1983

1st in Division II Region 7

5th ranked AP Poll

 

 

BR	1983 Saccoccia	OPP
26	Kiski Area Pa.	20
21	Cleveland John F. Kennedy	0
18	East Liverpool	0
28	Dover	14
34	Columbus Marion Franklin	6
23	@ Cambridge	12
26	Wintersville	6
16	@ Bellaire	14
33	Youngstown East	13
14	Steubenville Catholic Central	10
0	Youngstown Ursuline	13
239	10-1-0	108

Regional Final, Friday November 11th, 1983, Big Red (10-0) vs. Youngstown Ursulilne Irish (9-1) at Death Valley.

Ursuline was moving the ball on the ground. Big Red was moving the ball through the air. Unfortunately for the hometown fans at Harding Stadium, the weather was more conducive to running. And Youngstown Ursuline ran the football for 304 yards against a stubborn Big Red defense and picked up a 13-0 victory.

The fighting Irish advance to the next round of the Ohio playoffs with a 10-1 record. The loss marked the 3rd straight first round playoff defeat for Steubenville, with the team failing to get into the endzone in all three. But this offense performance is not justified by the final score. Tor Hill's performance definitely is not illustrated by the final numbers. Hill threw the football 32 times, completing 19 for 232 yards. Those statistics are made more impressive when one considers the weather conditions. The wind was blowing wickedly and snow was swirling throughout the evening. The field, covered by a tarpaulin before the game, deteriorated quickly as the snow continued to fall. The evening ended with Big Red pounding away at the Fighting Irish goal line. From the 1-yard line, Hill was dragged down for a 3-yard loss as time expired. That play merely illustrated the frustration Steubenville felt all evening. While Hill was throwing the ball all over the field, Ursuline running back Robert Nall and Jim G'Bur were carrying it all over the gridiron. Both seniors rushed for over 100 yards in the game and the pair combined for 200 yards in the first half alone. G'Bur carried 20 times for 135 yards in the game, picking up chunks of yardage inside. Nall carried 20 times for 127 markers, posing the constant threat of breaking one the distance. He did exactly that for the first Ursuline points of the night. Following a Tor Hill put midway through the 2nd period, Ursuline started at it own 33-yard line. Nall took a pitch on 1st down and headed toward the left sideline. The tailback then cut back inside and used his 4.3 speed to outrace the 3 Big Red defensive backs to the endzone. The 67-yard burst put the Irish on the board and Jeff Palombaro booted the extra point. The only other score of the game came late in the first half and turned the tide on an otherwise tight game. With less than 2 minutes to play in the first half, Big Red was driving toward the Ursuline goal line. Hill completed 4 key passes in a 74-yard drive, hitting Randy Birden for 14, 15, and 17 yards and Dave "Inch" Clark for 16 more. The drive stalled on the Irish 15-yard line, and on 4th down, Mike Mayo took a lateral from Hill and was hit for a 2-yard loss. Still, just 1:38 remained before intermission. But then it was G'Bur who pulled the play of the night. Previously satisfied with chunks of 4 or 5 yards on each carry, he punctured the Big Red line on a 3rd and short and rambled 58 yards to the Big Red 14. Three plays later, Nall went in from the 6-yard line and the Irish had the 13-0 advantage.

The halftime deficit foiled a big start for Hill. He had thrown for 106 yards, but Nall had rushed for 106 and G'Bur for 95 more. Both were relatively contained in the final two quarters as Big Red tried to get points on the board. On the first possession, Hill led Big Red across midfield, but an interception by Richard Williott foiled that attempt. Ursuline was forced to punt and again Big Red crossed midfield. This time an interception by Jim Florig killed the drive at the Irish 40-yard line. As the period neared its end, the Irish threatned to put the game away. Led by the running of G'Bur, Ursuline crept to the Big Red 12 before stalling on downs. Deep in its own territory, however, Hill was intercepted early in the 4th quarter for his 3rd of the half. Robert Poghen came down with the ball at Big Red's 31. Again, Big Red held on down at its own 11-yard line. Hill could not get the passing game moving again until just 2:20 remained in the game. Driving from its own 14, Steubenville drove the 1-yard line of Ursuline. Clark caught a 19-yard pass and Julius "Juke" Shackleford hauled in a 23-yarder to highlight the drive. But the game ended on Hill's sweep and the subsequent loss of yardage. Big Red's defense improved considerably throughout the evening. Ursuline took the opening kickoff and ran off 15 plays, eating up 8:07 on the clock and getting to the Big Red 22. Nall fumbled and Remo Stirpe recovered to end the threat. Only the 2 big runs set up the Ursuline scores. But on the night, they were enough. Mayo led Big Red's rushing with 10 carries for 41 yards. Clark caught 7 passes for 80 yards, Shackleford 3 for 61 yards, and Birden 4 for 58. The Big Red loss was a tough one to a tough high school team. The Big Red season was a very good one. And belonged to a tough high school team.

 

 

1983~
Michael Beal end
Randy Birden end
Ben Boykin rb
Dave Clark wr
Richard Crossley g
Doug Dalbenzio fb
Steve Gregory t
Tor Hill qb
Jay Kausky fb
Fred Kosanovic t
Dave Madison s
Frank Marker t
Mike Mayo rb
Jim Mitchell rb
Brian Morrow g
Shawn Needham end
John Prayso g
Rob Shelley end
Derek Smith rb
Remo Stripe end
Ron Taglione c
Tim Villias qb
Paul Wallace end
Eric Williams fb
Kurt Achammer g
Bob Andreen t
Jim Barren end
Chris Blackburn rb
Ron Brown rb
Mike Corsi k
Melvin Creech end
Albert Dawson te
Frank Doyle fb
Keith Evans g
Anthony Jackson rb
Charles Keenan t
Todd Kelly rb
Dave Kromalic te
Charles Lytle te
Royal Mayo qb
Terry Minto end
Matt Morrison te
John Murray wr
John Sandonas t
Mark Tomeucci c
Fred Wise wr
Ed Acconey t
Mike Anderson c
Joe Biasi wr
Mike Cole t
John Downard g
Tom Doyle end
Ted Gorman c
Charles Haire lb
Ed Jackson wr
Joe Johnson lb
Joe Jones lb
Greg Mamula g
Nick Mamula te
Marcus McGhee tb
Jerome Moore te
George Morates g
Steve Nodianos qb
Matt Prayso g
Sheldon Purdy g
Brian Search g
Julius Shackleford wr
Ed Smith t
John Sposito end
Jim Stracken g
Mickey Travick t
Myron Walker end
Dan Wise db
Brian Young lb