Benedictine puts stop to Mooney's winning

The Cardinals were again without quarterback Derrell Johnson.
By ERIC HAMILTON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BEDFORD -- Plain and simple, Cleveland Benedictine has the Mooney High football team's number.
The Cardinals were victimized by the Bengals' quick-strike offense, as the two-time defending Division III state champions scored three times on plays covering 40 yards or more and humbled Mooney 28-13 Friday at Bedford Bearcat Stadium.
The victory was Benedictine's fifth straight over Mooney (6-1). The Bengals lead the all-time series 8-6.
Mooney is the No. 1 team in this week's Associated Press poll of Ohio's Division IV teams and the No. 1 squad in the Region 17 computer playoff ratings.
The problem
"We had problems stopping their big plays, and we couldn't make any plays of our own," Mooney coach P.J. Fecko said. "We couldn't get anything going offensively, and Benedictine played an outstanding game. We have three games left and we need to get better."
Mooney's defense entered the contest allowing an average of just 13 points per contest, but surrendered 17 to Benedictine in the first half alone.
Benedictine's Chris Austin did most of the damage, piling up 178 yards on the ground and scoring two touchdowns.
Austin set the tone early, returning the opening kickoff 36 yards to the Bengals' 46. Four plays later, he capped the drive with a 44-yard touchdown run on 4th-and-1 to give the Bengals a quick 7-0 lead.
Jahmal Brown showcased his big-play ability in the second quarter, darting 52 yards for a score on the first play from scrimmage after a failed fake punt by Mooney. That put the Bengals (3-3) in front 17-0 with 4:44 remaining in the first half.
Getting six
Mooney mounted a drive in the closing minutes of the second quarter. Covering 80 yards and 13 plays, the effort was punctuated with a 23-yard scoring toss from Tony Brunetti to Pat Kelley. The kick failed, but the Cardinals cut the deficit to 17-6 at intermission.
Austin began the second half the way he started the first -- with a long touchdown run. This time he outran the Mooney defense for a 60-yard scoring jaunt on Benedictine's first offensive play of the third quarter.
The run increased the Bengals' lead to 24-6 with 9:54 left in the third.
The Cardinals, who rallied from 19 points down earlier in the season to beat Warren Harding, did their best to pull off another stunner.
Mooney, which was without quarterback Derrell Johnson for the second straight week, cut the deficit to 26-13 with 10:40 remaining with a 54-yard scoring strike from Brunetti to Ken Coleman.
But the rally was too little too late.
Benedictine's defense held Mooney on downs on 4th-and-5 at the Bengals 33 with 5:14 remaining and secured the win.
Couldn't move ball
"We couldn't get the momentum and once we started to they grabbed it back with a big play," Fecko said. "We battled for field position all night and couldn't move the ball like we had wanted. It's disappointing, but Benedictine is a solid football team, and they were the better team tonight."
Nate Burney led Mooney with 134 yards on 31 carries, but didn't score.
The senior needs 18 yards to move into second place on the Cardinals' career rushing list. Joe Croft (1974-76) holds second position with 3,085 yards. Ted Bell (1971-73) is the school's all-time leader with 4,428.