By TOM WILLIAMS

williams@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

When Mentor Lake Catholic’s Richie Sanders rushed for almost 200 yards in last year’s victory over Ursuline, the Irish had all the motivation they needed for the rematch.

“He took it to us last year,” Ursuline coach Dan Reardon said after his Irish defeated the Cougars, 14-10, on Friday at Stambaugh Stadium. “Our kids had a little chip on their shoulders.”

More like a boulder as the Irish limited Sanders to 49 yards on 15 carries and the Cougars to one first down in the first half.

“We had a great run defense,” Reardon said of his Division V state defending champions. “I’m real, real proud of the effort.”

The Irish held the Cougars to 80 yards rushing on 25 attempts.

“We were so pumped before this game,” said Irish linebacker Justin Markota, who recovered a Cougars fumble. “We had it so loud [in the locker room] and I was so ready that I felt like my heart was coming out of my chest.”

Irish senior tailback Akise Teague, who wore eyeblack with the words “pay back,” gained 150 yards on 29 carries and scored the go-ahead points with a 2-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

“It was a great feeling when we went back on top,” Teague said. “We faced some adversity and we persevered.”

Despite the Cougars’ sluggish start, they trailed just 6-0 at halftime after Ursuline’s Jesse Curry scored on a 3-yard run late in the second quarter.

On the first possession of the third quarter, the Cougars jumped ahead 7-6 when Sanders broke free for a 20-yard touchdown run.

The Irish responded immediately, marching 81 yards on 10 plays. Curry’s conversion run gave Ursuline a seven-point lead.

“That was huge to go right back down [and score],” Reardon said. “We didn’t do anything fancy. That drive showed a lot of character and showed that our team was able to respond to some adversity.”

Early in the fourth quarter, the Cougars took advantage of an Irish fumble when Kresimir Ivkovic kicked a 27-yard field goal to cut the Ursuline lead to 14-10.

But after a long Ursuline drive to the Lake Catholic 10, the Cougars’ final hopes were dashed when Teague picked off Bryan Blondeaux’s final pass at midfield.

“Holding that lead against a real good football team shows you the kind of effort our kids put in,” Reardon said.

The Irish dominated the first half in every facet except on the scoreboard. Nursing a six-point lead at halftime, Teague admitted that the Irish were frustrated.

“When we went into the locker room, we knew we [hadn’t] lived up to our expectations,” Teague said. “We made it into the red zone three times and we should have scored three times. But we didn’t and we were very upset, walking off at 6-0.”

The Irish limited the Cougars to 4 yards on six running plays in the first quarter. The Cougars didn’t record a first down until 1:29 before halftime.

Meanwhile, the Irish gained 216 yards in the first half, but could only produce one touchdown. Two turnovers (one interception, one fumble) and a missed field goal attempt kept the Cougars in the game.

The Irish came close to scoring after Markota’s one-handed grab on a Paul Kempe sideline pass gave the Irish a first down at the 4.

“I saw it floating and I was like ‘I don’t know if I can get it’ so I just put my arm out and caught it,” Markota said.

But Joe Ribiero’s sack of Kempe on third down forced the Irish to try a long field goal.

“We hadn’t seen a lot of adversity yet this year so it was good to see [our response],” Reardon said.