The Vindicator (Youngstown)

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Ursuline running back and 2011 Mr. Fottball winner Akise Teague was the only Irish senior to sign a letter-of-intent on Wednesday with a FBS school during National Signing Day. Teague is headed to Cincinnati, and four of his teammates will also play college football: Paul Kempe and Pete Wearsch are off to Walsh, while Jordan Markota and Zach Conlan will join Youngstown State.

Photo by: Robert K. Yosay

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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During the second quarter, Ursuline's Akise Teague pushes past Coldwater's #20 Drew Feltz and #8 Ross Wermert to score another touchdown. The Ursuline Irish have achieved their primary season goal: to win the state title for a record third-straight time. The Fighting Irish had an impressive end to their season with a 51-21 victory over Coldwater in the Division V State Championship game at Canton's Fawcett Stadium Saturday, Dec. 4, 2010.

Photo by: Robert K. Yosay

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Ursuline's Akise Teague scores a touch down, and leaves Coldwater'ss #21 Reese Klenke in a heap during the Division V State Championship game Saturday, Dec. 4, 2010, at Canton's Fawcett stadium.

By Joe Scalzo

scalzo@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

When he first got his invitation to play in the Big 33 game, Ursuline’s Akise Teague knew it was a big deal.

He just didn’t know how big.

“I heard it was one of the biggest [all-star] games you could play in, so I was excited for that reason,” said Teague, who spoke by phone from Hershey, Pa., earlier this week. “Then I heard that every Super Bowl has had at least one player from that game and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s a pretty nice stat.’

“Maybe I could be one of those players one day.”

Teague, a Cincinnati recruit and this year’s Mr. Football in Ohio, was one of 34 Ohioans selected for tonight’s game, which pits some of the Buckeye State’s best against a team of Pennsylvania All-Stars. (Originally, 33 players were selected for each team — thus, the name — but organizers added a kicker to each side a few years ago.)

Poland’s Darius Patton was also selected but withdrew earlier this month, leaving Teague as the only area player competing.

“There’s a lot of Cincinnati guys, a lot of Columbus guys and I’m the only Youngstown guy, so I feel a lot of pressure to represent, for sure,” Teague said.

Of course, that’s nothing compared to the pressure that comes from being the reigning Mr. Football. Teague said he’s been teased by his teammates all week — “Oh, everyone has been calling me Mr. Football,” he said, laughing — but he considers it an honor.

“We were going over bios and most people didn’t have two paragraphs, so I guess it’s a good thing,” joked Teague, who rushed for 2,475 yards and 47 TDs last season to help the Irish win their third straight Division V state championship. “Everybody is looking for me to make plays. We were doing down-and-distance [drills] at practice today and everybody was like, ‘Give it to Mr. Football.’”

In the days leading up to the game, the players participate in a combination of practices, skills challenges (“We lost one because our cheerleaders couldn’t catch,” Teague said) and outreach events.

“I didn’t realize what a great event it was,” said Teague, who is playing in his first all-star game after withdrawing from April’s North-South game due to injury. “We did a lot of activities with disabled kids and we got to meet them and sign autographs.”

It’s taken a few days for Teague to get back into game shape — “We’ve had a couple two-a-days and man, I’m sore right now, even as we speak,” he said — but said the game will be a good tune-up for when he arrives in Cincinnati later this summer.

“Oh yeah, it’s a big help,” he said. “These players are elite players and to have actual success on our defense means a lot.”

The Big 33 Classic, often called the “Super Bowl of High School Football,” began in 1957 and has featured future NFL standouts such as Tony Dorsett, Joe Montana, Joe Namath, Dan Marino, Orlando Pace and Ben Roethlisberger.

Every Super Bowl has featured a player from the Big 33 game.

The permanent Ohio-Pennsylvania format began in 1993 and the series is tied 9-9 after Ohio’s 18-15 victory last year. (Lakeview’s Tom Pavlansky served as Ohio’s head coach last year.)

Teague stopped short of guaranteeing an Ohio victory, but said fans should expect a lot of big plays.

“There’s been a lot of excitement from the Ohio guys,” he said. “Today at practice, it got so rowdy and everybody got so crazy, I lost my voice.

“I wanted to play right there and right then. I can’t wait for Saturday.”