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Akise Teague

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Photo by: The Vindicator (Youngstown) L1

Michael Zappa

By Joe Scalzo

scalzo@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

A few months after going 15-0, the seniors on the Ursuline High football team are about to go 9-1.

Led by Mr. Football Akise Teague (Cincinnati), nine of the 10 Irish seniors are planning to play college football next fall.

Two more made their college decisions this week, with WR/DB Jeff Podolsky choosing Ohio Northern and OL/DL Corbin Adams heading to Erie Community College.

Others include OL/DL Zach Conlan (YSU), TE/LB Jordan Markota (YSU), WR/DB Frank Dundee (Marist), QB Paul Kempe (Walsh), OL/DL Pete Wearsch (Walsh) and TE/LB Keil’n Thurston (Snow College in Utah).

The 10th, OL/DL Michael Zappa, has been accepted into Cincinnati’s honors engineering program and will focus on academics.

“He’ll probably make more than me and you combined,” said Irish coach Dan Reardon, who has led Ursuline to three straight Division V state titles.

Although Teague is a no-brainer BCS player, Reardon said others didn’t seem destined to play college football when they were freshmen. Wearsch, for instance, was first converted from quarterback to tight end, then to guard. He ended up as an all-state center.

“A lot of those guys just worked really hard and got better every year in every part of their game,” Reardon said. “Four years ago, you would never have thought Markota could earn a scholarship to YSU. He was probably a Division II or III kid.

“As freshmen, they were about a .500 club but they worked hard, got better and all the sudden they’re graduating with a bunch of records. It’s been fun to watch.”