Team

Ursuline

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

By CHRIS LILLSTRUNG

Willoughby News-Herald

MENTOR

There were 884 yards of total offense, 33 first downs and 41 third-quarter points in Friday’s nonconference showdown as Mentor played host to reigning three-time Division V state champion Ursuline.

Yet all it took was one.

When the Cardinals’ spread offense needed to close out the Irish, one efficient drive in the fourth quarter did the trick.

Mitch Trubisky accounted for 437 yards of total offense and scored the go-ahead touchdown in the final minute of the third quarter, propelling Mentor to a 38-27 win.

Ursuline, looking to avoid its first 0-2 start since 2003 and playing its 21st Division I opponent in the last decade, were within 31-27 deep into the fourth quarter, keyed by an outstanding second half on the ground.

The Cardinals were able to stave off the game Fighting Irish, though, by doing something perhaps spread offenses aren’t really known for — effectively running clock late in a tight game.

Trubisky engineered a nine-play, 55-yard drive, with a key 16-yard first-down completion to Warren Ashton (six catches, 74 yards) down to the Ursuline 10 and two plays later connecting with Conner Krizancic for a 7-yard TD to ice a big victory.

“That’s a really good football team, and they battle hard,” Cardinals coach Steve Trivisonno said of Ursuline. “They’re going to be great. They’re going to win it again this year.

“We probably shot ourselves in the foot more than anything — a couple of fumbles. I think we stopped ourselves more than they stopped us.”

The truth is, there wasn’t much stopping going on, particularly with the Irish run attack and the Mentor aerial arsenal.

Trubisky opened a wild third quarter with a 35-yard touchdown run, displaying a nice cut outside, to open a 17-7 advantage.

The Irish, though, were able to gouge the Cardinals on the ground for much of the second half, amassing 271 yards rushing after halftime. Jesse Curry was impressive in particular with all of his 169 yards on the ground in the second half. Curry scored on a 1-yard run with 3:12 left in the third quarter as Ursuline took a 27-24 lead.

“They were defending the interior run pretty well, and we started running off tackle pretty well out of our stack set,” Irish coach Dan Reardon said. “I think in the third quarter, we executed very well, and they obviously made a couple of adjustments in the fourth. We didn’t handle that adjustment quickly enough.”

The Cardinals answered with a nine-play, 85-yard march, making it 31-27.