Tag Archive for: DeMarcus McElroy

HOLY MCELROY

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YOUNGSTOWN OH- Last season saw Ursuline in the second half go to the ground game and leading them was now senior DeMarcus McElroy. In 2020, after taking over as the starting running back in the second half of the season, McElroy would rush for over 700 yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging 5.9 yards per carry.

This season, he already had a kickoff return that went for 94 yards and a total of 287 yards with seven total touchdowns in only two games this season. This week, McElroy looks to continue that Dalvin Cook speed as the Irish head to Chardon, or West Geaugathis Friday at 7pm, depending on the turf situation against the reigning Division III Hilltoppers in hopes of improving to a 3 and 0 start.

YSN’s Ian O’Brien talked with McElroy about the upcoming game against the Hilltoppers star players, what has changed in the ground attack for the Irish and many more.

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*Contributed By YSN’s Ian O’Brien

IRISH A CLASS ABOVE POLAND

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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

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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*

MCELROY MAKES EM PAY

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YOUNGSTOWN OH- With Urusline going into their first game of the 2020 playoffs, there is a player who is coming off of momentum with the Irish.  That player would be none other than junior defensive back and running back DeMarcus McElroy who is now the starter later on in the season.

 

DeMarcus may be quiet in person, but when it comes to that football field, he feasts, wanting to plow his way through every defender and when it comes to the other side, he has a tiger instinct for the football.  During the Holy War against rival Cardinal Mooney, McElroy had 112 rushing yards and three touchdowns while he took a pick six back which was the first score of the game.  He has been silent but deadly throughout this 2020 season.  Against Warren Harding, he rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown.  The week before against Youngstown East, McElroy had 57 yards on eight carries and a touchdown too. 

 

On this Playoff Player Profile edition, DeMarcus sits down to talk about the game he had last friday against rival Mooney, the film that they have watched on Villa Angela St. Joseph (team that beat Fairless 28-17), the TikToks that he has done with coach Jesse Curry for a nice laugh during quarantine, What made him want to get into football in the first place, how the team has improved from this season to last, and much more.  As said, the Ursuline Irish (4-2) will take on the Vikings of Villa Angela St. Joseph (1-6) Saturday at 7pm on YSN. 

 

*Contributed by YSN’s Ian O’Brien*

 

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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5VKDkCvQ_k[/embedyt]

IRISH TRIUMPH IN HOLY WAR

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YOUNGSTOWN, OH- This game had no social distancing score wise between these two teams Friday night as the high school football version of Ohio State Michigan happened when the Ursuline Irish and Cardinal Mooney Cardinals, faced off in the 62nd meeting of the “Holy War” at Stambaugh Stadium.

 

The game started with Ursuline having some momentum on their side driving all the way down to the Cardinals 15.  That is until a few players later where they coughed up the ball, recovered by Mooney and hoping for some early momentum.  

 

However, that would not happen as a few possessions later, Pat Guerrieri’s pass was intercepted by DeMarcus McElroy who looked like Champ Bailey out on the field taking it in for a touchdown making it 6-0 after a failed extra point.  Mooney came right back later on when Pat Guerrieri found AJ Pecchia for a nice 29-yards touchdown putting the Cards up 7-6.  

 

But once again, it was McElroy in the first who this time channeled his Ezekiel Elliott going 20-yards for the score.  Then, it was Dante Walker taking it in for the two point conversion bringing it back to a seven point game.  McElroy had another big touchdown in the second that looked to have gone for 30-yards making it 21-7 and now Mooney was in trouble and needed momentum.  

 

That’s when Mooney drove down the field tiring out the Ursuline defense a bit.  That’s when Zy’ere Rogers said “welcome to my neighborhood,”driving his feet in the endzone five yards out, putting the Cardinals back into the game down by eight.  

 

The Irish scored one more time before the half.   Brady Shannon would give the ball to once again, McElroy who was having a career night with four total touchdowns.  The Irish went into the half up 28-13 but it was not over yet.  

 

In the third quarter, the Cardinals defense and offense got stronger.  Firstly, they did not let Ursuline get a single point in the last two quarters while Mooney looked stronger.  The Cardinals got three points in the third thanks to a 21-yard  field goal by Brian Philibin making it 28-16.  Their next score came in the fourth.  The Cardinals got down to the goal line after a nice Guerrieri run.  On their next play, it was Davontae Miller plowing into the endzone and now there was a ballgame.  

 

Shannon would go long for Jakylan Irving, but it was a nice break up by the Mooney defense which led the Irish to bring out Matthew Reardon for a Rugby style punt.  Cardinal Mooney needed a first down with just over three minutes to go.  The Irish defense stopped the Cards on three of those downs and now it was do or die.  

 

Guerrieri went to Pecchia who had the ball right in his hands, but couldn’t hold on as because of this, Ursuline held on for the 28-23 victory over rival Cardinal Mooney.  This is Ursuline’s first back-to-back win against Mooney since the 2011 and 2012 season.  

 

Player of the Game/Stat

 

The player of the game was DeMarcus McElroy who had 112 yards rushing, three touchdowns and an interception.  

 

Ursuline (4-2) gets a nice week off to relax and heal any injuries that happened.  They will play the winner of Fairless (4-2) vs Villa Angela St. Joseph (0-6).  Cardinal Mooney (1-5) will play Conneaut (2-4) at Stambaugh stadium.  Both of those first round playoff games will be played Saturday at 7pm.  

 

*Contributed by YSN’s Ian O’Brien* 

RAIDERS PUSH BACK URSULINE

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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

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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*

 

FITCH PLAYS A STEP ABOVE IRISH

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YOUNGSTOWN OH- Both Ursuline and Austintown Fitch came into week two with a lot of momentum, but only one would come up top in the week two matchup.  Last year, Fitch beat Ursuline by 20.  This year what seemed to start out as a close game, turned into a dominant performance in the second half.

 

Ursuline would score the first points on the board to start the game, when Brady Shannon threw a nice deep ball to Terrell Dillworth for a 71-yard touchdown.  The Irish went to go muddle huddle, trying the two-point conversion, but failed, making it 6-0.

 

Fitch answered back with scores of their own however from only a few yards out with the score now being 13-6 Falcons.  The Falcons took advantage of the Ursuline mistakes as Tyler Evans tossed to Senior Todd Simons for a 37-yard strike and it was now 21-6.  However, Brady Shannon and the Irish were not going down without a fight.  Shannon found the speedy Trenton Hill who juked a couple of defenders was gone, going 37-yards to the end zone. The two-point conversion was good and the Irish were only down by seven.

 

Shannon once again showed his quarterback accuracy, as he found Marc Manning 11-yards out.  However, kicker Dylan Peplowski missed the extra point and Fitch was still in the lead by one.  That is when Falcons decided to swarm the field.  It first started with Tyree Mitchell went 58-yards out with it being 28-20.  After that, Fitch did a surprise onside kick, something the Irish were not expecting and recovered the ball.

 

The Falcons scored four more times, having the younger athletes come in by the time the late third and fourth quarter came around, while pressuring Shannon and the Irish offensive line. Ursuline scored one more touchdown when DeMarcus McElroy scored from two-yards out.  The touchdown was not enough for a comeback as the Falcons won 56-28.

 

Shannon finished the game with 225 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.  Trenton Hill had six carries for 50 yards and the reception touchdown. For Fitch, it was Devin Sherwood who keeps on being consistent.  He finishes with 299 yards through the air and a touchdown.

 

Austintown Fitch (2-0) has momentum on their side, and look to continue that next Friday as they host the Chaney Cowboys (0-2) at Greenwood Chevrolet Austintown Falcon Stadium.  For Ursuline (1-1), they look to regroup as they head to Boardman to take on the Boardman Spartans (1-1).

*Contributed By YSN’s Ian O’Brien.