Team

Ursuline

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

By Steve Ruman

sports@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

From the outside looking in, it would have been easy for area high school football fans to write off the Ursuline Irish three weeks into the season.

Following a less-than-inspiring win over East, the Irish lost back-to-back home games. A 24-14 loss to Cleveland Benedictine was followed by a 27-0 thumping at the hands of Akron Hoban.

Worse yet, the remaining seven weeks of the schedule was a who’s who of high school football royalty — including six road games.

Yet even while some of the Ursuline faithful might have been in panic mode, the players chose a more productive approach to the situation.

“As a group of seniors, we stayed behind after the Hoban loss and had a heart-to-heart,” said guard-linebacker Dante Cerimele. “We decided that win or lose, we were going to do so as a family, because that’s what we are.

“Our coaches did everything they needed to do to put us in a position to succeed. We just needed to execute, play smart football and play to our potential. The rest would take care of itself.”

So far, the plan has worked to perfection. Ursuline evened its record with a 33-12 road win over perennial power Mentor Lake Catholic. Last Friday, the Irish upped their mark to 3-2 with a convincing 33-22 win at Mollenkopf Stadium over previously unbeaten Warren Harding.

Just like that, the Irish are once again a major player in Division IV. They are currently fifth in the Region 11 computer rankings.

Tonight, the Irish hit the road once again, this time to take on another Division IV powerhouse — Steubenville (5-0).

“We have a pretty strong and close-knit group of seniors, and when we were freshmen we set a goal to win a state title this year,” Cerimele said. “Right now, we feel as though that goal is within our reach. We feel as though we have control of our destiny.”

RAID ON MOLLENKOPF

Against Harding, Ursuline set the tone of the night — and perhaps the rest of the season — on its opening possession. The Irish drove 79 yards on 14 plays, including 13 carries by Kimauni Johnson. The drive ate up 7:02 of the first quarter, keeping the potent Harding offense off the field. Johnson finished the night with 195 yards on 36 carries while Irish quarterback Jared Fabry was an efficient 4-of-5 for 99 yards.

Against Lake Catholic, Ursuline put together a similar time-consuming, touchdown drive to start the game. Johnson finished that game with 124 yards on 26 carries.

“In both of our recent wins, we got off to a strong start and we played relaxed the rest of the way,” said coach Larry Kempe. “We played our game. We played our style of football.”

And Ursuline played mistake-free football. In their first three games the Irish turned the ball over eight times and had a minus-three turnover ratio. They now stand at plus-three.

“We haven’t changed who we are, we didn’t change anything about what we were trying to do,” Kempe said. “Sometimes coaches say things like, ‘If we take care of the ball and win the turnover battle, we’ll be okay,’ and people think that is just coach talk. Well, for us it was a matter of taking care of the ball and eliminating mistakes, and we knew that.”

RUNNING MEN

Johnson leads a balanced Ursuline offense with 356 rushing yards on 68 carries, while Deion Edwards has carried the ball 59 times for 250 yards. Fabry has completed 21 of 44 passes for 354 yards and he is also averaging 6.8 yards per carry (25 rushes, 169 yards).

Fabry’s favorite target is Daylen Harris, who has a team-high nine receptions.

“Offensively, Kimauni [Johnson] has been a workhorse,” Kempe said. “Jared [Fabry] has really grown up and grown into the [quarterback] position. He’s a very intelligent kid who makes great reads and great decisions on the field. He manages the game very well and takes what is given to him.”

The Irish offense is also benefiting from a strong front line that features a lot of experience and depth. Cerimele and Jonathan Neeley anchor an offensive line that can go 10 deep.

“Everything starts up front, and we’re fortunate in that on both sides of the ball we have some very talented, hard-working athletes and we have good numbers,” Kempe said. “We don’t necessarily have to play a lot of guys both ways. We can plug in a number of guys and feel very comfortable with who we have on the field.”

‘Family’

Kempe is in his fourth year as Ursuline’s head coach. He previously served as an assistant for eight years, including six as the Irish’s defensive coordinator. Under Kempe’s leadership, the Irish have made three consecutive playoff appearances, including two trips to the regional finals. Such success would be welcome at nearly all Division IV programs, but not at a place used to winning state titles, and not by a coach who demands nothing but the best from himself and his players.

“The three previous teams we’ve had, they did a great job, they gave us everything they had,” Kempe said. “Still, we walked away from those seasons not satisfied. We never felt as though we got over the hump.

“This senior class is the first class that’s been with me [as a head coach] for all four years. I feel like we’ve grown up together and we really know what to expect from each other. They know that I expect a lot from them, but more importantly I know that they expect a lot from themselves.”

Kempe, who regularly uses the term “Ursuline family” when referring to his program, says that he is also benefiting from a coaching staff that fully understands and embraces the lofty expectations that come with coaching the Irish.

Of the 12 coaches on his staff, eight are Ursuline graduates.

“Everyone here knows how crazy I can get, how passionate I am about producing a successful program,” Kempe said. “Well, the thing is, everyone in this program from the players to the coaches are just as passionate. They are very dedicated to making this work because of their loyalty to this school.”

In fact, Kempe has literally welcomed his family to the coaching staff. His son Paul Kempe is the quarterbacks coach. Paul was an Ursuline quarterback on the teams which made four consecutive state final appearances and won three straight state titles beginning in 2008.

“I’ve been a part of this program since I was in elementary school and I was a team water boy,” Paul said. “This really is one close unit. If you are a part of the Ursuline football program, you are family.”

Paul said that family unit mentality reaches far beyond the football field.

“My dad can get nutty on the sidelines, but he’s even more passionate about the players away from football,” Paul said. “He’s all about grades first, the players’ home life, getting the guys involved in charity work.

“Coach can be tough on players, but they know it’s tough love and it’s genuine, and they respect him for that.”

LOOKING AHEAD

While many expect Ursuline to make a deep run in the postseason, just qualifying for the playoffs may be the bigger battle. Following tonight’s game at Steubenville, the Irish travel to Massillon. A home game against Boardman will be followed by games against Cardinal Mooney and Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary.

Such a schedule would severely test even the best Division I programs.

However, like their coach, the Irish players are eager to take on the difficult challenge.

“When you decide to go to Ursuline, you sign on to be spiritually, academically and athletically challenged to the max,” Cerimele said. “You’re expected to perform at a higher level than other schools in the classroom and on the playing field.

“We got a huge task ahead of us the next five weeks. But we’re prepared. We just have to stick together as a family and do our thing.”