EAST PALESTINE–With a chance to clinch a league championship, the United Eagles couldn’t afford to overlook the upset-minded East Palestine Bulldogs on Friday.

Despite a short week and a greatly improved Bulldog team playing at home, the Eagles won in dominating fashion 51-12 to take the Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference title.

“Our focus this week was probably the strongest we have had in any week this season,” Eagles senior running back Kollyn Wells said. “Coach was telling us that this is it, but we have to continue through and head into the playoffs.”

“We (coaches) worried about that, but we didn’t say a word about it. We were so focused. We never brought up any negativity. We did a great job,” added Eagles head coach DJ Ogilvie.

The Eagles improved to 9-1 overall on the season and 7-0 in the league. Winning the EOAC marked the Eagles’ second undisputed championship, and they have successfully captured the title in five of the past seven seasons.

“It’s a great feeling,” Ogilvie said. “I don’t think a lot of people expected us to be the sole league champs. But our kids believe in themselves, and they worked really hard in the off-season.”

“We lost a lot of seniors from last year,” Wells said. “Coming into the season, people were predicting us at 5-5 or something, and we finished 9-1 and EOAC champs. It is a big deal for us.”

With the loss, the Bulldogs close the regular season with a 6-4 mark and a 4-3 record in the EOAC. The winning record is the Bulldog’s first since the 2017 season, the first year of the EOAC.

“We are finishing with a winning record and heading to the playoffs when three years ago we couldn’t win a football game. So, hats off to these seniors who are just tremendous guys,” Bulldogs head coach Michael Demster said.

The Eagles scored on all five of their first-half possessions to build a 31-12 lead at intermission. They added two touchdowns on their only two offensive possessions of the second half and they also added a defensive score.

Following two touchdown runs by Wells, a 6-yard run at 3:06 of the first quarter, and a 3-yard scamper at the 10:54 mark of the second quarter, the Eagles built a 14-0 advantage. Then the Eagle’s defense came up with the first of two big plays on the night.

A Bulldogs fumble at their own 24 set the Eagles up in the red zone only 50 seconds later. They immediately capitalized on the miscue with a 24-yard pass from Parker Newburn to Kota Shasteen to jump out to a 21-0 lead. They also added a 47-yard pass from Newburn to Thomas Brown with 4:27 left in the second quarter which made it 28-6.

“That was huge right there. That turnaround,” Ogilvie said. “Our offensive line does a great job.”

After digging that 21-0 hole, the Bulldogs responded with two second-quarter touchdowns to make it a 28-12 game with only 42 seconds remaining in the half. But United answered with a Zac Figley 36-yard field goal as time expired and took all the momentum into the halftime locker rooms with a 31-12 advantage.

The Eagles made sure that there would not be any second-half comeback by the Bulldogs as they only used two plays to score on their opening possession of the third quarter. Brown added a rushing touchdown of 18 yards as the Eagles held a commanding 37-12 lead.

When Wells added his third score on the night at the 1:58 mark of the third frame on a 1-yard plunge, the Eagles activated the running clock with a 44-12 lead. The Eagle defense added a 55-yard fumble return for a touchdown with 5:11 remaining in the game to make it the final 51-12 score.

Wells would score three times on the night as he rushed for 103 of the Eagle’s 217 total rushing yards. Thomas Brown would add two touchdowns in the game as he scored once rushing and once with a passing reception for a score.

“Their legacy will be the class that changed it all,” Demster said about his senior players. “After their freshman and sophomore years, they could have easily quit. No one would have blamed them. But these kids just kept showing up and working harder and harder.”

According to Joe Eitel, United has clinched the fifth seed in Div. VI, Region 21 and will host Mogadore (5-5) next Friday in the first round of the playoffs.

East Palestine will either be the 12th or 13th seed in Div. VII, Region 25. There were too many variables left late Friday night to center on an opponent.

The official playoff pairings will be released on Sunday.

UN: 7-24-13-7–51

EP: 0-12-0-0–12

SCORING

UN – Kollyn Wells 6 run (Zac Figley Kick)

UN – Wells 3 run (Figley Kick)

UN – Kota Shasteen 24 pass from Parker Newburn (Figley Kick)

EP – Zach Schnelle 16 run (Kick Failed)

UN – Thomas Brown 47 pass from Newburn (Figley Kick)

EP – Owen Jurjavcic 3 run (Run Failed)

UN – Figley 36 field goal

UN – Brown 18 run (Kick Blocked)

UN -Wells 1 run (Liam Jones Kick)

UN – Sydney Casto 55 fumble return (Jones Kick)

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U E

First downs 17 14

Total Yards 427 280

Rushes-yards 27-217 39-259

Passing 210 21

Comp-Att-Int 8-12-1 2-11-0

Punts 0-0 2-55.5

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 -2

Penalties-Yards 6-65 5-35

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INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING–UNITED, Kollyn Wells 10-103, M’Kyan Haynes 5-39, Thomas Brown, 3-33, Parker Newburn 7-26; EAST PALESTINE, Owen Jurjavcic 29-157, Zach Schnelle 12-102

PASSING–UNITED, Parker Newburn 7-10-196-2-0, Thomas Brown 1-2-14-0-1; EAST PALESTINE, Owen Jurjavcic 2-11-21-0-0

RECEIVING–UNITED, Thomas Brown 3-71, Kota Shasteen 2-56, Quentin Taylor 1-49, Parker Newburn 1-14; EAST PALESTINE, RJ May 2-14, Braydon Plum 1-7

INTERCEPTIONS -EAST PALESTINE, RJ May

FUMBLES -UNITED, Logan Wood, Sydney Casto