Students, teachers and alumni pep up Mooney for title game

The tradition-rich Cardinal Mooney football program goes for another championship today.
YOUNGSTOWN -- For Cardinal Mooney High School senior Tom Hutch, today's championship game will mark a beginning, not an ending.
"It's a lifetime opportunity. This is a time we will remember for the rest of our lives," Hutch said, referring to the Division IV state championship football game between Mooney (11-2) and Versailles (11-3).
"Friendships [with other players] contribute to the significance of how big this game is," he said.
Hutch, also a student council member, admitted being somewhat superstitious. He said he plans to continue to follow his school's ritual of wearing the same outfit to each game, with the idea of bringing another victory to the players.
Kickoff for the Mooney-Versailles game is set for 3 p.m. today at Fawcett Stadium in Canton.
Pep rally
As a gesture of support, Mooney students and faculty attended an afternoon pep rally Thursday in the gym.
A caravan of police and fire department vehicles will escort the team this morning from the school to Canton.
For senior Kacie Kubik, the game means more than who wins and who loses; it's an opportunity for "the whole student body [to come] together for a common cause."
Kubik, also a student council member, has helped plan rallies and paint signs, among other duties.
Teresa Yarger, an 11th- and 12th-grade theology teacher and student council adviser, said the school has held 11 rallies this year for the team, including those for playoff games.
Yarger added that she and the students are taking a low-key approach toward handling the pressure and preparations for today's game by treating it as any other contest.
"We've tried to make everything the same so as not to distract the players. We'll celebrate after," Yarger said.
She also praised the school's cheerleaders and others on the sidelines for displaying the same high level of school spirit all season, whether the team is winning or losing.
Coming together
Paul Gregory, Mooney's alumni director, predicted that the game will bring together teachers, students and parents as well as former Mooney graduates. The school also has brought in former students, broadcasters and other prominent figures to speak to students.
Dean Ciccoreti, who played fullback on Mooney's 1987 team, was to give a motivational talk before today's game, Gregory said.
"The alumni is very much a part of the school," Gregory said. "Students' ties to the school remain strong even after they graduate."
Gregory added that some former Mooney students who played during the 1973 season -- even those who have to travel hundreds of miles -- plan to attend.
That year, Mooney won the state AAA championship, and this year is the school's sixth trip to the state championship game. Other Mooney accomplishments include winning the Division II state title in 1980 and 1982 and being the Division III champ in 1987. The Cardinals reached the Division IV state semifinals in 1999.