CURBSTONE COACHES Ursuline, W. Branch eye games

The defending girls basketball champions have a two-year contract in place.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- West Branch High girls basketball coach Chuck Campbell had just completed his speech to the Curbstone Coaches and was presented with an intriguing question.
"Coach, what's your schedule look like for next year? Are you going to toughen it up even more?"
After non-conference games this season against Canfield, North Canton Hoover, Orrville, Salem and Regina, what more could anyone expect from the Division II state champion Warriors?
Try a game against Div. III state champion Ursuline on Feb. 9, the first in a two-year contract between the schools.
Schedule reinforced
"We took the weakest team on our schedule and put Ursuline in that spot," said Campbell, whose team will also face West Virginia power Mount de Chantal.
That wasn't the only scheduling news to emerge from the Curbstone Coaches' luncheon, which included Ursuline girls basketball coach Sean Durkin and athletic director Jim Maughan, at Lockwood House.
In response to a Curbstoner's question, Durkin said that Ursuline is negotiating to play Boardman next season.
The teams were Steel Valley Conference rivals before Boardman left last season for the Federal League, and plans for them to meet never materialized.
But now, as Durkin said Monday, "It's in the works."
Boardman athletic director Dave Smercansky added Monday that the schools are hoping to settle on a February game in Boardman. They would play the following season in Youngstown.
"We're trying to get a weekend" to accommodate a large crowd, Smercansky said. "We're looking at Feb. 5, but in order for Ursuline to do that, they need to juggle their schedule. We're just holding off, but it looks like it's going to be a go."
Recognition
The Curbstoners honored both of the Valley's state champions Monday. West Branch players attended the luncheon and were given certificates, while Ursuline chose to keep its players in school.
Still, Durkin read the names of his players and recounted how the program worked to finally overcome four-time defending state champion Regina in the regionals.
The Irish (26-2) then knocked off Plain City Jonathan Alder in the semifinals and Oak Hill for their first state championship in girls basketball.
"I was fortunate enough in 1988 to be on [Ursuline's] state championship baseball team," Durkin said. "I try to tell my girls that when my friends and I get together, [that title] is something that's still close to your heart.
"As they get older, they'll understand the magnitude of what they've accomplished," he said.
Campbell compared West Branch's state tournament berth to Ursuline's, in that the Warriors came close to advancing in the season prior but fell short.
"When you're so close to state, you can almost taste that," Campbell said. "Those girls decided as a group how much time and effort they were going to put in."
The Warriors (26-1) defeated Thornville Sheridan in the semifinals and Hamilton Badin for their first state championship in girls basketball.
richesson@vindy.com