Backup Brunetti takes Mooney to 35-6 victory

He threw for two TDs and ran for another against Painesville Riverside.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Cardinal Mooney High football team now has two good quarterbacks, which should make the Cardinals double trouble for opponents if they make it to the postseason to defend their Division IV state championship.
Tony Brunetti, a junior quarterback who replaced injured senior quarterback Derrell Johnson in the lineup, threw for two touchdown passes, ran for another TD and set up a fourth score with a pass, to power Mooney to a 35-6 romp past Painesville Riverside Friday night at Stambaugh Stadium to remain undefeated.
Brunetti connected on TD strikes to Desmond Marrow (23 yards) and Ryan Joyce (8 yards), raced 33 yards to another score and also hit Marrow on a 40-yard aerial that set up Nate Burney's 2-yard TD plunge.
Brunetti contributed 171 total yards -- 106 passing on 5-for-8 and 65 yards rushing in 11 carries.
"Tony did a really good job, He made really good decisions. He was running and throwing and shooting out really well," said coach P.J. Fecko of Mooney (6-0), which is ranked No. 1 in Region 13 of Division IV and No. l in the Division IV of the Associated Press poll.
Johnson out five weeks
Fecko said Mooney was just as effective with Brunetti running the offense as it had been with Johnson, who suffered a hairline fracture of his leg in last week's game and will be out for five weeks. He's expected to be ready for the postseason if Mooney keeps winning.
"We did the same [offensive] stuff but with different people," said Fecko.
Burney also scored on a 7-yard run and Will Kandray was 5-for-5 in extra-point kicks, while Mooney's defense contained Riverside to only 86 total yards and six first downs.
Burney rushed for 64 yards in 21 carries and Mooney finished with 202 yards rushing in 46 attempts and a 13-6 first-down advantage.
"Burney ran really hard and got tough yards," said Fecko. "He played an outstanding game."
Riverside managed only 67 yards rushing in 30 attempts and 19 yards passing on 2-for-7, after the Beavers scored on the opening kickoff of the game when Eric Clayton streaked 92 yards for a touchdown with only 12 seconds shaved from the clock for a 6-0 lead.
Mooney's defense sparkles
Coach Matt Jordan of Riverside (3-3), who served as an assistant coach at Mooney in 1999 under coach Don Bucci, said Mooney's defense was too tough and fast, especially behind the defensive line.
"Their second-level people did a great job," said Jordan. "They had a little more speed than us. Their linebackers [Mike Zordich, Pat Kelley and Mike Cylar] and safety [Nate Burney] played well."
Jordan said mistakes doomed his team, especially early in the second half when Mooney had a 14-6 lead. Evan Marks intercepted for the Beavers at the Riverside 42, but on the next play Mooney's Jack Zizzo recovered a fumble at the Beavers' 41. Mooney then drove the distance in four plays capped by Brunetti's 33-yard TD run.
"That was the turning point of the game," said Jordan. "Our fumble right after an interception was the turning point. Every opportunity you get you have to score.
"We made mistakes like we have been every week."
Burney strikes twice
Mooney took its 14-6 lead in the opening quarter on Burney's two scores and Kandray's two placements.
Burney scored his 2-yard TD to cap a 51-yard, four-play drive at 6:41, while his 7-yard scoring scamper finished a 53-yard, seven-play march at 1:18.
Then in the third quarter, after Brunetti ran for his score, Mooney forced Riverside to punt and Burney reeled 40 yards on the return to the Riverside 40. Robert Walker then made a one-hand grab of Brunetti's pass to the 15, and four plays later Brunetti hit Joyce on an 8-yard TD pass at 3:08.
In the final quarter, Mooney launched a 49-yard drive in 10 plays capped by Brunetti's 23-yard TD strike to Marrow at 5:49 to finish off the Beavers.
kovach@vindy.com