CHERRY TWP — Vince Papley just won’t give up.

After a standout high school football career at Slippery Rock, Papley went to Thiel College.

He played in just one game as a freshman.

Papley transferred to Slippery Rock University and tried to walk on to the football team there. He made it through the spring game, but was cut.

He thought his football career was over.

Then the Butler County Bears came along.

“I had been toying with the idea of trying to play for the Bears,” Papley said. “I ran with some of the guys on the SRU football team. I was keeping up with them. I still had the mentality. I was working out still. I felt like I still had the ability.”

So he joined the semi-pro football team that plays its home games now at Moniteau High School. It was a perfect place for him to resurrect his football career.

“It’s been a great feeling to be back on the field again,” he said.

And the 24-year-old has made an impact for Butler — at an unlikely position.

When owner, head coach and defensive coordinator Kirk Bergbigler told Papley he wanted to use him at cornerback, Papley was stunned.

“It was a little bit of a shock,” Papley said. “Then I though, ‘OK. Why not?’”

Papley, 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds, is lighter and more agile than he was at Slippery Rock and Thiel.

That was the first thing that caught Bergbigler’s eye.

“He came to one of our indoor practices over the winter and he was bouncing around from the defensive side to the offensive side,” Bergbigler said. “Just his athleticism and his attitude impressed me. His attitude meshed with the guys we had on defense and he could cover guys.”

The problem was he had never played corner before — ever.

That didn’t stop Papley, though.

He studied tape of other cornerbacks, from high school, college and even the pros. He spent hours watching videos of Aliquippa High School graduate and current corner for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Darrelle Revis, on YouTube.

“I tried to imitate him as much as I could, the way he backpedals and turns his hips,” Papley said. “Playing corner is all about reaction and confidence. God gave me the confidence.”

Papley has acclimated quite well to his new position.

In a 48-12 win over the Pittsburgh Blue Devils in the second game of the season, Papley intercepted a pass and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown.

It was the first time Papley had ever scored a touchdown on defense in his football career.

He leads the team with two interceptions this season.

“It’s nice to produce for the team,” Papley said. “Kirk is a really good coach, a really good defensive mind. He puts us in the right position to make plays.”

Papley has put the work in. He feels like he owes it to more than himself.

It cost Papley $350 to play for the Bears and he raised it through donations from friends and local businesses in Slippery Rock.

“I go to practice every day,” Papley said. “I go to every team event. I was in the Butler parade and I was there for the youth clinic the Bears put on. People are showing faith in me by giving me money to play. I owe it to them to leave it all out there.”

Bergbigler said that is one of Papley’s best traits: his willingness to do anything to help the team.

“Semi-pro is one of the hardest levels to coach at,” Bergbigler said. “Players have work, family, school. It’s hard to practice. But Vinnie always gets on the guys, telling them they know what they signed up for, to rearrange their schedules. He doesn’t miss anything.”