by Frank Aceto
Associate Sports Editor
During his sophomore year on a cool September night, offensive lineman Jon Cipa could be seen with a frown on his face.
His team was playing out the string during a convincing 38-20 loss to Barberton and Cipa was not pleased.
“If you talk to anyone on the team, that was a miserable year,” he said. “All of us hated losing.”
As he sat on the bench, Cipa had a little conversation with then junior teammate Steve McAninch.
“I told him, ‘This is never going to happen again,’” Cipa said.
Let’s just say Cipa kept his promise.
After a 2-8 season in 2009, Cipa led the Blue Devils to a pair of Suburban League titles. Tallmadge also reached the second round of the playoffs in 2010 and 2011.
As a result of this successful two-year run, Cipa plans to play football for at least four more years.
Cipa signed a letter of intent to continue his academic and football careers at Ashland University. The 6-foot-5, 302-pound lineman also considered Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh and the University of Akron. He plans to major in sports management with a minor in finance. He has a 3.4 grade-point average.
“Ashland was the first school to really come after me,” Cipa said. “I felt really comfortable and I really liked the coaching staff.”
For most high school students, the process of choosing a college can be a thrilling experience. It also can be very stressful.
“It all started when I made my first visit to Ball State (Ind.) at the beginning of my junior year,” Cipa said. “I had a lot of visits. I think I went to 10 different camps and was gone every other day. It really got stressful. It was a long, exhausting process.”
Cipa joins a team that may be on the verge of a breakthrough season.
The Eagles, who play in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, finished 6-5 in 2011. They finished the season with two losses by a combined six points.
“Ashland had players who started as freshmen,” Cipa said. “They have a lot of starters coming back. It’s a really good program with some awesome coaches.”
Cipa should blend right in.
The standout left tackle earned third-team All-Ohio honors and was named the team’s Most Valuable offensive player as a senior. Cipa had 34 pancake blocks and graded out at 94 percent.
“Jon was huge for us,” Tallmadge head football coach Joe Vassalotti said. “He could play center or guard. I know no one is going to work harder than Jon. He set an example in the weight room and we valued his input.”
Opposing defensive linemen didn’t need a GPS to locate Cipa. For those who followed the game in the stands, however, Cipa might not have been noticed as much as his playmaking teammates.
That was just fine with Cipa.
“We love it,” he said. “Even though people don’t read about us in the papers, we know we’re doing our job when [tailback] Tyrin [Williams] and [quarterback] Anthony [Gotto] are getting their yards. We don’t get a lot of stats. We’re just concerned with how many points we put up.”
Linemen tend to be a quarterback or running back’s best friend when things are going well. As for Cipa, his best friends stood right beside him in front of the quarterback.
“Our line is the tightest-knit group I’ve ever been a part of,” Cipa said. “All five of us are best friends. We have dinner ever Wednesday and we pretty much know what the other is thinking.”
Cipa can certainly flash a smile with the best of them. But don’t let his joyful personality fool you. He can be quite nasty when he needs to be.
“Jon’s personality is tremendous,” Vassalotti said. “He’s always upbeat and has a positive attitude. We wondered if his congenial personality would carry over to the field too much. But he developed a mean streak.”
As the phrase goes, there is no offseason. Cipa certainly agrees. He has spent a number of days working out with former Tallmadge star quarterback Allen Price at 5 a.m. to prepare for next season.
“I plan to come in and compete,” Cipa said. “Of course, it’s a big adjustment from going against 17- and 18-year-old kids to 21- and 22-year-old men.”
Email: faceto@recordpub.com
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