YOUNGSTOWN — It wasn’t clean, or pretty.

But in the end, it was exciting for Ursuline and excruciating for Chaney as the Irish made enough plays to pull off a 27-26 win over the Cowboys in a Steel Valley Conference matchup at Stambaugh Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

“I am so proud of these guys because it would’ve been easy to tap out there in the third or fourth quarter,” Ursuline coach Dan Reardon said. “Nothing was going our way, and we were down 26-14, and we lost two more starters today in addition to the three or four other starters who were injured earlier and weren’t playing. So for us to find a way to pull out our first victory is special and shows what type of heart these young men have.”

The Irish improved to 1-5 overall and 1-1 in the SVC, while Chaney fell to 3-3 overall and 0-2 in the league.

“We gave this one away and it hurts,” Chaney coach Chris Amill said. “Turnovers were the story of the game. We fumbled at our own 1-yard line and (Ursuline) scored a touchdown, and we threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown.

“We just shot ourselves in the foot way too many times with turnovers. You can’t do that and win.”

Chaney took a 26-14 lead early in the fourth quarter when Deron Gilbert turned a short pass from Delshawn Petrosky into a 60-yard touchdown, with a nice outside block by a fellow receiver and a nifty cutback move near the Irish 15.

Gilbert caught seven passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns. That was more yards than Ursuline accumulated the entire game (132). Petrosky was 16-for-28 for 264 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

However, the Irish used a 53-yard punt from Matt Reardon to pin Chaney down on its 1-yard line. Andrew Barkett recovered a Cowboys’ fumble in the end zone for a touchdown on the next play, and Taylor Tomlinson’s extra-point kick pulled Ursuline within 26-21 with 9:25 remaining.

The Cowboys gained a pair of first downs and again tried to throw a short flare in the flats to Gibson, but the ball was knocked down, and Ursuline grabbed it on a bounce and returned it for what likely would have been a touchdown, all the while referees were blowing whistles and calling the pass incomplete.

The officials huddled and it was determined the ball was thrown backward, making the ball a live fumble instead of an incomplete pass.

“Everyone was upset on that play,” coach Reardon said. “(Chaney) wanted it to be a pass and we were thinking it should’ve been a touchdown. But they were blowing the whistle and I think they made the right call in the end. I thought it was a lateral and an inadvertent whistle, which stops play after we recovered.”

Matt Reardon, who threw an interception in the third quarter after replacing injured quarterback Brady Shannon, made his biggest play of the day then. Facing a third-and-10 at Chaney’s 39, he connected with James Phillips down the left seam on a 34-yard pass play.

Trent Hill scored on a 2-yard run two plays later with 5:21 left. The Irish missed a two-point conversion pass but had a 27-26 lead.

Chaney had two more possessions and both ended with interceptions. The first pick was by Hill and the second was by Demarcus McElroy.

“We worked hard all week on turnovers,” said Ursuline senior linebacker Matt Phillips, who made six tackles, including one for a loss, and forced two fumbles. “That was our focus, forcing more turnovers. On offense, it was limiting our turnovers.

“It worked out well today. I thought Trent Hill, Andrew Barkett, Matt Reardon and Demarcus McElroy all stepped up and made big plays today. We’re excited. Now it’s time to go win four more.”