Team

Ursuline

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

Team

Boardman

Record	Div.	Conf.
6/5	Div. II	All-American Conference Gold Tier

Ursuline’s late rally eclipses Boardman

By Steve WILAJ

swilaj@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

A half hour after Tristan Ballard made the biggest catch of his life — which keyed Ursuline’s come-from-behind 23-21 win against Boardman on Friday night — the sophomore wideout still couldn’t put down the ball.

The 6-foot-3 Fighting Irish receiver — side by side with quarterback Jared Fabry, who tossed him the crucial 38-yard pass on fourth-and-22 with just 1:10 remaining — exited Stambaugh Stadium still clutching the ball and with Ursuline’s playoff hopes still alive.

“If I don’t catch the ball, we’re not gonna make the playoffs,” Ballard said. “They just told me the ball was coming to me. I wasn’t even ready for the pass — then I looked up and had to make a play.”

The play occurred late in the fourth quarter with Ursuline (4-4) trailing 21-17 on Boardman’s 48-yard line. Twenty-two yards from a first down, Ballard ran a streak down the left sideline and hauled in a perfect lob pass from Fabry.

A few plays later, Kimauni Johnson scored on a 4-yard touchdown run with just 20 seconds remaining to give the Irish a two-point lead that eventually held up.

“I just thought, ‘Throw it up and let him make a play,’” Fabry said of Ballard’s catch. “My line gave me time, I threw it up and he made a good catch. Coaches told me to look the other way real quick and throw it up to him.”

Boardman coach Joe Ignazio –—whose Spartans (4-4) led 21-10 after three quarters — said his team’s inability to get off the field on the key fourth down mainly decided the contest.

“We were happy with where we were at at the end of the game,” Ignazio said. “Penalties hurt us a little bit putting us in bad position, and in the second half we got pinned inside the 10 a couple times. ... But the game comes down to you have to make a play there on fourth down.”

Fabry, who finished 5 of 9 for 99 yards, connected with Anise Algahamee with 9:10 left in the fourth quarter to cut Boardman’s lead to 21-17. The Spartans then controlled the ball for much of the final quarter, until they turned it over on downs with just under three minutes left after electing to go for it on fourth-and-6 from Ursuline’s 35.

That set up Ballard’s catch and Johnson’s TD run.

“As much as people were badmouthing us offensively in the first half, we came out in the second half and made some good adjustments,” Irish coach Larry Kempe said. “Then some players like Jared and Tristan and Anise stepped up to the plate and made plays.”

Boardman led 7-3 at halftime as Travis Koontz — who finished with six catches, 75 yards and two scores — hooked up with J.R. Ryan for a 13-yard TD to open the game. The Spartans then took an 11-point lead into the fourth thanks to third-quarter touchdown passes from Ryan to Koontz (10 yards) and Alex Duda (77 yards).

Ryan finished 8 for 11 for 172 yards. Ursuline’s Johnson — who is dealing with a shoulder injury — ended with 124 yards on 21 carries after not starting.

“Our intention was to not put Kimauni in unless we absolutely had to,” Kempe said. “He’s a tough kid. He came out at halftime and I heard him say, ‘I’m well rested. I haven’t done anything in the first half.’ I can’t say enough about him.”