Ursuline Irish eyes smiling for teams

The staff and students thanked God for the teams' successes this year.
YOUNGSTOWN -- St. Patrick's Day is not until Friday, but Ursuline High School had already decked itself in green for a special pep rally Wednesday to honor its boys and girls basketball teams.
The Lady Irish will take on Sugarcreek Garaway in the Division III state semifinals in Columbus today. The boys, who won the district championship, lost to Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph, 57-48, later Wednesday in a regional semifinal at the Canton Civic Center.
Junior girls team member Danielle Crafter said she has confidence in the Lady Irish.
"I think if we play well as a team, we can handle it," she said.
Though the Lady Irish have had a stellar season so far, Crafter said Sugarcreek Garaway remains a threat.
"Of course they're a good team if they made it to the final four," she said.
"We can't overlook any team," she added.
Senior Lance Randall of the boys team said his team was ready as well.
"I feel very confident in our team," he said.
But Randall said beating Villa Angela-St. Joseph would not be easy.
"We just have to stop David Lyghty from getting onto the paint," he said. "We have to make him shoot outside jump shots, and we have to rebound."
Festivities began at 2 p.m. Wednesday with the band playing, as Ursuline cheerleaders fired up the crowd of students decked in emerald and gold.
Cheers
Ursuline Associate Principle Father Richard Murphy took the stage, leading the audience in a chant of "V-i-c-t-o-r-y is our battle cry" and, with the help of the cheerleaders, "Go Irish."
Murphy explained why the pep rally was occurring in the Deibel Morley Arts Center rather than the gymnasium.
"We came to a different place, where Ursuline is known for putting on a show," he said. "This show not only has one act; it has two."
The boys basketball team took the stage for act one, followed by the girls team for act two.
Next Murphy introduced boys coach Keith Gunther, who said he appreciated the success of Ursuline basketball during the past season.
"First of all, we need to give a praise to God for blessing both the boys and the girls," Gunther said.
Gunther next gave a charge to the fans in the crowd.
"We would love for everyone to come out with a big support because we cannot do it without you," he said.
State representation
Next to take the stage was girls coach Sean Durkin, who said this weekend is a huge week not only for Ursuline basketball, but Ursuline High School as well.
"It gives us a chance to represent ourselves in the state of Ohio," he said.
Durkin said moments like the pep rally are where memories are made.
"When you're an old man like me, you'll remember days like this," he said.
After a prayer and the alma mater, fans formed a procession, through which the Lady Irish passed en route to their bus, (the boys would not leave for Canton until 5:30 p.m.).
The band continued to play as the bus drove out under a sky of blue, leaving the cheering sea of green in its tracks.