By Tom Williams

williams@vindy.com

Ursuline vs Lake Catholic

Gallery

Ursuline vs Lake Catholic

YOUNGSTOWN

After rushing for 158 yards and scoring two touchdowns, Ursuline High quarterback Vito Penza was asked if his offensive line has a nickname.

Penza hesitated for maybe the first time all evening, suggested no, then said, “They’re beasts.”

Mentor Lake Catholic’s defenders won’t disagree after falling to the Irish, 39-14, on Friday at Youngstown State’s Stambaugh Stadium.

Fueled by huge holes generated by the line that featured Jonathan Neely, Giacomo Cappabianca, Sean McGuire, Robbie Beardman, Jabbar Price and Ryan Bednarik, the Irish rushed for 401 yards and six touchdowns.

“We’ve said from the beginning of the year that our O-line is what’s going to take us all the way to December,” Penza said. “Words can’t describe how well they played tonight.”

Kimauni Johnson and Ty Spinks also scored two touchdowns apiece.

“It feels good coming off our poor performance last week,” Penza said. “It feels good to get back on track. This is just a great total team win.”

The Irish (2-2) were coming off last week’s frustrating 14-9 loss at Steubenville.

“I’m very pleased with the way we played offensively today,” Ursuline head coach Larry Kempe said. “We have not played well offensively in three games. What we did was simplify it a little bit.

“Because we took some thinking away from them, they responded very well,” Kempe said. “Those guys up front did a great job for us.”

On the rare occasions when things didn’t go exactly as planned, the Irish came back with strong plays.

After jumping out to a 13-0 lead by scoring on their first two possessions, the Irish were stunned when Cougars running back Jeffery King broke free for a 51-yard gain to the Irish 7. Two plays later, quarterback Chad Stalnaker hit Matt Hinesley for a 6-yard touchdown.

The Irish responded with an 84-yard drive capped by Penza’s 3-yard touchdown run for a 19-7 edge.

Late in the first half, the Cougars struck again when running back Jeffery King hit Brandon Rassavong in the end zone for a 31-yard touchdown and 19-14 score.

The Irish didn’t flinch, marching 80 yards on seven plays. Penza gained 25 on the first play and Marcus Mosely’s reverse gained 26. The Cougars were flagged for pass interference on fourth down, setting up Spinks’ second score for a 25-14 halftime edge.

The Cougars forced the Irish to punt on the first series of the second half. But a bad snap to Penza led to a good result as he scrambled for 15 yards.

“As soon as I was able to corral the ball, I looked to see if they had outside contain,” Penza said. “My left wing just sealed the guy in and I saw green and took off.”

Johnson rushed for 130 yards on 19 carries.

Cappabianca said the Irish coaches did a good job channeling last week’s frustration into preparation.

“I think we practiced how we played,” said Cappabianca, calling the victory “the greatest feeling.”

Kempe praised his team for no lost fumbles or pickoffs.

“It’s amazing how well you do when you don’t turn the ball over,” Kempe said.

Kempe said the team needed the win after a tough start.

“It was a defining moment, I think, for us to get a win against a quality Division III team,” Kempe said.

King rushed for 72 yards on nine carries for the Cougars (1-3).