PREP FOOTBALL Mooney prepares for test from Benedictine runner

Senior Raymond Williams has rushed for 1,358 yards and 19 TDs.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
Two powerful forces will collide Friday night when the Cardinal Mooney High football team plays Cleveland Benedictine.
The match-up between Benedictine running back Raymond Williams and the Cardinals' stubborn defense will have a direct impact on the outcome at Bedford's Bearcat Stadium.
"This will probably be our biggest challenge," admitted Mooney's third-year defensive coordinator Ron Stoops.
The Cardinals haven't allowed a 100-yard rusher all season. All Williams does is run for 100 -- and then some. He had 229 yards and two touchdowns last week in Benedictine's 34-0 victory over Walsh Jesuit.
Preparation
"We just have to make sure we account for every seam and every gap," Stoops said. "We have to make sure we have more men at the point of attack than they can block.
"Our guys are physically capable of doing that," he added. "Mentally, we just have to adjust to their formations and get people where they belong."
What makes Williams so unique, Stoops said, is the player's ability to avoid tackles.
"He's got great acceleration and vision," Stoops said. "He starts and stops as good as anybody, and he can take it the distance on any play."
Williams, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior tailback and safety, was runner-up for Ohio's Mr. Football Award last season and is making a strong case to win it this time.
He has rushed for 1,358 yards on 155 carries and 19 touchdowns for Benedictine, the top-ranked team in Division III.
"We have to make them earn the field, both running and passing," Stoops said. "If we can avoid the real long [play], we'll be in good shape."
Mooney standouts
The Cardinals' defense is allowing 6.3 points and fewer than five first downs per game, and only Austintown Fitch's Miles Williams has scored a rushing touchdown against them.
"We're basically a five-man front," Stoops said. "We concentrate on stopping the run first and putting people in passing situations, and we like the zone blitz."
Senior linebackers Bob McCabe and Anthony Childs and senior safeties Frank Cassese and Ron Stoops will shoulder the responsibility of stopping Williams and the Bengals.
Mooney also has gotten strong play from seniors Jeff Mitchell (LB), Brad Handel (CB), David Zidian (DE) and Christiaen Lively (NG).
"This team reminds me of some of the old Mooney teams, in terms of confidence," said Coach Stoops, a 1975 Mooney graduate.
"They just have a little bit more self-assuredness," he added, "and a lot of times that's the key ingredient."
richesson@vindy.com