Steubenville, like Massillon, has a fervor for football

May 25, 2007 14:12:18

By ERIN PUSTAY Erin.Pustay@IndeOnline.com Heaven shines on Big Red Football. Even on cold, dark, rainy days the clouds part and warm sun shines through when Steubenville High football takes center stage. There aren’t many constants anymore for Steubenville, a small steel town that sits along the banks of the Ohio River. It has been hit hard by the changing economic tides. As steel mills close, families search for new forms of income and the population shifts as residents move to more prosperous areas on the eastern side of the mighty Ohio River. “This is all we have here in Steubenville,” resident Sally Wilson said holding tight to “Roll Red Roll” spirit sign. “A lot of people are out of work. Our steel mills have gone down and our steel industry has gone down, but we will always have (Big Red) football.” In this town, everyone is a football fan. Their heroes are the boys that wear the red and black jerseys and play for school pride under stadiums lights on Friday autumn nights. “It’s all about pride,” Steubenville High School senior Carrie Wilt said. “You grow up as a football fan and pride is what we are taught when we are little.” That’s the way it works in this town, Steubenville High principal Shawn Crosier said. Children grow up with footballs cradled in their arms and Harding Field dreams dancing in their heads. “It starts with elementary school football,” Crosier said. “These kids go to the football games and they can’t wait to put on the red and black jerseys.” Before he helped bring home a state championship last year, Kim Riley’s son Diontae Culbreath was just a little kid with some of those dreams. She smiles and laughs when she remembers how much he wanted to play football for Steubenville High. “Ever since he was in the fourth grade,” Riley said, “he wanted to play football.” George Harper knows that feeling well. He knows what it means to wear the Big Red jersey and build the tradition that makes Harding Field the beloved high school venue it is today. “In some ways, I still feel connected,” Harper said, noting that head coach Reno Saccoccia was an assistant when he played in 1982. But it is the brick bearing his name that gives him the greatest sense of pride. According to Harper, the name of every Steubenville football player is inscribed on a brick at Harding Stadium. It’s a reminder that each of those players helped to build the football tradition. That is something you don’t forget. “I live in Las Vegas and I came all the way back here just for this football game,” Harper said. “I wanted my son to see what Big Red is all about, what small town life is all about.” Just as traditions circle the football team, they also envelop the pep rallies. At every one, you can be certain that high school staff will read a original poem and sing a country song. The band will play and a wave of people will sway, arms around each other’s shoulders, as they sing the alma mater. But it is the student-led, originally-written rap song that brings a jolt of energy to the crowd. “Meet us at states, its going down,” hundreds of students rapped in unison, bopping their heads and holding spirit signs high. “Either way, the other team is going down.” This afternoon, Big Red will take the field at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium to take a crack at making that rap a reality for Steubenville fans. With a four-year undefeated regular season record intact and a 30-game win streak on the line, the team hopes to take home its second Division III state championship in as many years. “We’re going to win this game,” Riley said. “I am excited about this and the town is excited about it.”