Quarterback O’Neil Quits Piranhas to Focus on Youth Ministry Work

Danny O’Neil, former Mater Dei and Oregon quarterback, has left the Piranhas of the Arena Football League so he can spend more time as a youth pastor at Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa.

O’Neil, expected to be the team’s No. 3 quarterback behind Arena League veterans Scooter Molander and Troy Kopp, started last week’s 51-37 exhibition victory over the St. Louis Stampede. He completed six of 11 passes for 83 yards and one touchdown in a little more than a quarter of play and was named the game’s MVP.

“I have no problems with the Piranhas, no heard feelings toward anybody,” O’Neil said. “My reasons for leaving are not based on me not meeting certain standards I had set for myself or anything like that. I just felt I needed to be where my heart was, which is with my ministry.”