NATIONAL ALL-STARS Shaner leaves Red feeling Blue

The new Rayen School coach led his team to a 21-6 victory.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Brian Shaner was still enjoying his 21-6 victory in Saturday's National All-Stars football game at Youngstown State when a man walked up and said, "Let's see if you can do that at Rayen this year."
Shaner smiled.
"We'll try," he said.
Shaner, who was offensive coordinator at the Rayen School the past three years, was named the Tigers' head coach this offseason.
He's already off to a good start.
"This was a great experience," said Shaner, who coached the Blue team. "And it's nice to get one game under my belt."
Fine finish
While Shaner was beginning his high school career, Chaney's Ed McElroy was saying good-bye. But McElroy, a standout running back, got one more chance to play with Cowboy teammates Tramane Pixley and Chris Hlinka.
Only this time, they were on opposite teams.
"All week they kept saying they were going to beat us," McElroy said with a smile. "The Red team had some good players from Farrell and Akron and [Pixley and Hlinka] were saying they were going to win. But we showed them."
Wasn't it strange to play against your friends?
"I'm glad I did," he said with a laugh. "I got to beat them."
McElroy, last season's Division II district offensive player of the year, played cornerback and returned kicks on Saturday. He came up with a key fumble recovery midway through the fourth quarter.
He's still undecided about his college -- "I want to play offense," he said -- but knows that wherever he ends up, it will be because of his experience at Chaney.
"It's a really good program and I'm glad I played there," he said. "I wouldn't be the player I am if I hadn't played there."
Saturday's game featured graduating seniors from 12 states. Each player had to pay a $300 entrance fee and was guaranteed to play half the game. Several college scouts were invited to attend since most of the players were still undecided.
Moving up
Quarterback Chris Settlemire wasn't one of them. The Howland graduate will play at Toledo this fall.
"It's been a month since I picked up a football," he said with a laugh. "This did a lot to motivate me to throw for Toledo."
Settlemire was the starting quarterback for the Red team and, after a shaky first half, led Red to its only touchdown on the opening drive of the third quarter.
The touchdown -- a 5-yard pass to James Starks (Cleveland East) -- cut the deficit to 14-6.
"All the players are top-notch," Settlemire said. "It gave me a chance to get used to the speed. This was a lot faster than high school."
Early lead
Blue's first score came on a 2-yard run by William Lippert (Summit, Ohio) in the first quarter. Midway through the second quarter, Blue tailback A.J. Lash (Wayne, Ohio) hit tight end Jeremy Carr (Middlesex, N.J.) on a 15-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0.
Blue's final score came late in the fourth when Chris Matlack (Rising Sun, Md.) found Larry Boyd (Potomac, Md.) on a 40-yard touchdown.
"It was a great experience," said Settlemire, who finished 6-for-16 for 63 yards. "It was definitely worth it."
Other local players included Farrell's Demar Claiborne, Tahfaren Owens and Jason Marshall; Wellsville's Shayne Rose; New Castle's Robert Calhoun; Columbiana's Tim Reash; Rayen's Robert Hughes; Southeast's Jason Ruggles and Sharon's Logan Malie.
The Red team was coached by Akron East's Damon Beasley.
scalzo@vindy.com