The Villa Angela-St. Joseph football team stood toe-to-toe with one of the best Division III teams in Ohio on Oct. 11. But when you’re one of the best D-III teams in the state, too — well — you’re not satisfied with only standing toe-to-toe. Joe Balog scored on a three-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter, and Ursuline got a late stop to give the Fighting Irish a 24-17 win over VASJ in a battle of state-ranked D-III teams at Gutbrod Stadium. Ursuline (7-1) entered the game as the fourth-ranked D-III team in Ohio per the Associated Press poll, while VASJ (5-2) came in No. 10. “Listen,” VASJ coach Jeff Rotsky said. “Right now our team — and we have a very good football team — has to learn to close. We have to learn to finish. Period. When we’ve got somebody down, we’ve got to step on them.” VASJ took a 17-14 lead with 11 seconds in the third quarter when Paul Kilroy hit a 32-yard field goal. The way the VASJ defense was playing at that point, one got the idea the three-point lead would hold up. But Ursuline answered, drove down the field and kicked a 35-yard field goal of its own to tie things at 17-17. On its next drive, VASJ got a long pass from Johnny Vuraich to Savion Lewis to put the Vikings inside the Ursuline 10. But an offensive pass interference call backed the Vikings up and they missed a 34-yard field goal. VASJ looked like it was in good shape when it had Ursuline fourth-and-8 from the Vikings’ 28 with 3:54 left, but Irish quarterback D.C. Ferrell scrambled and found Balog for a 20-yard gain. That set up Balog’s go-ahead score. “D.C. has a great ability to keep plays alive,” Ursuline coach Dan Reardon said. “He found a way to make a play and Joe Balog did the rest and got the first down.” VASJ had two possessions in the final three minutes, but couldn’t get to the end zone. On the final play, Vuraich was stripped while scrambling and offensive lineman Robert Smith picked it up and got yardage, but time ran out before the Vikings could run another play. “If we take care of the damn ball, this is no doubt a different outcome here,” Rotsky said. VASJ had a 7-0 lead going into the locker room at halftime. But a snap that sailed over punter Hank Gonakis’ head gave Ursuline the ball on the VASJ 10 in the third quarter, which led to Balog’s first touchdown run of the night. On VASJ’s next possession, an interception gave Ursuline the ball at midfield, setting up another Balog score. Said Reardon of the turnovers his team converted to points, “Obviously that’s big. That was the difference in the game.” VASJ answered with a 47-yard touchdown pass from Vuraich to Christian Chase to even the score at 14-14 in the third. Then came the Vikings’ go-ahead field goal late in the third. From there, Ursuline had the answers while VASJ didn’t. Said Reardon of the big road win, “Give VASJ a ton of credit. They’re a very good football team. Coach Rotsky does an unbelievable job everywhere he’s gone. All he does is win football games. We beat a very good football team tonight. I’m very proud of our kids’ effort.” Rotsky felt his team let one slip away against another good football team. “I’m frustrated because I knew we had this team 7-0 and we got the ball coming out (in the third quarter),” Rotsky said. “They go up 14-7, then we take the lead. That’s character there. But then we gave it back. We CAN’T do that.” Rotsky said his defense played it’s best game “by far” of the season, limiting Ferrell for the most part. “We held that kid in check running the ball,” Rotsky said. “That kid is excellent. That kid has lit up EVERYBODY.” T.J. Moore topped 100 yards rushing for the Vikings, who are without Ohio State recruit Bo Jackson, who will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. But Rotsky lamented penalties, turnovers and missed opportunity. “Ultimately it’s on me,” he said. “If we’re not closing, if we’re jumping offsides, it’s my fault. I’m the guy at the helm. I’m damn well telling you, I’m going to fix it.” VASJ hosts Akron SVSM in Week 9, while Ursuline travels to Youngstown Chaney. THE SCORE Ursuline 24, VASJ 17