PREP FOOTBALL Ursuline may have used ineligible player

Two OHSAA officials said Monday they had not been contacted by Ursuline officials.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Ursuline High School officials are trying to determine whether its football team has been competing this season with an ineligible player.
"Something was brought to our attention about eligibility, and we're in contact with the state," Ursuline athletic director Jim Maughan said Monday. "We've never done anything underhanded, and we don't intend to start now."
Although rumors have circulated throughout the Mahoning Valley regarding the issue, the Irish have not been charged with any violation.
Ohio High School Athletic Association commissioner Clair Muscaro and assistant commissioner John Dickerson said Monday that they had not yet been contacted by Ursuline officials.
Looked into it: Meanwhile, Cleveland Benedictine athletic director Tom Erzen said Monday that he received information that Ursuline may have used an ineligible player this season.
"Somebody gave us a call and said, 'Hey, we had heard there was an eligibility issue with one of the players,' " Erzen said. "He had played in four games, and one of them was against us.
"When I heard that, it seemed to be a pretty credible situation because I had talked to a couple of other people who thought this could have happened."
Benedictine lost to Ursuline 33-7 on Sept. 21 at Stambaugh Stadium. The Bengals have a 5-3 record and are battling for a playoff position in Region 9 of Division III.
"According to the Ohio High School Athletic Association, if we hear something like that, the first protocol is to contact the school and ask them to look into it," Erzen said.
Erzen said he wrote a letter to Ursuline and spoke with Maughan last Friday.
"We were inquiring more for them," Erzen said of the Irish. "I would hope that if someone found out we overlooked something up here, somebody would say, 'Did you know this was going on?' "
The eligibility issue, first mentioned Sunday in a Stark County newspaper, comes at a critical time for Ursuline.
The defending Div. IV state champion has been trying to work its way into playoff contention, and any violation that includes a forfeiture of games would ruin that hope.
The Irish, coached by Jim Vivo, take a 7-1 record into their Steel Valley Conference game Friday at Boardman.
richesson@vindy.com