Ursuline vs St. Charles

Gallery

Ursuline vs St. Charles

Team

Ursuline

Record	Div.	Conf.
2/8	Div. IV	Independents

By Tom Williams

williams@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Surrendering five touchdowns in the first half made a long trip from Columbus even more trying for the St. Charles football team.

“We came out flat and Ursuline is not a team to come out flat [against], trust me,” said Coach Jeff Pharion after the Division V Irish rolled to a 49-20 victory over the Div. II Cardinals on Friday at Stambaugh Stadium.

Running backs Akise Teague and Tramain Thigpen each scored twice as the Irish (7-0) demoralized the Cardinals (5-2) with a 36-0 halftime edge.

The Irish outgained the Cardinals 230-25 in the first half, limiting St. Charles to one first down that came after the Irish had scored five touchdowns.

“They are extremely talented, they have a lot of athletes,” Pharion said of the Irish who are the top-ranked team in the state in the Associated Press poll of Ohio’s Div. V teams. In this week’s computer playoff ratings, the Irish are number two in Region 17, but should take the top spot in the next ratings.

The Cardinals (5-2) weren’t pushovers, entering the game as the number four team in Region 7 and the 12th-ranked Div. II team in the state poll. Last week, St. Charles hung tough with Columbus DeSales before losing 20-6.

“They are a very good football team,” Ursuline coach Dan Reardon said. “I was surprised that we were able to do it that efficiently in the first quarter.”

Teague, who rushed 18 times for 152 yards, said, “We just came out and played our game. It’s a big win — they are a good team, had a good defense. They were strong, very disciplined and they tackled very well.”

The Irish gained 310 yards on 41 carries.

“Our kids did a good job establishing the run,” Reardon said. “When we are at our best is when we can run the ball.”

Early on, quarterback Paul Kempe kept the Cardinals guessing by completing 7 of 13 passes for 45 yards.

The Cardinals’ lone highlight in the first half was forcing the Irish to punt after a three-and-out on their first possession. Then the game quickly disintegrated.

“The first series, we threw in a couple of curveballs to see how they would play against our [offense],” said Teague who had touchdown runs of 25 and 16 yards. “After that, we went back to our regular [style].”

Linebacker Keil’n Thurston had several tackles as the Irish constantly forced the Cardinals into punting situations.

The lopsided score, Thurston said, was a “surprise.

“We kept our composure,” said Thurston after limiting Cardinals quarterback Joe Spahr to 90 yards passing and 62 yards rushing. “Every player on the defense buckled up together.”

Kempe, who also plays defensive back, said, “We knew we had to stop their quarterback. We did a real good job of that in the first half. He made some plays in the second half, but we capitalized on what we needed to do.”

The Cardinals had two long scoring marches in the third quarter. After Spahr broke loose for a 27-yard touchdown run, he found Colin Merrill in the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown pass.

Teague returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards for a 42-13 lead.

“I think they came out [at halftime] a little hungrier than we did,” Kempe said. “They got on us a couple of times, but we responded.”

Reardon agreed the Cardinals showedg rit.

“They did a good job coming out in the second half and maybe we came out a little flat,” Reardon said. “Give them credit — they came out and executed, made some pass plays.“