Irish record first Division V shutout in 23 years, scoring two defensive touchdowns

By Tom Williams

Irish record first Division V shutout in 23 years, scoring two defensive touchdowns

“We all had that bad taste in our mouth going into this season. It’s a relief to get it out, a big relief.”

Justin Austin

Ursuline defensive back

MASSILLON — The last thing Ursuline High football coach Dan Reardon expected in Saturday’s title game was the first Division V shutout in 23 years.

“I thought it would have been a 54-52 barnburner,” Reardon said of the matchup with previously-unbeaten Findlay Liberty-Benton. “It wouldn’t have surprised me if it had been a high-scoring affair coming down to the last whistle.”

Instead, the Irish and Eagles displayed such tremendous defensive prowess that only one offensive touchdown was scored.

Irish tailback Allen Jones’ 59-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter triggered Ursuline’s 21-0 victory at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

Fourth-quarter interceptions returned for touchdowns by Dale Peterman and LaVance Turnage sealed the victory, giving Ursuline its second state championship in nine seasons.

The win comes one year after the Irish finished state runner-up after losing to Maria Stein Marion Local, 20-14.

“We all had that bad taste in our mouth going into this season,” said defensive back Justin Austin, who had one of Ursuline’s four interceptions of Eagles quarterback Aaron Craft. “It’s a relief to get it out, a big relief.”

The Eagles limited the Irish (15-0) to 152 total yards.

“Neither of us did much on offense,” Reardon said.

The Eagles (14-1) gained 241 yards, with Craft completing 18-of-27 passes for 152 yards.

“We knew they were going to pass a lot,” Turnage said. “We executed — we’ve been playing good ‘D’ all year.”

Craft was under fire throughout the game.

“You couldn’t really simulate their speed,” said Craft who had only three interceptions in his team’s 14 wins. “We moved the ball but we just couldn’t finish.”

The play that hurt the Eagles the most came late in the first half when Coach Tim Nichols rolled the dice on fourth-and-1 at the Ursuline 4.

Craft hurried to the line then tried to sneak forward for the first down. He was inches short.

“We’ve done that all year long,” Nichols said. “An inch-or-so there and we would have had four more cracks at the end zone. Against a team like [Ursuline], you’re not going to get that many opportunities.”

In the second half, Ursuline’s swarming defense kept the Eagles from mounting a serious threat.

Momentum swung in the Irish’s favor four plays into the second half. Jones broke through the Eagles line and raced 59 yards for a 7-0 lead.

Jones, who finished with 97 yards on 17 carries, credited fullback Dwight Wright, guard Matt Krause and wide receiver L.J. Stevens for springing him.

“As soon as I got to the line, I saw the crease and I took off,” Jones said. “I used my speed to carry me the rest of the way.”

Senior lineman Dan Baco said Jones had “a huge jump. Line-wise, we knew they were crouching down hard.

“We knew if he could get out of the first wave of defenders that he’d be all alone on a safety. We’ve liked our chances with him on a safety all year,” Baco said. “Not many people can catch him.”

Reardon said he didn’t sense his players were frustrated with the scoreless tie at halftime.

“We had been in some tight ball games,” Reardon said. “A lot of games were relatively close at halftime. We were down a couple of times.”

Peterman said reading Craft’s eyes for signals paid off in the final quarter.

“He was looking at who he was throwing at and Coach [Rollen] Smith said in the locker room that we could make play on that.

“He was looking my way in the fourth quarter and thank God I was able to make that play on the hitch.”

Peterman’s pickoff covered 44 yards for a 14-0 lead with 4:20 remaining.

About 90 seconds later, Turnage stole the ball and raced 40 yards.

The Irish felt their strong schedule had prepared them for the challenge.

“[Against] Mooney, we were only up 3-0 [at halftime],” Baco said. “We were down in the regional championship [game]. Being down or being close was nothing new, especially when we run the ball.

“The third and fourth quarter is when our line can kind of take over and wear the defense down a little, make a big play. Our secondary did it today — that works, too.”

As much as the Irish enjoyed beating Mooney 10-7 in Week 9, Jones said winning the state title was sweeter.

“It doesn’t compare,” Jones said.

Turnage agreed.

‘You get a ring with this one,” Turnage said.

williams@vindy.com