STEEL VALLEY CONFERENCE Mooney rallies to spill Ursuline, 24-21

The Cardinals overcame a 14-point deficit to conquer their arch-rivals.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Things are back to normal within the Cardinal Mooney High football program. All it took was a huge win against its biggest rival.
One week after their shutout loss to Cleveland Benedictine, the Cardinals returned home to mend their season. In the process, they may have ruined Ursuline's.
Mooney rallied from 14 points down to stop the Irish 24-21 in a Steel Valley Conference game Friday at Stambaugh Stadium.
"We suffered a tough loss last week," Mooney coach P.J. Fecko said. "So we not only had to get physically prepared for Ursuline, but mentally. They offered us a huge challenge."
Cardinal cushion
Running back Frank Cassese clinched Mooney's victory with a 13-yard touchdown run with 4 minutes, 50 seconds remaining that put the Cardinals ahead 24-14.
"I've never had a better feeling than this," said Cassese, who also had a 3-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. "Especially with this group of guys that I love so much."
Cassese's second touchdown provided enough cushion to guard against Ursuline quarterback Daryll Clark, who scored on a 2-yard run with 36 seconds left. But the Irish's onside kick went out of bounds, and Mooney ran out the clock.
"We had some key injuries throughout the night that hurt us bad," said Ursuline coach Dan Murphy, citing Dom Cutrone, Joe Underwood and Juan Vega. "It was a tough loss for our kids."
Clark, however, did everything he could to help the Irish (4-5, 0-2), especially early. His big-play ability led to two quick touchdowns and a 14-0 lead.
"When you go 14 points down to a team like Ursuline, you're flirting with danger," Fecko said.
Talented quarterback
Clark's 53-yard first-quarter sprint set up Alex Allen's 5-yard touchdown run. The heavily-recruited quarterback topped that play in the second quarter by hitting a streaking Derrick Stewart for a 64-yard touchdown strike.
Clark and Stewart were in synch all game. Stewart totaled seven catches for 163 yards, while Clark completed 14-of-23 passes for 221 yards.
But Mooney wasn't finished.
"I knew we were going to pull through when we were down," Cassese said. "There was never any doubt."
For that, the Cardinals can thank kicker Dustin Hinkle and their special teams unit, which sprinted onto the field with the clock running down and executed a 26-yard field goal as the first half expired.
"The momentum we captured at the end of the half was big," Fecko said.
Mooney went into the locker room only trailing 14-10, but, more importantly, the Cardinals had hope.
"Everyone couldn't have been more excited," Cassese said. "We got [the field goal] off with about six seconds left. That was really unbelievable by our field goal unit.
"But we knew we had another half of football to play."
So did Mooney's defense, which put the team in position to overtake the Irish.
Feeling the pressure
With just over a minute remaining in the third quarter, Mooney linebacker Jim Berry chased down Clark and forced him to fumble. The Cardinals recovered at Ursuline's 19-yard line.
Three plays later, quarterback Ron Stoops extended the ball over the goal line for the touchdown that put Mooney ahead 17-14.
The Cardinals (7-2, 1-1), who finish the regular season next week against Boardman, never trailed again.
"It's going to be hard to beat us," Cassese said, "because we just won't let you."
Mooney is rated the seventh best Division IV team in this week's Associated Press state poll and the number four team in the Region 13 computer ratings.
richesson@vindy.com