SALEM — The Salem Quakers’ season-opening game against the Poland Bulldogs wasn’t quite what they had hoped for. The Bulldogs flexed their muscles all night in a dominating 48-26 victory over the Quakers at Sebo Stadium.

The Salem Quakers football team entered the 2025 season knowing that they were facing two big, challenging games to start the year, with consecutive contests against the top two teams from the Northeast 8 Conference from the previous year in Poland and South Range. So, despite the disappointing loss, the Quakers grew up a lot from the experience.

“They played a lot of football last year. A final four team, and they are really good. But we had our opportunities,” Quakers’ head coach Ron Johnson said. “We have another big ballgame next week with another final four team in South Range. They are so well coached and have so much experience in playing how many games that they do.”

“They (Salem) are a formidable foe,” Bulldogs head coach Tom Pavlansky said. “Their quarterback (Monroy) is unbelievable, and he runs hard. They know exactly who they are, and they play hard. We knew exactly what we were going to get into here.”

Bulldogs sophomore quarterback David Xipolitas scored on runs of 72, 55, and 58 yards for touchdowns while also tossing a 54-yard pass for a score to power the Bulldogs on the night. Nick Nitolli added an 88-yard kickoff return to add to the Dogs’ explosive night.

“David is a special athlete, there is no doubt about it,” Pavlasky said. “But he would be the first one to tell you that he can’t do any of it without the other 10 guys on the field.

“There are parts of this game that we did very, very well,” Johnson said. “Offensively, we did exactly what we wanted to do. We turned it over one time, which hurt us in keeping pace with them. But big plays were the difference.”

The Bulldogs wasted little time in setting the tone for the contest as Xipolitas raced around left end 72 yards on their first play from scrimmage, making it 7-0. That score came at the 9:51 mark of the opening quarter.

However, the Quakers did not back down as they drove 70 yards on 14 plays with senior Cletis Monroy diving into the end zone from 2 yards out to knot the game at 7-7. The tying score came with 2:49 remaining in the frame.

Just two plays later, the Bulldogs scored again when Xipolitas connected with Vito Komara on a 54-yard catch and run to jump back ahead 14-7. And once again, the Quakers answered as Monroy hit fullback Zavier Kinsey on a 10-yard pass to make it 14-13 just six seconds into the second quarter as the Dogs blocked the extra point attempt by the Quakers.

Helped by an offside against the Quakers, allowing the Bulldogs to continue a drive, they score again on Xipolitas’ second of four touchdowns on the night to make it 21-13. That score came with 6:39 left in the first half as the Dogs carried that 8-point lead in the halftime intermission.

“There were three possessions that they got to keep the football because of those,” Johnson expressed his frustration over the unforced penalties the Quakers committed on the night. “That is really, really frustrating. But we will get better next week.”

But right on cue, the Bulldogs struck again on an electrifying play as Nick Nittoli took the opening kickoff of the second around left end and raced down the sideline 88 yards to push the Bulldogs’ advantage to 28-13.

“I don’t know if they put together a drive. But when you have athletes like that, you don’t necessarily have to. Every big play imaginable, they had it. They had a kickoff return when we had a hit on him at the five-yard line,” Johnson said.

The Quakers kept fighting, however, as they drove 76 yards on 9 plays as Brandon Kana scored on a 3-yard run to cut the deficit down to 28-19 with 7:49 left in the third stanza. The drive was powered by a 28-yard pass to Harmon and a 21-yard run by Monroy.

But the Bulldogs distanced themselves as they scored on their next two possessions with Xipolitas racing 55 yards for a score at the 6:42 mark of the third quarter, and then a 58-yard scamper with just 1:42 remaining in the quarter to make it a 41-19 ballgame.

The Quakers were not about to give up as they battled to the end with an impressive 65-yard drive on 16 plays, as Monroy scored his second touchdown on the night. This time it was a 3-yard run with 6:48 remaining in the game to make it 41-26.

The Bulldogs added a 40-yard run by Chase Jones to seal the game and reach the final margin of 48-26. The score came with just 5:03 left in the contest.

“I can’t fault the effort. Our guys played really hard. We need to keep our composure and not give up pre-snap penalties,” Johnson said. “The resolve was outstanding, and they believed that they could win.

The Bulldogs will look to keep their momentum building as they host Youngstown East next Friday.

Things don’t get any easier for the Quakers next Friday as they will host another top NE8 opponent in South Range as they try to bounce back.

PO: 14-7-20-7–48

SA: 7-6- 6-7–26

SCORING

PO – David Xipolitas 72 run (Salvi Carramusa Kick)

SA – Cletis Monroy 2 run (Gerson Samayoa Kick)

PO – Vito Komara 54 pass from Xipolitas (Carramusa Kick)

SA – Zavier Kinsey 10 pass from Monroy (Kick Blocked)

PO – Xipolitas 18 run (Carramusa Kick)

PO – Nick Nittoli 88 kickoff return (Carramusa Kick)

SA – Brandon Kana 3 run (Run Failed)

PO – Xopolitas 55 run (Kick Blocked)

PO – Xopolitas 58 run (Carramusa Kick)

SA – Monroy 3 run (Samayoa Kick)

PO – Chase Jones 40 run (Carramusa Kick)

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P S

First downs 11 19

Total Yards 379 368

Rushes-yards 20-309 51-202

Passing 70 166

Comp-Att-Int 5-7-0 18-24-0

Punts 1-34 2-45.5

Fumbles-Lost 2-0 3-1

Penalties-Yard 4-40 9-60

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INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING– POLAND, David Xipolitas 6-205, Chase Jones 6-60; SALEM, Brandon Kana 25-117, Cletis Monroy 22-81.

PASSING– POLAND, David Xipolitas 5-7-70-1-0; SALEM, Cletis Monroy 18-24-166-1-0.

RECEIVING– POLAND, Vito Komara 3-62; SALEM, Colton Blackburn 1-48, Will Harmon 3-43, Mackston Ellis 2-28.

FUMBLE RECOVERIES – Chase Jones.