Austintown Fitch, St. Vincent-St. Mary cancel football games vs. Ursuline
Two more varsity football opponents have canceled games against Ursuline High School following the filing of two separate federal lawsuits against the school, administrators, football players, their parents, coaches and the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown.
A day after the Warren City School District announced that Warren G. Harding would not be playing Ursuline in the latter’s next scheduled game, Austintown Fitch and St. Vincent-St. Mary each announced the cancellations of their respective games against Ursuline. The Akron Beacon Journal reported SVSM’s cancellation.
Fitch was to host Ursuline in Austintown on Sept. 26, while SVSM was scheduled to host Ursuline in Akron on Oct. 3.
Ursuline, which had a previously scheduled bye this week, opened the 2025 season on Aug. 22 with a 37-7 road win against Steubenville. The following week, the Irish defeated Bishop Hartley 34-7.
On Sept. 2, three days before its Week 3 game against Farrell (Pa.), a civil rights lawsuit was filed in federal court against the school and numerous others, including 11 football players and their parents, as well as head football coach Dan Reardon and two assistant coaches, alleging several football players engaged in “hazing, physical and sexual abuse, kidnapping, production and dissemination of child pornography, and theft” during a summer trip and that the school’s administrators and coaching staff covered up the incident.
Ursuline officially canceled its game against Farrell on Sept. 4.
Ursuline announced Sept. 8 that Reardon had “agreed to an indeterminate suspension” and that the two assistants named in the lawsuit, Timothy McGlynn and Christian Syrianoudis, had been placed on administrative leave.
A second lawsuit was filed Wednesday alleging an Ursuline football player “violently assaulted, sexually harassed, stalked and menaced” a female student and that the school’s administrators retaliated against the alleged victim and did not punish the player who allegedly assaulted her.
Ursuline is currently scheduled to play Walsh Jesuit at Stambaugh Stadium on Oct. 10. The Irish also have a home game vs. Chaney on Oct. 17. Their regular-season finale vs. rival Cardinal Mooney is slated for Oct. 24 at Stambaugh Stadium.