By Joe Scalzo

scalzo@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

The list of things that went wrong with last year’s Ursuline football team doesn’t stop with its 4-6 record a first-round playoff exit.

“Last year we didn’t have a lot of leadership in the locker room and we seniors used that as an example of what not to do behind the scenes,” senior WR/DB John Martynyszyn said. “The practices weren’t that meaningful. There wasn’t a lot of intensity. We’d have a great first half and then come out of halftime flat. There was just a lot of individualism.”

Added senior two-way lineman Mike Krause, “We weren’t very conditioned. Guys took breaks. Kids didn’t stay focused and they were messing around on the bus. We weren’t able to come out and do what we needed to do.”

If that seems like a lot to reveal in a newspaper article, Martynyszyn doesn’t care.

“We’re not keeping any secrets,” he said. “We know what we did wrong.”

Burdened by bad chemistry and a brutal schedule, the Irish eked into the Division V playoffs as a No. 8 seed, then lost to eventual state runner-up Akron Manchester in the regional quarterfinals, 19-16. It was the third straight year Ursuline failed to reach the state final after advancing that far every year from 2007-10.

“At Ursuline, the only thing we have to play for is a state title and anytime you fall short of that, it’s definitely characterized as a failure,” senior quarterback/linebacker Vito Penza said. “When you look back, there’s a lot of things we’d do different.”

Ursuline’s schedule hasn’t improved — the Irish start with road games against Walsh Jesuit, Cleveland Benedictine and Steubenville — but its depth has. The Irish have 77 players, including eight returning lettermen on the offensive and defensive lines.

“What we have to do, which we have not done, is start proving ourselves and our worth,” said Irish coach Larry Kempe, whose roster has grown from 48 kids in his first season three years ago. “With 77 kids, if you have a bad day, you could be standing behind somebody the next day.”

Offense

Ursuline lost three-year starter Chris Durkin (Virginia Tech) at quarterback and four players are competing to replace him: Penza (a Durkin clone who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 220), junior Anthony Protopapa, shifty-but-undersized sophomore Anise Algahnee (5-7, 125) and freshman Jared Fabry.

Junior Kimauni Johnson (521 yards rushing, six TDs in 2013) returns in the backfield, which also features junior Marcus Mosley and sophomore Daylen Harris. Senior Aaryn Jones and sophomore Spencer Warren are the fullbacks and juniors Deion Edwards and Blaise George and sophomore Alex Parella will play tight end. Martynyszyn, Mosley and David Collins will play receiver.

On the offensive line, seniors Robbie Beardman, Devin Matthews, Sean McGuire and Tyler Leonard and juniors Giacomo Cappabianca, Dante Cerimele and Jabbar Price and sophomore Jeff Marx will all compete for time.

Defense

Defensively, those eight linemen are also in the mix up front, while Edwards, Johnson, Penza, Warren and Jones will man the linebacker spots. Martynyszyn, Collins, Mosley and Harris are options in the secondary along with junior Nick Armeni and sophomores Dawalyn Washington, Dakota Hobbs.

Special teams

Four players are competing for kicking/punting duties: Penza, Parella, senior John Hintz and sophomore Ian O’Brien.

Outlook

Ursuline has made two straight playoff appearances but with no conference title to play for, Kempe’s goal is to hold a trophy in Week 15, not Week 10.

“This is my 40th year coaching and I’ve been in a lot of programs where if you make the playoffs, you’re happy,” he said. “That’s not good enough here.”

ROSTER

1Daylen HarrisRB-DB5-8160So.

2Anise AlgahmeeQB-DB5-7125So.

3Kimauni JohnsonRB-LB5-11185Jr.

4Anthony ProtopapaQB-DB6-0175Jr.

5Ty SpinksRB-LB5-8195Jr.

6TreZahn DunlowRB-LB6-1190Fr.

7Joe FloydRB-LB5-10175Fr.

8Deion EdwardsTE-LB6-2232Jr.

9Darius DiehlWR-DB5-9135Fr.

10Dawalyn WashingtonWR-DB5-10165So.

11Marcus MosleyWR-DB5-9155Jr.

12John MarshallWR-DB5-8110Fr.

13Jared FabryQB-DB5-11150Fr.

14Dakota HobbsWR-DB5-8135So.

15DaWa’lin ChildsWR-LB6-2180Jr.

16Lucas OlivieriWR-DB5-8155Jr.

17Michael BrownQB-DB5-10150Fr.

20David CollinsWR-DB6-2180Jr.

21Tre SpinksRB-DB5-8180Jr.

22Dominic JosephK5-8135Jr.

23Phillip PuryearWR-DB5-8145So.

24Jack BentzWR-DB5-9160So.

25Lloyd MimsWR-DB5-8105Fr.

26Jim KerriganWR-DB5-8165So.

27Braijon NubyRB-DB5-6125Fr.

28Shondale PhiferWR-DB5-8130Fr.

29Jacob SilvermanWR-DB5-8135Fr.

31Aaryn JonesRB-LB5-8220Sr.

32Richard WolfeWR-DB5-8150So.

33Nick ArmeniWR-DB5-8176Jr.

34Colt JamiesonWR-DB5-8115Fr.

35Tyree ReederRB-LB5-8170Fr.

36Anthony MorgioneWR-DB5-10165Jr.

39Vito PenzaQB-LB6-3220Sr.

41Ian O’BrienK5-8145So.

42John MartynyszynWR-DB6-2185Sr.

43Mario FusilloTE-LB5-11160Fr.

44Spencer WarrenRB-LB5-9230So.

48Tristan BallardWR-DB6-2155Fr.

50Anthony HowellOL-DL6-3215So.

51Robbie BeardmanOL-DL5-10235Sr.

52Jabbar PriceOL-DL6-4206Jr.

53A.B. HalalmehOL-DL6-1296Jr.

54Tyler LeonardOL-LB5-11210Sr.

55Giacamo CappabiancaOL-DL6-2270Jr.

56Jermey RayOL-DL5-8168Fr.

56Wayne ChildsOL-DL5-10215So.

57Jonathon NeeleyOL-DL6-5260Jr.

58Michael KrauseOL-DL5-8200Sr.

59Daniel LeslieOL-LB5-11205So.

60Sean McGuireOL-DL5-11245Sr.

61Anthony ElbertyOL-DL5-8162Fr.

62Daniel McCarthyOL-DL6-1185Fr.

63David SimonOL-DL5-10170Fr.

64Dominic GebhartOL-DL5-9240Sr.

65Devin MatthewsOL-DL5-11220Sr.

66Shelton JohnsonOL-DL5-10250So.

66MarQuisk WilkinsOL-DL6-1225So.

67Dante CerimeleOL-LB5-9195Jr.

68Anthony PotestaOL-DL5-10200Fr.

69Ryan StuartOL-DL5-9235Jr.

70Ryan BednarikOL-DL5-10195Jr.

71Trevor LeonardOL-DL5-9240So.

72Jeff MarxOL-DL6-0290So.

73Joe WeirOL-DL5-10230So.

74Marcus OlivieriOL-DL5-9195Fr.

75Ricky WeitzelOL-DL5-7175Fr.

76Nick PetroOL-DL5-8170Fr.

77Noah KenneallyOL-DL6-1180So.

78Zontrae YaunceyOL-DL6-0181Fr.

79Dominic TeddeOL-LB5-8190So.

80Chris WomackWR-DB6-1160Fr.

81Alex ParellaTE-LB6-2180So.

82Austin WhiteK5-10150So.

83John HintzK6-3160Sr.

85Blaise GeorgeTE-LB6-0175Jr.

86DaVaughn GriffinWR-DB6-0150So.