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Ursuline, Mineral Ridge players selected to compete in Mexico’s Bowl of Stars
Local players selected
to compete in Mexico’s
Bowl of the Stars
At Ursuline High, Matt Krause and Josh Bermann were anchors of the line. They were part of the 2008 state championship team that went 15-0.
But for the last four years, Krause and Bermann were rivals in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference at Waynesburg and Grove City, respectively.
“There was always a little bit of trash talk back and forth with us playing on the line,” Krause said.
Especially from him, the Yellow Jackets were 3-1 against the Wolverines since 2009.
“That helped,” Krause said, laughing. “We got them this year, too.”
Bermann said, “During the season we talked all the time. We’d always catch up and see how match ups are going on with the teams we were going up against that week.”
In a few weeks, they’ll be on the same team — again — like the old days.
Krause, Bermann and Mineral Ridge graduate, Jason Ferguson — a Grove City linebacker — were selected for the Tazon De Estrellas (Bowl of the Stars) in Guadalajara, Mexico on Dec. 15.
“I’ve never been out of the country before,” Krause said. “It’s always good to prolong the season as along as you can.”
The Mahoning Valley trio plan to fly out of Pittsburgh together a week before the game; the trip is funded by the Global Football Foundation. There were 44 seniors selected from 26 Division III schools. The American all-star team plays a group of Mexican players from the CONADEIP national conference of private schools in the country.
“All we can do right now is train and stay in shape,” Bermann said. “This is kind of our last chance to play again and it’s on a pretty high stage, so we want to make sure we’re ready to give it our all one more time.
“There will be two-a-day practices, down there, and we’ll go over all of the game-planning there.”
Bermann has been a starter all four years at offensive guard at Grove City. He’s an exercise science major and anticipates obtaining a masters in exercise physiology to pursue a career in physical therapy.
“People told me that you’d never have the same experience playing in college that you did in high school,” Bermann said. “I found that to be somewhat true. There’s so much time spent watching film and conditioning. The mental work was the biggest adjustment.”
He said that Ursuline’s rigorous regular season schedule prepared him for the next level.
“I went up against guys like John Simon,” Bermann said of the Cardinal Mooney grad and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year at Ohio State. “Truthfully, I haven’t really seen that many guys as big as him in college.”
Despite being a defensive lineman, Krause was second on Waynesburg’s 10-1 team in tackles (65), tackles for loss (6.5) and sacks (4.5).
He was one of 17 Youngstown-area players, including Fighting Irish classmates, Alex Menton and LaVance Turnage, that made an impact under coach Rich Shepas who happens to be a Mooney grad.
“He recruits the area pretty heavily,” Krause said. “Waynesburg always seemed like a good fit with its players and coaching staff. Things are going to be good for a long time here.”
Krause is in the pre-med program and wants to be in a physician’s assistant masters track.
“I’d like to get into coaching, too,” he said.
Ferguson is an accounting major who plans to take his CPA exam in a few years. He has over 300 tackles in his career at Grove City. In 2012, he was twice named a team player of the week.
“I’ve never flown on a plane before, so that’s one reason why I’m excited for the experience,” he said. “I hope to make some plays down there, rely on my instincts and make a difference in the game.”