POLAND – Poland Regional High School is making gradual, visible progress with its new football offense, a triple option attack befitting Army or Navy.

The Knights’ primary problem Saturday afternoon was their inability to stop Greely’s air force.

Nate Martin and Alex Parenteau combined for four touchdown tosses, and the Rangers’ defense recovered five fumbles to sew up a 32-0 shutout in a Campbell Conference Class B opener.

“Thirty-two to nothing, what do you say? It’s better than the past,” said first-year Poland head coach Mark Soehren.

“We took some time off the clock offensively. We had a rough go defensively, which was pretty similar to last year.”

Greely exploited its mismatches in the secondary early and often, ending four of its first five possessions with a score to snag a 26-0 halftime lead.

Martin delivered scoring strikes of 10 and 20 yards to 6-foot-5 Chris Young, sandwiched around a 12-yard TD hookup with 6-4 Chris Higgins. They represent three of Greely’s 18 seniors.

“We resorted to throwing the ball a lot today. It was wide open,” Martin said. “We take advantage of what we can find.”

Greely’s starter was 5-for-5 for 86 yards in the first half before turning over the keys to sophomore Parenteau.

Martin also rushed for a first-half touchdown. He combined with Erik Thayer and Jacob Dimick for 117 yards on 17 carries before intermission.

“I think offensively we’re balanced. We got lucky today,” said Greely coach Shawn Austin. “They’re a totally different team. They’ve got a big, tough fullback and scrappy kids. I think they’re going to do well.”

Poland used a committee of nine ball carriers in topping the team century mark with 103 yards on 37 carries.

Sophomore Cam Woodford and senior Nick Douglass were the Knights’ primary weapons behind an offensive line that features two sophomore starters and one junior.

Their responsibilities are an about-face from last fall, when Poland employed a variation of the run-and-shoot with five wide receivers. Quarterbacks Tyrus Steinman, Trey Ouellette and Josh Cooper combined for only three pass attempts.

“We stopped ourselves a lot on offense. It’s hard for me to remind the kids that with this offense, we’re reading the defense. We’re making decisions on the fly, and sometimes we’re going to turn the ball over,” Soehren said.

“That’s why some coaches shy away from that option game. It takes a little while to put in.”

Poland countered its own losses by pouncing on a pair of Greely fumbles. Sophomore Conrad Labbe recovered one of the Rangers’ miscues in the first half.

Devin Stevens, Pat Collins, Douglass and Matt Hyland delivered the most frequent and hardest hits for the Knights.

“My biggest concern was were we going to come out, fire off the ball and hit,” Soehren said. “I think we had a few wide-eyed moments early in the game, but then we started to come around a little bit. We weren’t far off from where I hoped we might be.”