Tag Archive for: Dante Walker

IRISH A CLASS ABOVE POLAND

POLAND OH- The Ursuline Irish took on the number two seed and the Poland Bulldogs Saturday night for the regional semifinal.

The Bulldogs came out red hot, with an interception on the first drive from Christian Colosimo, and then a QB keeper from Jack Fulton to give the Bulldogs a quick 7-0 lead. Ursuline would get on the board, as Senior running back Dante Walker would answer later in the first, as he ran in a touchdown to tie the ballgame.

The second quarter was all Irish, as Ursuline would put up 21 points, to go into halftime leading 28-7. Luke Campbell had a strip sack for a touchdown to start the scoring streak. DeMarcus McElroy punched in a 22 yard touchdown, and then Waker had his second touchdown run of the night, to give the Irish all the momentum heading into the locker at half.

The Irish would get another touchdown in the second half from DeMarcus McElroy, and would cling on to a 35-7 victory. The Irish scored 35 unanswered points, and the defense would hold the Bulldogs all night long to just 7 points.

Ursuline advances to the regional final next Saturday, as they will host 12 seed Mentor Lake Catholic. Ursuline looks to pick up their 10th program regional tittle next Saturday at Stambaugh Stadium.

*Contributed By YSN’s Richie Juliano

URSULINE WITHSTANDS LATE WARRIOR RALLY

BELOIT, OH- Perhaps one of the most looked at games this week had to have been the third seeded West Branch Warriors, hosting the sixth seeded Ursuline Irish in a dramafield quarterfinal matchup in Division IV region 13.  The first scoring drive started out when the Irish did their take on the Philly special as Brady Shannon pitched it to Dante Walker who then pitched it back to Matthew Reardon who found Luke Campbell making it 8-0 after converting the two point conversion.  

 

Ursuline’s next touchdown came during the second when Terrell “TG” Dilworth turned into Barry Allen aka the flash going 70-yards to the house with nobody stopping the Air Force commit.  His take off was like a fighter jet putting the Irish up 16-0.  But those Warriors, you should never count them out as Brock Hillyer who has been having a good season found Dru DeShields two-yards out cutting the Ursuline lead to 10.  The Irish got one more score on the board to make it 24-6 at the half and now the Warriors needed a plan.

 

That’s when they knew that being aggressive and forcing Trevor Lawrence aka Brady Shannon would come into their favor as Shannon was picked off by Alec Wilson and guess what, he could go all the way and that he did, a 37-yard pick six making it now 24-12.  

 

However, Shannon was not finished yet, as he put that last pass he had behind him and now it was a new set of downs.  He would trust Dante Walker to make a spectacular 38-yard over-the-shoulder touchdown making it 32-12.  Once again, those Warriors would not go away as Hillyer found DeShields yet again two-yards out, cutting the lead to 13.  But then, it was Emmitt Smith, aka DeMarcus McElroy who smelled the end zone and man it was smelling good as he took it in five-yards out extending it 38-19.  

 

West Branch did what they usually do on offense and that is score during crunch time with two touchdowns late in the game.  The first was when Hillyer found Nick Wilson for an 11-yard touchdown and then the man would sneak it in himself putting the game to only seven with 2:45 to go and they were back in this.  These Warriors were not giving up without a fight, they would not let their winning record be ruined.  They would try for the onside kick, but Matthew Reardon would recover, ending the game with a final of 38-31 in a hard fought nearly come from behind win.  But, the Irish pulled it off even through the fourth quarter struggle that they had.  

 

Dan Reardon and the Ursuline Irish (6-2) are heading to the regional semifinals to take on the two seeded Poland Bulldogs (7-1) who got a big win Saturday against Chagrin Falls 34-9.  A program that seemed to be the laughing stock of Youngstown GRIT football is now back on top, but man those Bulldogs still need to be fed and they are hungry for some Lucky Charms. The game will be played on a spooky Saturday night, October 31st at 7pm on YSN Live. 

 

  West Branch (7-1) may have lost in the playoffs, but can still schedule a regular season opponent until week 10 with their choice.  The Warriors should pick their heads up after a tremendous season and prepare for another 2021 playoff run. 

 

*Contributed by YSN’s Ian O’Brien*

RAIDERS PUSH BACK URSULINE

WARREN OH- Ursuline came into this game with a lot of momentum on their side, looking to go 4 and one.  However, in order to do that they’d have to get past a Warren team that has played a tough schedule in this six-game season in what to some was a shocker at Mollenkopf stadium.  

 

The Irish started out strong as Dante Walker kept their scoring momentum alive with a 33-yard touchdown run.  Reardon tried to go for two but was stopped making it 6-0.  The next drive saw Ursuline get into the endzone again, as Brady Shannon found Matthew Reardon nine-yards our making it 12-0.  

 

However, Warren fought back as quarterback Elijah Taylor found Dom Foster 26-yards out with 2:43 left.  Finally, Warren fans got to hear the PA announcer’s famous words “touchdown Raiders” as it was 12-7 at halftime.  

 

Walker got his second touchdown 19-yards out making it 18-7 while Warren responded back with Taylor’s pass to Konyae Redd.  However, the PAT was a doink and no good, making it 18-13.  Both teams scored before the end of the third as well.  Ursuline’s DeMarcus McElory added a one-yard touchdown and Bryson Powell had a 15-yard run, driving his feet in the endzone.  What made the difference, the Irish failed on their PAT, while the Raiders achieved on theirs with the score being 24-21.  

 

Later on in the very important drive, it looked as if that Ursuline defense who’d some say is the Ravens defense of high school football,  had stopped the Warren offense.  However, they’d measure and it was determined that the Raiders got the first down.  Next possession, the Raiders were rumbling into the endzone with Marco Patierno on a four-yard run with 45 seconds remaining.  

 

The Irish tried to have something going, but the Raiders said not so fast my friend as they stopped the Irish which led to a turnover on down, ending the game with the final of 28-24.  

*Contributed By YSN’s Ian O’Brien

URSULINE SENDS BEARS TO HIBERNATION

YOUNGSTOWN OH-  Nothing makes a great senior night for players than a home win, and tonight, that’s what the Irish did as they hosted the Youngstown East Golden Bears at Stambaugh Stadium.

 

Just like the last two games, the Irish got off to a quick start.  The first score of the game was in the first quarter when Brady Shannon pitched it out to Trenton Hill, who then found Matthew Reardon 32-yards out making it 7-0 Irish.  Later on, it was Shannon, finding Dean Boyd who ran 38-yards out making the score 13-0 after a missed two-point conversion.  East had a rough start but was sure to have Ursuline muff their upcoming punt.  Unfortunately, the snap went over the punters head which led to it being a safety.  The score was now 15-0 at the end of one.

 

The second quarter had less scoring for the Irish as the East defense did make a few stops there.  However, the Irish would find that momentum again as Demarcus McElroy plowed in six yards out.  Later on, Shannon found Boyd again 14-yards out.  At the half, it was now 28-0 and East needed to change something up for the third quarter.

 

Well, the change did not work as planned.  Ursuline still kept playing fast and would not look back.  The third quarter momentum started when Terrell “TG” Dillworth channeled his inner Joshua Cribbs and Devin Hester, taking it 80-yards to the house.  Ursuline’s final touchdown came later when Hill put it in a yard out.

 

East got their only point late in the game when Andrew Blackmon found Rueben Talley for an 18-yard touchdown.  In the end however, the Irish took revenge for their 28-27 2OT loss to East last year and this time won with the final being 42-7.

 

Brady Shannon finished 10 of 15 for 144 yards and two touchdowns.  Trenton Hill finished with 10 carries for 45 yards with a rushing and passing touchdown.  Matthew Reardon has three receptions for 44-yards and a touchdown.  Dean Boyd finished with three receptions for 99-yards and two touchdowns.

 

Defensive Standouts for the Irish were Ryan Peguese who had two sacks, Boyd, and Dante Walker who were the leading tacklers.

 

Ursuline (3-1) will head to Mollenkopf Stadium for a big game against the Warren G. Harding Raiders (1-3).  Youngstown East (0-4) will look to get their first win next week as they face the Howland Tigers (1-3).

 

*contributed by YSN’s Ian O’Brien*

 

DANTE’S INFERNO

YOUNGSTOWN-OH; When people talk about Ursuline, their first thought has to be the dynamic duo on the offensive side with Brady Shannon and Matthew Reardon.  However, there’s a senior that most have to look for in having a big season on both sides of the ball.  That senior is named Dante Walker, who plays both linebacker and running back.  

 

In the past few seasons, Walker has played mostly defense while playing a bit of running back, rotating a little bit with Davion Jones and junior Trenton Hill.  This year, Walker has improved his running back skills on the offensive side while continuing to be a threat on the defensive side of the ball.  In 2019, Walker had 87 tackles with 11 of them being for losses and had four and a half sacks on quarterbacks.  He had his biggest run of his career last week against Boardman, taking it 84-yards to the house and waiting to also play his other sport again in baseball. 

 

On this episode of the YSN Ursuline player profile edition, Dante talks to us about what changed from week two to three, the leadership, what he did during quarantine back in March and April, the leadership change, what he wants to do for college, and the his recent jobs on cars, plus what has changed with the Youngstown East team from last year to this year.  The Irish will take on the Golden Bears this Friday at 7pm at Stambaugh Stadium or you can stream it on YSN for $9.99. 

Contributed By YSN’s Ian O’Brien

Presented By

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XWk66MHq60[/embedyt]

 

IRISH FIND GOLD AGAINST CHANEY

YOUNGSTOWN OH- The last time Ursuline won a season opener, they had to wait it out two hours in a double overtime win.  Tonight was a similar situation minus the overtime,  as the Irish took on the Chaney Cowboys.

 

Ursuline’s first big play came when Dante Walker recovered a Chaney fumble on the opening possession.  Few plays after, running back Trenton Hill burst into the end-zone six yards out making it 6-0 Irish after a failed two point conversion.

 

The Irish extended the score later on in the quarter as junior quarterback Brady Shannon found his favorite target in Miami Red-hawk commit Matthew Reardon making it 14-0. Shannon got his second TD of the night, lobbing it up to Dean Boyd making it 22-0, which was the last score until the weather delay.

 

After the delay, it was as if nothing changed.  Ursuline stopped the Cowboys offense and scored one more time and added one with a Dylan Peplowski extra point.

 

It was not all bad for Chaney as they did end on a good note getting a touchdown, but it was too late as the Irish got their first season opener win since 2016,  29-6.

 

Ursuline (1-0) will host Austintown Fitch next Friday, while Chaney (0-1) will head to Howland (0-1) to try to pounce on the Tigers.

*Contributed by Ian O’Brien