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Irish focus on rewriting history
By Steve Ruman
YOUNGSTOWN
When Ursuline High School football head coach Larry Kempe was a teacher at Niles High School, there was a sign on the wall of his classroom which read, “History repeats itself if no one pays attention the first time.”
Kempe referred to that saying this week when addressing his team. He’s pretty certain that Steubenville does in fact have the attention of his players, and he is hoping that as a result, the Irish are prepared to rewrite history.
Ursuline (8-5) and Steubenville (12-0) meet Saturday at 7 p.m. in a Division IV state semifinal game at New Spartan Stadium in Boardman. The winner will advance to the Division IV title game on Dec. 5 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.
Earlier this season, Ursuline traveled to Steubenville, where the Irish were defeated, 48-12.
“The first thing I did Monday was show our players film from that game,” Kempe said. “This week, it’s all about learning from the past and correcting mistakes so that the past does not repeat itself.”
“I can say that this team has been quite focused throughout the week.”
Steubenville’s 36-point victory on Oct. 12 was one of a season-long series of blowout wins this year for Big Red.
Steubenville has out-scored opponents, 519-93. Big Red defeated St. John’s College (Washington, D.C.) 22-14 in week three. Every other win has been by a margin of at least 27 points.
Big Red has recorded four shutouts, and has held four other opponents to just one touchdown. They have out-scored three playoff opponents (Indian Creek, Salem, Johnstown-Monroe) by a combined score of 128-14.
“The thing that really stood out about Steubenville in our first meeting was their physical play,” Kempe said. “They come at you. That’s a credit to [Steubenville coach] Reno [Saccoccia] and his staff. That’s a trademark of their program.”
“We have to be ready for everything they throw at us, and we have to line up and match their physicality,” Kempe said. “Our players know that, and I think they are ready for the challenge.”
The Steubenville offense is guided by senior quarterback Dimitri Collaros, who has thrown for 2,223 yards and 23 touchdowns.
Collaros, who earlier this week was named Eastern District Division IV offensive player of the year, has completed 145 of 226 pass attempts.
Collaros has plenty of targets, including seniors Niko Petrides (37 receptions, 726 yards), and Devin Ferguson (21 receptions, 202 yards) and junior Pookie Petteway (27 catches, 382 yards).
A strong Big Red running game is led by Johnnie Blue. The senior has rushed for 1,374 yards and 28 touchdowns.
Defensively, senior Jeremy Blue (64 tackles, four interceptions) and junior Zane Zimish (57 tackles) pace a group which has recorded 16 interceptions on the season.
In three playoff games, the Big Red defense has allowed a total 81 rushing yards and 147 passing yards.
“Steubenville has plenty of weapons, they’re tough to defend,” Kempe said. “Some opponents, you have to really concentrate on either their running or passing game. With Steubenville, you have to cover everything. They don’t have a weak spot.”
“Defensively, they have a lot of play-makers. Again, you can’t try to key on one or two individuals, because they come at you as a team.”
Ursuline started its season losing four of seven games. But since suffering back-to-back losses to Steubenville and Massillon, the Irish have won five of six games.
Dante Cerimele, Ursuline senior guard and linebacker, said the losses to Big Red and the Tigers created a new sense of focus for the Irish.
“It seemed like earlier in the year we were still trying to find our identity, we were still trying to figure things out,” Cerimele said. “But those losses in particular fueled us. We knew we had to set things straight right away, or everything that we worked toward for the past four years would be gone.”
“From the second half of the season on, every player has done his share. We all go into a game believing that we have to win 11 individual battles in order to win a the war, and lately we’ve all been chipping in as individuals to achieve team success.”
Giacomo Cappabianca, senior center and defensive tackle, insists the Irish have eagerly looked forward to a rematch with Big Red.
“That night in Steubenville left a sour taste in our mouths,” Cappabianca said. “Steubenville is a great team, so we knew all along we’d get another shot at them if we did our part in the playoffs.”
“We’re a completely different team than we were in October,” Cappabianca said. “I know Steubenville is the favorite and they should be. But we have an opportunity to shock everyone.
“And I know in my heart we have the talent, the coaching and the attitude to get it done. We’re definitely glad we have a second chance at them.”
This will mark the 13th meeting between Steubenville and Ursuline. The Big Red lead the series 8-4.
Big Red also defeated Ursuline in 2014. Prior to that, the Irish had won three of four in the series.
The teams have met two other times in the playoffs (1983, 1984), with Big Red winning both regional championship contests.
Saturday’s winner will play either Middletown Bishop Fenwick (13-0) or Columbus Bishop Hartley (9-3) in the state title game.