For three quarters, the Aurora Greenmen football team clawed their way to a slim lead against the top seeded Youngstown Ursuline. But the Greenmen went scoreless in the final period and surrendered three touchdowns to lose 29-10 in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division III Region 9 semifinal last Friday evening at North Canton Hoover High School’s Don Hertler Sr. Memorial Stadium.
“I am really proud of our kids and I do not think anybody in the State of Ohio gave us a chance,” said Coach Bob Mihalik. “Our defense just had a tremendous night, stopped them inside our 10-yard line three times without scoring a single point. Unfortunately, that is where their athletes took over. They have a couple of Division I college guys and we were able to keep them under wraps for most of the game, but their talent took over in the fourth quarter.”
After trading the leads in the third period, the Fighting Irish seized control when senior quarterback DC Ferrell hit junior wide receiver Devonte Taylor for a 50-yard touchdown strike, pushing Youngstown Ursuline ahead 15-10 after failing to convert a two-point conversion.
The Greenmen (11-2, 7-1) could not offer a response on offense and fell into a deeper hole when senior tailback Joe Balog erupted for a 31-yard touchdown run, extending Youngstown Ursuline’s lead to 22-10. The Fighting Irish delivered the final dagger when the 5-foot-9 Ferrell scored on a 55-yard punt return, stretching the lead to 29-10.
Although the teams recorded about the same number of total offensive yards in the game, the Fighting Irish executed more explosive plays than Aurora, resulting in the Greenmen being ousted in the regional semifinal for the second straight year.
According to the 24-year coach, Youngstown Ursuline lived up to its billing as a top defense, having surrendered no more than 10 points for the 12th consecutive week after surrendering 10 points in its week one game.
“They played well,” he acknowledged. “When you are in the regional semifinals, as we told the kids, there are only 15% of teams in Ohio playing. When you are playing this late in the season and in the playoffs you are going to play quality opponents and they certainly were.”
Despite the loss, the Greenmen refused to let Youngstown Ursuline impose its will and stayed in striking distance throughout the first three quarters before eventually taking a 10-9 advantage in the third period on a 35-yard field goal by senior kicker Colin Dockman.
The Fighting Irish had several possession where it drove the ball inside the Aurora 20, but the Greenmen’s defense stood tall and forced a pair of turnovers on downs in the first half.
As Youngstown Ursuline threatened again at the start of the third quarter, the Greenmen made another defensive stand as sophomore slot back/defensive back Luke McGovern snagged an interception in the end zone.
“We battled adversity from week eight on when these injuries started,” Mihalik noted. “Our senior leadership has been off of the charts during this time and when you have kids who are leading the right way, you have a chance in every football game.
Aurora turned that turnover into its first touchdown of the game when senior quarterback/linebacker Ryan Dwyer delivered a 5-yard touchdown strike to senior slotback/defensive back Ben Lukasik, pushing the Greenmen ahead 7-6.
Aurora needed one more quarter of strong defense to upset the Fighting Irish but Youngstown Uruline unleashed an offensive flurry that was too much for the Greenmen to overcome.
In spite of Aurora’s season ending, Mihalik gave kudos to the senior class, which recorded a 22-4 record in their final two years, and anchored a pair of memorable playoff runs.
He said that this year’s playoff run was more special because Aurora overcame several key injuries beginning in week eight to still advance to the regional semifinal.
“We lost a league championship game in week 10 and lost guys to injuries, but the guys could have very easily cashed it in at that point but fought hard and won two playoff games and then was very close to winning a third so overall it was a very gratifying season,” he said.
In addition to another memorable season, Aurora achieved a significant milestone by recording the program’s 600th career victory, making it the third football team in Portage County history to do so.
“It speaks well not only for this era of Aurora football to do that but over the last 100 years of Aurora football and all of the guys have played and all of the coaches,” Mihalik said.
