Mahoning Valley football stars have role in upcoming Stateline game against Pennsylvania
CANFIELD — The Buckeyes are preparing for battle.
The Ohio all-star team is busy preparing for the 45th annual Ohio vs. Pennsylvania Stateline Football Classic slated at 7 p.m. June 20 at Geneva College’s Reeves Stadium in Beaver Falls, Pa.
The Buckeyes were weathering 85-degree heat during their practice session Thursday evening at South Range’s Rominger Stadium.
The 36-member Ohio squad includes players from Mahoning, Columbiana, and Jefferson counties. They will face opponents from Western Pennsylvania.
The Ohio head coach this season is South Range mentor Dave Rach, while West Branch head coach Tim Cooper is the offensive coordinator calling the plays. The Buckeyes will employ a version of Cooper’s Air Raid offense. Springfield head coach Sean Guerriero is also a member of the coaching staff,
“It’s exciting and kind of humbling because there are so many great coaches in the area in the Quad County Association,” said Rach of being selected as Ohio’s head coach.
Who is on the Ohio roster?
The Ohio roster includes the following players selected for the game:
Nick Love (West Branch), Tomas Andujar (Boardman), DeShawn Vaughn (Austintown Fitch), Ethan Mancuso (Leetonia), Dorian Burchett (East Liverpool), Ross Davidson (Salem), Willy Torres (Boardman), Andrew Ogilvie (United), Luke Henning (Western Reserve), Brayden Rauch (Steubenville Catholic Central), Sean Guerriero (Springfield), Logan Stouffer (Lisbon), Tyler Ialenti (Steubenville Catholic Central), Beau Alazaus (West Branch), Paul Mazar (Indian Creek), Luke Courtney (United), Cyle Burt (Salem), Jake O’Donnell (Springfield), Dylan Sheely (Springfield), Blake Ewert (South Range), Frank Shagnot (Southern Local), Kian Hartley (Columbiana), Trent Davis (East Liverpool), Kamron Aquisto (South Range), Gus Valentine (South Range), Lucas Datillo (Springfield), Nathan Fusillo (Western Reserve), Bryce Ebben (Columbiana), Hunter Dailey (Lisbon), Nick Rawson (Beaver Local), Dallas McCracken (United), Owen Bacon (Crestview), Hunter Robinson (Southern Local), Ryan Conti (Boardman), Cam Carr (South Range) and Shane Richardson (East Palestine).
Unlike most all-star games, the rivalry between Ohio and Pennsylvania adds to the spirited nature of the game.
“In the three years I’ve been involved with it as a coach and one more as a player, it’s always been a physical and competitive game,” observed Rach. “I think part of what makes it a unique game too is even though you’re talking about two different states, we’re so close to all of those schools. They do a good job, and at the end of the day, they’re all great kids and great players.”
What is the history of the series?
Pennsylvania won last year’s game 47-30 at Salem’s Sebo Stadium, but prior to that, Ohio had won four of the previous seven meetings. Pennsylvania leads the overall series, 29-14.
“We kind of owe them (the Keystoners) one after last year, you know, kind of taking it on the chin,” commented Rach.
Rach said the Buckeyes are being treated after every one of their practice sessions.
“We try to keep it light on the field, like we’re getting after it pretty good, but for the most part trying to keep it light — work hard but have fun doing it,” said. “We’ve been really fortunate and have gotten a lot of support from a lot of the different booster clubs and gridiron clubs within the association. They feed the kids every night, so it’s really nice, so after practice they get together and grab a meal and kind of joke around and pick on us coaches for a little while,” he closed.