If the old saying “Defense wins championships” is true, the Ursuline High Fighting Irish

Ursuline's Jamel Turner

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Ursuline Vs. Liberty Benton

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If the old saying “Defense wins championships” is true, the Ursuline High Fighting Irish personified it with their run to the Division V state football crown this season.

And the unquestioned leader of that Ursuline defensive unit was Jamel Turner, The Vindicator’s defensive player of the year.

As a sophomore, Turner was a member of Ursuline’s team that lost to Maria Stein Marion Local.

“It felt really good to send our seniors out with a win [this year],” he said. “Since day one it was one of our goals to win state. After the disappointment of last year anything less than winning this year wouldn’t have been enough.”

Turner’s talent was on display in the state championship game. The Fighting Irish defeated Findlay Liberty-Benton, 21-0, scoring the first shutout in the Div. V title game in 23 years.

Turner was credited with 10 tackles in the championship game, including five unassisted, and 11‚Ñ2 sacks.

Turner finished with more than 25 sacks on the season.

His obvious physical abilities are always on display but Turner credits his preparation with making him a better player.

“My quickness and being smart sets me apart from other players,” he says. “Thinking one play ahead of the guy across from me or catching on to how he’s playing as the game goes on.”

Turner has been recruited by virtually every college in the country. His coach, Dan Reardon, says Turner gets a huge stack of mail every day.