Harding outlasts Mooney, 21-19

Mario Manningham caught two touchdown passes for the Raiders.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- A touch of special teams and a blast of Mario Manningham was exactly what the Warren Harding High football team needed.
Joe Phinisee returned a blocked field goal 69 yards for a touchdown, and Manningham caught two scoring passes, as the Raiders rallied to beat Cardinal Mooney 21-19 Saturday night at Stambaugh Stadium.
Cardinals flying high
Mooney (3-1) had taken control of the Steel Valley Conference opener with a 13-0 lead until Phinisee scooped up a field goal attempt, blocked by Ben Elser, and raced to the end zone to close the first half.
"We knew that a 13-point lead wasn't going to be big enough," Mooney coach P.J. Fecko said. "I don't know if any lead against Warren Harding is big enough."
Phinisee's run-back put Harding ahead 14-13 at halftime and helped to erase a sluggish first half for the nationally-ranked Raiders (4-0).
"That was huge, not only in terms of changing the score but also changing momentum," Harding coach Thom McDaniels said.
"But I would expect good teams to use that to inspire better play in the second half," he added. "I'm not sure that happened."
Manningham, a junior receiver known to make big plays, caught touchdown passes from quarterback Alex Engram covering 5 and 50 yards.
The latter scoring reception came with 4 minutes, 29 seconds remaining in the third quarter to give the Raiders some breathing room, which they needed in the heart-pounding closing seconds.
Still believing
Mooney quarterback Ron Stoops was great late. His 18-yard touchdown pass to Jim Berry with 1:27 remaining brought the Cardinals to within 21-19.
"Our guys hung in there and didn't get nervous when they were down," Fecko said. "They believed in themselves."
But Harding's Jonte' Stroud came up big, batting Stoops' pass away on the two-point conversion attempt, and then recovering Mooney's onside kick.
"We're not playing consistently well," McDaniels said. "We have a good play and then we have a bad play. We're struggling to be a consistent football team. We haven't figured out how to do that."
Big-play half
The first half was highlighted by two special teams plays that tossed momentum back and forth.
With Mooney in position for a 41-yard field goal, the Raiders surged forward to block Dustin Hinkle's kick. Phinisee grabbed the loose ball and raced 69 yards for a touchdown as time expired, giving Harding a 14-13 lead.
Earlier in the half, Harding's first road game wasn't going as planned.
Showing no fear, the Cardinals established themselves to take their 13-0 lead, and it was culminated by another special teams play, with Harding punting at its own 28.
Mooney's Jeff Mitchell took advantage of a low snap and blocked the punt of Isaac Chaney. David Zidian recovered at the Raiders' 1-yard line, from where Eric Mariotti scored.
Mooney gambled on its next possession and paid the price. Mariotti was stuffed by the Raiders on fourth-and-1 at the Cardinals' 44.
On the board
Feeding off the momentum generated by the defense, Harding used 11 plays to produce its first points, with Manningham catching a 5-yard touchdown pass from Engram. That cut the Raiders' deficit to 13-7.
Mooney scored on its first possession of the game. The Cardinals drove 60 yards on nine plays as Stoops snuck in from the 1.
It was Mooney's first points against Harding since the 2000 season. The Raiders had won the past two meetings between the teams by a combined score of 75-0.
richesson@vindy.com