By Jon Moffett

sports@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

The Ursuline High football team needed a big day from halfback Jesse Curry to win the Holy War against arch rival Cardinal Mooney.

The team got an even better performance from the senior in the Irish Civil War against visiting St. Vincent-St. Mary of Akron.

Curry rushed for 284 yards on 31 carries in Ursuline’s 42-31 victory over the visiting Fighting Irish at Stambaugh Stadium on Friday. The win gave the host Irish (4-6) their third straight victory and a shot, albeit a slim one, at next week’s playoffs.

Curry, a scatback with deceptive power, said he and his classmates didn’t want to lose what could potentially be their final game at the high school.

“My [offensive] line told me that they had me today, and I knew they were going to do well blocking,” said Curry, who moved into a top-five position on the school’s all-time rushing chart . “So every time I got the ball, I just ran my hardest.”

So did his teammates.

Ursuline rushed for a total of 485 yards on 66 carries — good for an average of 7.3 yards per attempt.

St. Vincent-St. Mary coach Dan Boarman summed up the entire game in two words.

“Jesse Curry,” the veteran coach said in disbelief.

Boarman had every right to be frustrated. After all, he watched as his team squandered an 11-point halftime lead. And he grimaced as his defense allowed five second-half touchdowns. And he had to watch as senior quarterback Kevin Besser had a sure touchdown pass — one that would have put his team up two scores, and probably would have acted as the knockout punch — was intercepted and returned 95 yards to the opposite end zone by Ursuline junior defensive back Tramain Thigpen.

It wasn’t all good for Ursuline, though. The usually stout defense struggled to find an answer for Besser. The senior completed 26 of his 45 passes for 360 yards and two touchdowns. He was sacked just twice.

“Their quarterback is really, really good,” said Ursuline coach Dan Reardon said. “Normally we’re really good at bringing pressure in passing situations … But for someone to attempt that many passes and we only get two sacks is impressive.

“Normally, we’re getting a couple of sacks on maybe 12 passing attempts,” he said.

Reardon praised his team for its strong finish. After starting out 1-6, the Irish fought to a three-game winning streak to end the regular season.

“These kids really showed what kind of heart and character they have with these three games,” he said.