By Jarrod Niederhiser
SALEM OH- The 2025 edition of Salem Quaker football got off to a good start in the 1st half Friday night, but ultimately couldn’t stop the big play ability of the Poland Bulldogs, and fell 48-26. After trading scores throughout the 1st half, leading to a 21-13 halftime score in favor of the Bulldogs, Salem struggled to recover from a 2nd half opening kick return for a TD.
Poland Sophomore QB David Xipolitas scored 2 long first half touchdowns (71 and 18 yards), and added two more in the 3rd quarter (55 and 56 yards respectively), en route to a 200+ yard, 4 score performance. He also added a score through the air on a 54 yard toss to Vito Komara.
Salem’s offense played an exceptional game in its own right, with Senior Cletis Monroy throwing for nearly 200 yards and a score, while contributing 80+ on the ground and 2 more scores, and Brandon Kana added a solid 100 yard night and a score, however the defense struggled to contain the big play ability of Poland, especially Xipolitas.
Salem (0-1) looks to rebound as they welcome South Range in week 2 to Sebo Stadium, while Poland (1-0) takes on Youngstown East in their home opener.