URSULINE FINDS MORE MAGIC IN THE TANK

EUCLID OH- For the first time since 1996, the Ursuline Irish faced off against Ted Ginn Sr’s Glenville Tarblooders in the regional semifinals with both teams getting strong wins.  For Ursuline it was a 53-35 victory against Salem and for Glenville it was a 34-13 upset victory against Villa Angela St Joseph.  Only one could make it to the regional finals however and see who is the real deal.  

 

Glenville started out strong with a big kickoff return which led to a D’Shawnte Jones touchdown making it 6 to 0 after the missed extra point.  

 

That did not phase the Irish as on their first possession, it was DeMarcus McElroy going 48-yards to the endzone.  McElroy scored once again and it was now 14-8.  

 

Glenville didn’t back down however and were just starting to get the ball rolling again, showing the power that former alumni like Troy Smith and Ted Ginn Jr showed in their high school days. Once again, they used Jones to take it in on a wildcat possession tying the game at 14 all, but that didn’t stop as TarBlooders junior quarterback Ashton Pugh found sophomore Damarion Witten for a 35-yard touchdown.  

 

Now things were getting a bit out of hand and if you were an Irish player or coach, you were needing a fast change on the next possession.  That is when you go to ol-reliable, a Philly special with Shannon pitching behind Will Burney who tossed it to Dylan Sztary three yards out.  After another Irish trick two point conversion play in the back of the endzone making it all tied up at 22 going to the half. 

 

In the second half, it was Ursuline that got the momentum rolling first with two touchdowns.  The first was Shannon to Harvard commit Dean Boyd for a 11-yard strike and then a McElroy goal line touchdown making it 35-22 after the missed PAT. 

 

The momentum shifted however in the fourth and now Ursuline was in jeopardy as Glenville would score from a Raphael Williams five-yard touchdown cutting it to a five point 35-30 lead.  The Tarblooders did not go away and let the powerful Ursuline offense score as Gerald Goodwin would pick off Shannon as he was looking for Burney.  The next possession saw either Jones in the wildcat or Michael Vick for the Falcons as nobody was able to catch the speedster taking it in from 70-yards out making it now a 38-35 game.

 

With only a minute to go, the Irish needed a prayer, they’ve had games where it came down to the last second, the blocked kick by Jakylan Irving against Fitch as well as his return.  Who decides to make the last second play to get the game winner then, Irving himself as Shannon was rolling out to his right after being pressured, finding a wide open Irving inbounds, breaking tackles and going all the way into the endzone for 68-yards making it 42-38.  

 

The Irish defense stepped up in the last seconds once again with Casey Leugers getting the fourth down stop, turning the ball over making the official final 42-38 with the Irish going back to the Regional Finals in back to back seasons.  

 

Stats 

Glenville-

#7 De’Shawnte Jones-  131 yards rushing, 3 td runs

 

#12 Ashton Pugh 6 for 9 passing for 79 passing, 6 rushes for 32 yards, 1 passing td

 

#24 De’Shaun Whatley 22 rushing attempt for 101 yards, 1 catch for 21 yards

 

#3 Raphael Williams- 2 runs for 6 yards, 1 rushing TD

 

#1 Jermaine Foster 2 catches for 4 yards

#14 Milique Herrin 2 catches for 17 yards

#19 Damarion Witten 2 catches catch for 45 yards, 1 receiving to

 

Ursuline-

# Brady Shannon 5-14 of 20 for 259 yards passing, 6 rushes for 71 yards, 2 passing td

 

#9 Marc Manning 1 of 1 for 13 yards passing

 

#6 DeMarcus McElroy 22 rushing attempt for 144 yards, 2 catches for 6 yards, 3 rushing to, 1 fumble

 

#1 Dean Boyd 5 catch 58 yards, 1 receiving td

#2-2 catches for 43 yards, 1 receiving td, 1 run for 7 yards

 

#9 Manning -1 catch for 3 yards

 

#10 Jakylan Irving -3 catch for 90 yards

 

#23 Christian Lynch 1 catch for 13 yards

 

Up Next 

Ursuline (9-3) will head to the Regional Finals to face a familiar foe but with a new quarterback in Dru DeShields and the undefeated West Branch Warriors (13-0) who got a big comeback win 26-19 against Perry after being down 19-6 early.  Neutral site for the game will be announced Sunday. 

 

Glenville finishes their season with a record of nine and four and will look towards lifting and conditioning in the offseason and to get ready for the 2022 campaign.  

 

*contributed by YSN’s Ian O’Brien*