By TOM WILLIAMS

By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Should someone put together a Mooney playoff football highlights DVD, chances are the second quarter of the Cardinals' 28-9 win over Akron Manchester will be the shortest chapter.
Leading 7-0 Saturday at Uniontown's Blue Streak Stadium, Mooney quarterback Derrell Johnson hit wide receiver Desmond Marrow with a quick out and Marrow raced 58 yards for a score.
But the play was wiped out by a holding call.
Then things really turned strange for Mooney.
The Cardinals were called for a delay of game. A shanked punt followed, but on the next play, Marrow intercepted Manchester tailback Phil Partin's toss at the Mooney 12.
The Cardinals moved the ball to the 27, then were hit with two more penalties (illegal procedure, holding) before Johnson was sacked at the 1, setting up a second-and-36.
Second interception
After Mooney punted, Nate Burney intercepted Panthers quarterback Travis Gregory at the 18. Manchester's Chris Dougherty returned the favor on Johnon's next toss, setting up Brian Myers' 35-yard field goal that kept the Panthers close.
"That's probably the worst quarter we've ever had," Marrow said. "I had never seen anything like that, with all the penalties and mistakes and things we were doing."
Mooney coach P.J. Fecko agreed.
"It was quite bizarre -- I don't have an answer for that [but] it wasn't very good," Fecko said. "In the first half, we just had way too many mental mistakes that put us in some bad situations."
Senior fullback Pat Kelly said the halftime message was "go back to being disciplined. In the second quarter, we weren't very disciplined and we lost focus."
Scored quickly
In the second half, Mooney needed just seven offensive plays to go ahead, 14-3. The Cardinals put Johnson in the shotgun and he broke through for a 49-yard gain to set up his 1-yard touchdown.
"At halftime, Coach Fecko told us we just can't play like that anymore, that we've got to come out and put this team away quick and early," Marrow said. "On that first drive, we went down and scored, and we had the momentum from there."
Fecko said his staff wanted to go to the shotgun sooner but "we had to vary from our gameplan because it was second-and-30 or whatever. It started to turn stupid."
Johnson takes over
In the fourth quarter, Johnson connected with tailback Nate Burney on a 35-yard touchdown pass. Johnson also scrambled 39 yards for a score late in the game.
"Derrell made a read off the edge," Fecko said. "They had been keeping people back there for him that he had been doing a good job of beating. They brought them off the edge and he just made a whole bunch of people miss.
"He got a lot of blocks downfield and our guys up front did a good job," Fecko said of the second half.
"He's a great athlete plus he's got terrific vision of the whole field, and he sees where everyone is," Kelly said. "He sets up his blocks well."
Marrow says watching Johnson and Burney run is a pleasure.
"He's my best friend," Marrow said of Burney who scored a 97-yard touchdown in the first quarter. "We've been growing up together, we both played for Eagle Heights. I've seen him do that for a long time, but it still amazes me the stuff he does.
The Human Joystick
"Derrell -- we call him the Human Joystick," Marrow said. "It seems like someone is controlling him like pushing Circle R 1 if you're playing a video game. Sometimes when I'm blocking and they run past me, I just sit back and watch those two run. It's fun."
Kelly says he doesn't mind watching Mooney's speedsters take charge.
"It's a great privilege," said Kelly who also is an inside linebacker. "People ask me if I get mad because I don't get the ball, but I love what I do. And as long as we are winning, that's the most important thing."
Next up for Mooney is Saturday's Region 13 final against Canton Central Catholic, a team the Cardinals defeated 42-14 in Week 5 at Youngstown State's Stambaugh Stadium. This game will be played in Twinsburg.
"It's exciting to get to play a team that we've already played, but it's always hard to beat a team twice," Marrow said.
"We need to have a good week of practice and remember to not take them lightly just because we beat them."
williams@vindy.com