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Ursuline legs churn for Arvin Classic win
By Jon Moffett
WARREN
Photo
East’s Martez Penn (6), playing for Mahoning County, brings down Trumbull’s Deandre Abron of Liberty, allowing Mahoning’s Aaron Edwards (23) of Ursuline to intercept a pass meant for Abron during the 26th Annual Jack Arvin Football Classic on Thursday at Mollenkopf Stadium in Warren. Ursuline’s David Rossi (52) and Louie Alexander of Western Reserve were in on the play, which put Mahoning in position to score on the next play. Mahoning won 34-26.
Boardman High quarterback Rob Boyd had a very simple message for his opponents from Trumbull County after defeating them in the 26th Annual Jack Arvin Football Classic: Welcome to Ursuline.
Boyd was named the player of the game for his performance in the 34-26 victory at Warren Harding High’s Mollenkopf Stadium on Thursday night.
But while Boyd’s golden arm got the credit, it was the platinum legs of two Ursuline High running backs that stole the show.
Irish runners Allen Jones and Aaron Edwards combined to run for 236 yards on 27 carries. The duo also combined for three touchdowns.
“It’s a well-built program and they get kids coming out of there who go big time,” Boyd said. “Those guys are really confident in themselves, and I feel confident that I can hand it off to them, along with the whole offense in the passing game.”
Boyd went 10-for-18 with 168 passing yards and a touchdown. He also added a score on the ground to beat the Trumbull All-Stars on their home field.
Edwards was especially impressive in spot duty for Jones, who will attend Youngstown State this fall. Jones got the bulk of the carries — 103 yards on 20 carries — but Edwards was the lightning to Jones’ thunder.
Edwards had two scores, including a jaw-dropping scamper where he zig-zagged across the field.
Early in the fourth quarter, Mahoning head coach Sean Guerriero called a gadget play. The script called for Boyd to lateral the ball to Edwards, who would toss it back to Boyd to fire downfield.
But the Trumbull defense sniffed it out and eliminated the double-pass threat. Instead, Edwards pulled the ball down and juked several defenders before diving into the end zone for a 28-yard score.
The play would have been almost a mirror-image to one the Trumbull team successfully converted earlier.
With 5:13 left in the first quarter, Hubbard wide receiver Tommy Jackson received a pitch from Girard quarterback Adam Charles. Jackson then faked a run and hurled the ball to a wide open Deandre Abron of Liberty. The 56-yard hookup was the game’s longest play.
Jackson finished with eight receptions for 139 yards and two receiving touchdowns. Jackson was also perfect as a passer on his only attempt.
But Edwards’ score, where he appeared to almost glide across the turf, left those in attendance in awe. He added a 40-yard scamper late in the game, and finished with 133 yards and the two scores.
“It’s a great feeling to start getting my game off a little bit,” Edwards said. “This is the last time I get to play high school ball, and the last time I get to go out there and show what I can do.”
What Edwards did had some clamoring for him as the player of the game. But it would be hard to make an argument against either Boyd or Jones. The Mahoning County offense racked up 417 yards of total offense.
But head coach Randy Clark and his Trumbull team, he said, came in with a disadvantage. Though many coaches wouldn’t admit it, Clark probably would’ve sacrificed another position for a kicker. The team interchanged LaBrae wide receiver Tod Colins and Mineral Ridge running back Kyle Skiba as its kicker and punter.
Several times the Trumbull team was hamstrung by its special teams. Several kickoffs and punts died or were shanked. And no kicker gave the team few options after its four touchdown drives.
Trumbull failed on 75 percent of its attempts. Clark applauded the boys’ efforts, but said it was a problem area.
“We tried field goals and extra points in practice, and it wasn’t a pretty sight,” Clark said. “There were no kickers on the nomination forms at all, and I didn’t even have a kid who kicked for his team. Skiba didn’t kick for Ridge, and I don’t know if Collins kicked for LaBrae at all. But both kids stepped up.”