STAMBAUGH STADIUM Mooney edges Bishop Watterson

Kyle McCarthy led the Cardinals to a 14-10 victory.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- Kyle McCarthy rushed for 87 yards, had an interception and threw the game-winning touchdown pass, as the Cardinal Mooney High football team turned back Columbus Bishop Watterson 14-10 Friday at Stambaugh Stadium.
The Cardinals finished the regular season 7-2, assuring themselves of a playoff spot in Division IV, Region 13 while hoping to be selected as a first-round host.
Watterson (8-2) watched its four-game winning streak end, having already clinched a first-round home playoff game.
Defense helps early
"Our defense gave us some excellent field position early in the game and our offense capitalized on those opportunities," Mooney coach P.J. Fecko said.
"Bishop Watterson is an excellent team, a team known throughout the state for its football program and we knew heading into the game that every inch, every point would be critical for us," Fecko added. "To get up early was a big advantage for us."
Nate Burney, the Steel Valley Conference Player of the Week the past two weeks, got the Cardinals on the board first at 5:41 of the opening period when he dashed into the end zone from 15 yards out. His placement was good and the Cardinals led 7-0.
Burney ended up with 98 rushing yards on 31 carries.
McCarthy then found Desmond Marrow with a 37-yard scoring strike at 11:53 of the second period, and after the Burney placement the Cardinals forged a 14-0 advantage.
Shuts down Eagles
The Cardinal defense limited the Eagle offense to just nine plays and 7 total yards on their first three series, a statistic that Fecko was most pleased with.
"I really feel that we've gotten better every week," Fecko said. "[Kyle] McCarthy has been a tremendous leader for us all year and the team has fed off of his exciting play. Tonight it was no different."
The Eagles closed to within 14-7 at intermission when quarterback Robbie Rosner hit Mat Swartz with a 60-yard scoring strike.
When Swartz added a 22-yard field goal in the third quarter, they cut the Cardinal lead to 14-10. That was the closest they would get.
"Cardinal Mooney did a great job tonight. They're a physical football team, establishing the run early while not allowing us to get ours untracked the entire game," Watterson coach Dan Bjelac said.
Eagles lacked consistency
"We told our team that win or lose, we were going to look at the tape of the game very closely and correct any mistakes that we see," he added. "We couldn't get any consistency tonight and that we must do if we want to advance in the playoffs."
The Cardinals had 278 yards of total offense, with 210 coming on the ground. Mooney's defense limited the Eagles to just 171 offensive yards, 34 coming on the ground on 18 carries, an average of less that 2 yards per attempt.
Rosner, Watterson's quarterback, was 8-of-23 for 137 yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions.
The Cardinals held a 17-7 first-down advantage.