Fair number of Walsh's football recruits from area

NORTH CANTON -- Seven of the 33 recruits this year for the Walsh University football team are from the Youngstown area.
The new recruits will try to help coach Jim Dennison's Cavaliers to have another successful season in the school's 12th year of football.
Dennison, who originated Walsh's football program in 1995, has never had a losing season and will enter the 2006 campaign with a 79-39 overall record.
Last year, the Cavaliers were 8-3 for the fifth consecutive season, including 5-2 in the Mid-States Football Association.
The new recruits include Beau Papania, a record-breaking tailback and team captain from Columbiana High.
Papania set all of the Clippers' rushing records and made the All-Tri-County League and All-Columbiana County first teams.
He will be joining Michael Seibert (Poland), Brad Blevins (Newton Falls), Nathaniel Durig (Howland), Tyler Pierce (Salem) and Mike Pissini (Warren JFK) on the Walsh team.
Walsh will open the season Sept. 2 at home against West Liberty State at Canton's Fawcett Stadium.
Dennison wins award
Dennison, who also has been Walsh's athletic director since 1993, recently was honored for his contributions by being named the NAIA Northeast Region Winner of the GeneralSports TURF Systems Athletic Director of the Year award.
He was recognized during the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics 41st Annual Convention on June 21 in New Orleans.
Before Dennison joined Walsh, he was the football coach at the University of Akron for 13 years and director of athletics for seven years.
While with the Zips, he became the first athletic director in the nation to advance a program from NCAA Division I-AA to I-A.
Dennison also is the winningest football coach in Akron history with a 13-year record of 80-62-2.
The other new recruits
Seibert, an offensive lineman, made the All-NEO third team and the All-Metro Athletic Conference first team. He also was a team captain and carried a 3.20 grade-point average.
Durig played offensive guard and made the All-MAC first team, while Pierce is a wide receiver who lettered three years and made the All-MAC second team.
Blevins is a fullback-linebacker-punter who made the All-Columbiana County team and was a team captain; while Pissini played linebacker and fullback and team captain who lettered three years.
Zurcher, Phinisee key holdovers
The seven new recruits will join a roster that listed other nine Youngstown-area players last year, including two standouts -- senior placekicker Arthur Zurcher, a graduate of Warrensville Heights High who now hails from Niles, and junior defensive back Joe Phinisee of Warren Harding.
Zurcher was the team's third-leading scorer last year with 54 points on 7-for-15 in field goals and 33-for-35 in extra points.
Phinisee was the Cavaliers' fifth-leading tackler last year with 56 stops, including 42 solo hits.
He also had two interceptions for 40 yards and one fumble recovery for 26 yards, and broke up two passes.
The other holdovers
The other holdovers are Chase Senk, senior quarterback from Warren JFK; Dominic Dangelo, junior linebacker from United; Mike Craig, sophomore fullback from Austintown Fitch; Dustin Stewart, sophomore tailback from Southeast; Chad Rankin, sophomore offensive linemen from Newton Falls; Jeff Dalrymple, sophomore placekicker from Beaver Local, and Michael Mousie, sophomore from Mineral Ridge.
kovach@vindy.com