham’s third touchdown of the game.
Trailing by one on the road, the Wildcats decided to go for two and the win. Their first attempt garnered a false start penalty, pushing the attempt back to the eight-yard line. They went for it again, but this time the attempt fell short.
