In Short Week, Steubenville Wants To Stay On Track vs. Ursuline
Trending
STEUBENVILLE – The Big Red football team got back on track last week. Now, they’ll have to be at their best on a short week.
Steubenville heads back on the road for the final time in the regular season tonight for a Thursday night showdown with the always challenging Yougnstown Ursuline at Youngstown State University’s Stambaugh Stadium.
The tradition-rich programs are meeting for an 18th time. Despite Big Red holding an 11-6 edge overall, the Fighting Irish have won the last two meetings – 37-7 in last season’s season opener and 36-28 the last time the teams met in Youngstown in the 2023 season opener.
Given the history, Big Red head coach Reno Saccoccia know his team is in for a battle.
“We have a ton of respect for them, and it’s respect that’s earned,” Saccoccia said “They’ve earned it from us, they’ve beaten us as much as we’ve beaten them. It’s a;ways a challenge for the team to go out and play a team from Youngstown.
“You have to be prepared to battle for four quarters any time you go up there, you know it’s going to take your best for four quarters.”
Big Red enters the showdown with a 5-1 record, coming off a 37-14 victory over Wheelersburg. MaxPreps still has Big Red ranked No. 1 in its Ohio Division III rankings, while the Ohio Associated Press poll has Steubenville at No. 4 and receiving a first place vote and Martin RPI’s rankings have Big Red at No. 8.
Ursuline, sitting 4-2 and winners of its last three-straight, is No. 2 in the MaxPreps Division III rankings and No. 14 in the Martin RPI rankings.
The Irish, after falling at Columbus DeSales in Week 1 and to back-to-back state champion Bishop Watterson in Week 3, have rattled off wins over Youngstown East (27-9), Warren Harding (40-7) and Farrell (Pa.) 24-13, all on the road. They also defeated Lousiville back in Week 2.
Tonight’s game is just Ursuline’s second home game.
The Irish average 25.2 points per game and allow an average of 18.5. Their offense is led by sophomore Patrick Reardon, who has thrown for 519 yards, three touchdowns and and three picks. Senior Vinnie Fecko leads the rushing attack with 548 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 6.0 yards per carry and 109.2 yards per game. Junior Zalin Strother averages 5.3 yards per carry and has three scores and Ethan Sandusky, who has also thrown for a score, has ran for three and averages 5.7 yards per carry. Ray Javey, a senior, is the top receiving target, averaging 15.7 yards per catch with three scores on 19 grabs.
Ursuline averages 202.8 yards per game of their 324.6 of offense on the ground.
Fecko leads the Ursuline defense with 34 total tackles, four tackles for loss and three sacks.
“I think people underestimate what they have,” Saccoccia said of this year’s Irish. “They have a good nucleus of football players, they have a very good coaching staff, they have a couple of three-year players, and they’re just well-coached, and they love the game of football, and that’s how they play it.”
Big Red is led by junior tailback Colton Henderson, who has had a knack for the big play this year with multiple 60-plus yard touchdown runs and a long of 80. He has nine trips to the endzone overall with 720 yards, an average of 7.7 yards per carry and 120 yards per game. James Turner has found the endzone on seven of his 25 carries and Big Red as a team has used 15 different ball carriers and averages 212.5 yards per game on the ground.
Senior QB Santino Haney is completing 67 percent of his passes and has thrown for 766 yards and four TDs, while Q West leads the receiving group with 14 catches for 137 yards, Braidyn Edwards has 10 for 144 and a score and Stephen McShan has nine catches for 203 and two TDs, averaging more than 22 yards per catch.
On defense, Turner has four sacks and five TFLs, while Landon Crosier leads the team with 38 tackles, also having two sacks and three TFLs.
Big Red is scoring an average of 33 points per game and allowing 17.7.
Tonight will be there second trip to Stambaugh Stadium as they picked up a hard-fought win over Cardinal Mooney on the home field of the YSU Penguins in Week 4.
The opening kick tonight is set for 7 p.m.