PREP PREVIEW | Football playoffs

DIVISION IVMOONEY vs. CANTON CENTRAL CATHOLIC
Game time: 7 p.m. Saturday at Twinsburg StadiumRadio: WKBN-AM 570, WBBW-AM 1240If you go: Take the Ohio Turnpike west to Exit 187 (Streetsboro). Take I-480/Route 14 west 6 miles to Exit 37. Turn right onto Ohio route 91 and go a half mile to Ravenna Road. Turn left onto Ravenna Road and proceed 1 mile.
MOONEY (10-2)
22Cuy. Falls Walsh Jesuit1021St Francis (N.Y.)1442East Cleveland Shaw1536Warren Harding1942Canton Central Catholic1435Painesville Riverside613Cle. Benedictine287St Vincent-St Mary019Ursuline1420Cols. Watterson38Playoffs51Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy728Manchester9
Cardinals scouting report: Mooney's losses were to a Division II team (Watterson) and a Div. III squad (Benedictine). Eight weeks ago, Mooney romped over the Crusaders at Stambaugh Stadium. The defending Div. IV state champions, the Cardinals dominated throughout their first playoff game and the second half of their win over Manchester. Ahead 7-3 at halftime, the Cardinals put quarterback Derrell Johnson in the shotgun formation and he rushed for 106 yards in the final two quarters. One of his runs was a 39-yard touchdown. "We were going to do that [sooner] but we kept getting caught in those bad situations that totally took us out of our game plan," Mooney coach P.J. Fecko said of the penalty-filled second quarter. TB Nate Burney scored a 97-yard touchdown on the Cardinals' second play of the game. "Johnson is a great back back there," Burney said. "With us together, it's hard to key on one player because there is always someone who can spring one loose". Burney rushed 24 times for 197 yards against the Panthers. Fullback Pat Kelly thinks this week's rematch puts pressure on the Cardinals. "They know what we like to do, we know what they like to do, too," Kelly said. "Canton has gotten a lot better. [The first game] makes them the underdog and a lot of people like that role." Fecko believes the Crusaders are motivated to do better. "Since then, they've made some adjustments and they've really been playing well. They're playing with a lot of confidence and they are beating people, convincingly. If anything, it's probably a motivator for them, that they are obviously disappointed with the loss and here's a chance to fix that and knock us out of the playoffs." The Cardinals intercepted four passes, with Desmond Marrow picking off two. He also teamed up with Burney to jar Panthers wide receiver Blake Marsh into a key drop. "I like defense better," said Marrow who has verbally committed to Miami (Ohio). "I like to hit people rather than take the hits. When I made that hit, I lost my mouthpiece. Nate hit him and I just cleaned him up. The crowd was going wild, my helmet was all messed up. The little rag I had on my head was in my eyes. It was fun."
CANTON CENTRAL CATHOLIC (9-3)
14North Canton Hoover1721Massillon Perry2021St. Peter Chanel1630Akron Central-Hower014Cardinal Mooney4241Clev. East Tech628Ursuline641Wilson716Steubenville2834St Thomas Aquinas9Playoffs28Tuscarawas Valley1421St Vincent-St Mary0
Crusaders scouting report: Charles Saulter has rushed for 1,281 yards and 15 touchdowns. Brent Crawford has 337 yards on 46 tries. Quarterback Kyle McBride has completed 62-of-157 passes for 1,090 yards, 10 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Coach Lowell Klinefelter says "we're doing a better job on defense than we were the first time we played [Mooney]. But the big thing is we have to move the ball and not turn it over. We've got to limit the number of snaps their offense has, so our defense doesn't have to work so much. Defensively, this is a better team than we've had around here in a number of years. They do a good job physically up front even though they are not very big. We've picked up our caliber of play again and again. Now we've got to do it again. [Wide receiver] Mitchell Anderson and Charles Saulter seem to be making all our big plays. We need some other guys to step up and help them out."
DIVISION VICOLUMBIANAvs. STEUBENVILLE CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Game time: 7 p.m. Saturday at Carrollton Community FieldRadio: WBBG-FM 106.1If you go: From Columbiana, take Ohio route 164 into Lisbon and pick up U.S. 30 West. Turn left (south) onto Ohio route 9. In Carrollton, go straight through the village square onto Ohio route 332. The stadium is less than a mile.
COLUMBIANA (11-1)
38Malvern021Mineral Ridge728Lutheran West1534United028Wellsville020Leetonia728Lisbon1534Southern827East Palestine1914Crestview35Playoffs49Mathews926Mineral Ridge24
Clippers' scouting report: Against Mineral Ridge, QB Mike Welce gained 166 yards on 18 carries, scored two touchdowns and threw for another. As free safety, Welce ended with 12 solos and 10 assists. Against Mathews, the 5-foot-8, 180-pounder completed 7-of-10 passes for 134 yards. For the season, Welce has 1,294 yards passing and 1,019 rushing. He's completed 75-of-142 passes. Columbiana's top rusher is FB Joe Winters with 1,093. Winters has 166 attempts; Welce has 199. Welce, however, is the top scorer with 126 points followed by Winters with 78. Welce is also the point-after kicker, successful on 23-of-27. It's no surprise that he converted the Clippers' only field goal attempt, is the team's leading tackler with 73 solo hits and 87 assists and has a team-best five interceptions. Cory Guy is the team's top receiver with 30 catches for 434 yards. Welton Jarrett has 14 receptions for 231 yards. Guy is also the leading return man with a 28.4 average on kickoffs and 17.9 on punts. Winters is also the punter, averaging 34.7 yards. Analyzing the win-loss records of Columbiana's regular-season competition makes coach Bob Spaite feel a bit more confident. "We play some pretty good football," Spaite said of teams such as Lutheran West, Mineral Ridge (twice) and Crestview."
CATHOLIC CENTRAL (9-3)
27Linsly (W.Va.)028Shenandoah030Warrensville Heights2549East3643Toronto2015Warren JFK2921Wheeling (W.Va.) Central Catholic70Bellaire486St Thomas Aquinas2824Indian Creek15
Playoffs
48Ledgemont1435Mogadore13
Crusaders scouting report: Coach Gregg Bahen took the Crusaders to the state championship game in 1992. He coached at Edison before returning to Steubenville. Against Mogadore, senior DE Shane Habig made a huge play for Central midway through the first period. He picked off a screen pass and raced 60 yards for the game's first touchdown. Central went three-and-out on its first three offensive series, but scored in two plays on its fourth possession, a 10-yard run by Zach Hawrot, then a 60-yard scoring pass from QB J.J. Kuczynski to Greg Ashmead. Hawrot had 122 yards on 21 carries and Kuczynski was only 4-of-8 passing, but for 157 yards. All four completions went for TDs.
Vindicator staff reports