Central Catholic crushes Ursuline amid 8 turnovers

The Fighting Irish scored their touchdown with less than two minutes left.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- If you told Ursuline High football coach Dan Reardon before the game that his defense would force four turnovers against Canton Central Catholic, he might have smiled and felt good about his chances against the Crusaders.
His defense did exactly that.
However, his offense couldn't get untracked as the Irish committed four turnovers themselves, and the Crusaders led from start to finish in the 28-6 win Friday at YSU's Stambaugh Stadium.
"Turnovers really hurt us tonight, but we also made way too many mistakes on the offensive side of the ball," Reardon said.
"Give credit to Canton Central Catholic. They made us pay for our mistakes. When you make the mistakes that we did tonight, it changes your play calling in certain situations. That really cost us."
The Crusaders (5-2), who are seventh in the Division IV, Region 13 computer ratings, won for the first time in three road games, splitting their two appearances at Stambaugh. (Central fell to Mooney 42-14 two weeks ago.)
"We played hard," Central coach Lowell Klinefelter said. "This was an important win for us if we stand a chance at the playoffs.
"I am happy about some of the things that we did tonight, especially the play of our defense. We picked our game up a notch, and that I am pleased with."
The Fighting Irish (3-4), who were ninth in Region 13, have lost two straight and three of four.
Klinefelter wasn't happy about the four turnovers -- "That will be our downfall, if we don't correct that," he said -- but he's starting to feel good about his team.
"I wasn't sure at the beginning of the year if we were a playoff caliber squad," he said. "If we can gather some momentum now with three games left to play, maybe we just can be a postseason team."
Scoring details
It took the Crusaders four plays to get on the scoreboard as Charles Saulter found the end zone from 51 yards out just 1:36 into the contest. Kyle McBride added the PAT to give Central a 7-0 lead.
With 2:56 remaining in the opening quarter, Crusader defensive back Charlie Lopez intercepted Ursuline quarterback Bryant Youngblood (the first of four picks by the Crusaders on the night) and took it to the house from 25 yards out for a 13-0 lead.
Lopez intercepted Youngblood again with 1:08 remaining in the first half. Then, with 29 seconds left, McBride hooked up with Mitchell Anderson on a 55-yard strike. McBride found Anderson with the two-point conversion pass to give Central a 21-0 halftime lead.
After a scoreless third quarter, Brent Crawford's 4-yard touchdown run with 2:35 left gave Central a 28-0 lead.
Ursuline's Matt Yarab, who had a fumble recovery and an interception on defense, scored the Irish's only touchdown on a 60-yard run with 1:14 left in the fourth quarter.
Saulter gained 114 yards on 18 carries -- including 84 in the first half -- as the Crusaders rolled up 236 yards on the ground. McBride was 4-of-10 through the air for 94 yards.
Yarab had 61 yards on five carries as the Irish gained 153 yards on the ground on 35 carries. Youngblood was 9-of-19 for 111 yards.