YOUNGSTOWN — The South Range-Ursuline game pits a team with a lot of kids who touch the
YOUNGSTOWN — The South Range-Ursuline game pits a team with a lot of kids who touch the ball vs. a team with a few who touch the ball a lot.
The former is Region 17’s top-seeded Raiders against the latter, No. 2 Irish, in a battle of the two of eight Division V survivors.
At the center of all the action for Ursuline will be Michael Paul Jenkins.
As center and noseman, the 6-3, 275-pound Jenkins spends much of the game’s 48 minutes with his hands on the ball or within feet of the ball on most scrimmage snaps.
The size of Ursuline’s lines has received much publicity because it’s hard to downplay.
But there’s another size that counts —class size.
In this case, smaller isn’t necessarily a detrlment.
“This year, we have only 13 seniors,” said coach Dan Reardon. “It’s the smallest class on our team.”
But nine of those 13 will be three- or four-year lettermen.
Jenkins is one of those.
Although Reardon’s first year as head coach — 2004 — resulted in a two-game playoff appearance, his record slipped to 15-17 prior to 2007.
His current seniors rode the wave with Reardon, but now they’re primed for what could be the ultimate prize.
“We knew we had the makings of a good team, so we took it from step one to two to three and now, hopefully, to step 15,” Jenkins said of the season’s progression by week.
Jenkins went to kindergarten in Maryland, then attended first grade at McKinley Elementary in Warren, and grades 2-7 at St. Edward’s before finishing eighth grade at St. Pat’s-Hubbard. He now lives in Liberty.
He was on a freshman team that went 4-4, then broke a leg prior to his sophomore season.
“As a sophomore JV player, he got better and better,” Reardon said. “Then, as a junior, he was ready to start.”
He started on defense and was backup guard. When center Ryan Kelly got a concussion, Jenkins moved to center. When Kelly returned, he was put at guard.
“I groaned a few times when they asked me to play offense, because defense was all I cared about,” said Jenkins. “But I did it for the team.”
Reardon said the coaching staff never had a reason to experiment until Kelly got injured.
“As it worked out, Jenkins did a nice job and Kelly was better at guard. It was a fluke, but, in hindsight, it made us better at both positions.”
Besides Kelly on his left, Jenkins is flanked by guard Dan Baco on the right side. Mike Herns, Harold Coates and Justin Brown rotate in the tackle spots, while Nick McGahagan, Dominique Cole and Jamel Turner rotate at tight end.
“Our offensive line is probably the strength of our team,” said Reardon. “We do a lot with them that enables us to run a variety of schemes.”
The coach said Jenkins, the son of Denise Jenkins, a Howland native, still has room to grow, physically.
“He was a bit of a late bloomer, so he’ll continue to get bigger. He grew 2 or 3 inches in the past year and a half. I think that makes him attractive as a college prospect.”
As a center, Jenkins, who won’t be 18 until May, said that the addition of quarterback Lamar McQueen made a huge difference from his perspective.
“Ever since we knew he was coming to Ursuline, we’ve been talking,” Jenkins said of his close relationship with McQueen, who was at Wilson before the school closed last spring.
McQueen brought stability to the position, a departure from the turnstile pattern in 2006.
“He’s a life-saver,” Jenkins said.
Defensively, Jenkins plays over center or as defensive tackle.
“My job is to stop the run first and make sure the quarterback doesn’t scramble,” Jenkins said of his primary responsibilities. “I’ll take on double teams to free up the linebackers.”
“He’s a big strong body that’s been able to secure the middle,” Reardon said of the defender who has 33 tackles, one sack, five tackles for loss and one forced fumble.
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