Ursuline graduate Tim Tyrrell looking forward to matchups

The St. Thomas Aquinas coach will play his alma mater and Cardinal Mooney.
By ERIC HAMILTON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CANTON -- Tim Tyrrell just can't get enough of Mahoning Valley football, so he's coming back for more.
In case the name sounds familiar, Tyrrell played high school football at Ursuline in the early 1990s and was on Youngstown State's national championship teams in 1993, '94 and '97.
The 1993 Ursuline graduate, who begins his third year as the coach at St. Thomas Aquinas, was among 11 Stark County coaches who spoke at the annual preview Thursday night.
The season will be a homecoming of sorts for Tyrrell, as the Knights' schedule includes visits from Ursuline, Warren JFK and Youngstown Christian. But possibly the highlight for Tyrrell will be a return to Stambaugh Stadium for a game against Cardinal Mooney.
"All those games will be very personal and emotional for me," said Tyrrell, whose team has a roster of 44 players, including a three-year starter at quarterback. "It will be neat to play against the high school you played for and my players know what it will feel like for me to step on that field at Stambaugh again when we play Mooney.
"I know all about the great football tradition at Ursuline and Mooney, so it won't be easy games for us," he said. "Playing [Ursuline] will be like looking into a mirror; we both run [the same] offense. They just have more speed than us."
Coming home
Tyrrell wasn't the only Mahoning Valley connection. Second-year Canton McKinley coach Brian Cross, a native of Warren, also spoke about his team, which joins Austintown Fitch and Boardman as the newest members of the Federal League.
"I'm so happy to be back in northeastern Ohio," said Cross, who spent more than 10 years coaching at Grove City in central Ohio. "Down there, everything revolves around Ohio State. To be back up here and see how much of an impact high school football has on these communities makes it exciting.
"I think the Federal League is one of the best leagues in the state. When I was in school, Fitch was one of the few teams that had an edge on Warren Western Reserve. They are still tough and they will be very good this year with 16 starters back. Boardman always has tough kids and with a new coach and a new attitude, they will play hard."
Tougher schedule
Don Hertler, Jr., coach of defending Federal League champion North Canton Hoover, expects the addition of Fitch and Boardman to make a rugged league schedule even tougher. A repeat of last year's 10-0 regular season seems nearly impossible.
"We played Fitch, Boardman and McKinley last year, so it's almost like this will be their second year in the league," said Hertler. "Fitch was one of the most physical teams we played and they will be tough to beat this year. We had to come back to beat them in the second half last year.
"I think Fitch, GlenOak and McKinley have the most personnel back, so I expect them to fight it out and the rest of us will try to see where we end up."
Jack Rose will begin his sixth season as the coach at Canton GlenOak, many people's favorite to win the Federal League title. Rose, who coached St. Thomas Aquinas to a state championship in 1994, expects Fitch to be a big challenge.
"They were very good last year when they beat us," Rose said. "They have a strong tradition there and they are tough. When you bring in teams as strong as Fitch, Boardman and McKinley, it makes an already tough schedule even more brutal. We have to be ready every week because we won't have any easy games in the Federal League."
Other coaches at the preview were Lake's Jeff Durbin, Ron Kuceyski of Alliance, John "Spider" Miller of Massillon Perry, Steve Turner of Canton Timken, Canton South's Elmer Schuetz, Canton Central Catholic's Lowell Klinefelter and Louisville's Paul Farrah.