The men of Steel

By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- On the 51st meeting of the Cardinal Mooney and Ursuline High football teams, you could not see a single fullback trap out of the stacked-I formation.
Gasp!
Throwing caution to the wind, Mooney High football coach P.J. Fecko dove deep into the Cardinals' playbook Friday night and decided to rely on -- hold your breath -- a regular I-formation.
And a whole lot of toss sweeps.
With standout quarterback Derrell Johnson still on the sidelines -- for the last time, by the way -- Mooney senior tailback Nate Burney carried 36 times for 171 yards and three touchdowns as the Cardinals held off the Irish 19-14 at YSU's Stambaugh Stadium, clinching the Steel Valley Conference title outright.
"I'm gonna be sore," Burney said, smiling. "We'll all probably wake up sore tomorrow."
The Cardinals out-muscled, out-hustled and out-defended the Irish -- but just barely. After opening up a 19-0 lead midway through the second quarter, Ursuline's defense clamped down and turned what looked like a sure blowout into a nail-biter.
"Anytime this game occurs, you know you're going to get an exciting game," Fecko said. "It's always been that way.
"This one was no different."
Keeping it close
The Irish cut their deficit to five points with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter on a 9-yard touchdown run by Matt Yarab.
The score was setup by one of the best open-field runs you'll ever see, as Yarab (a fullback posing as a quarterback) hit Bryant Youngblood (a quarterback posing as a running back) on a simple sideline screen pass. Youngblood then broke what seemed like 867 tackles en route to a 68-yard gain that gave the Irish a first-and-10 at the Mooney 16.
"We like to be creative and get different guys the ball," said Ursuline coach Dan Reardon. "We were able to hit a couple plays running and passing."
With two timeouts left, the Irish chose to kick it off and take their chances on defense. Mooney responded with a 10-play drive that took 4 1/2 minutes off the clock and gave the Irish the ball at their own 18 with 35 seconds to go. Yarab's deep pass was intercepted by Jason Hehr, ending the suspense and giving the Cardinals a 33-15-3 edge all-time in the series.
"In my senior year in the most intense rivalry, I wouldn't have wanted it any other way," said Burney, who ranks second to Ted Bell on Mooney's career rushing list with 3,353 yards. "This is something you talk about 30 years from now.
"It's great to be on the winning side."
Playoff preparation
The Cardinals (8-1) entered the game ranked fourth in Division IV in the Associated Press poll and were first in the Region 13 computer ratings. The defending state champs likely locked up a home playoff game -- a good sign considering they travel to play at Columbus Watterson on Friday.
Johnson, who has missed the past three games with a leg injury, was suited up for the game and could have played in an emergency.
"He's able to play," Fecko said. "He'll be our quarterback next week."
Desmond Marrow filled in at QB against the Irish -- Tony Brunetti had seen the bulk of the time, but Brunetti played exclusively at safety on Friday -- and completed 1-of-2 passes for 18 yards. Mooney finished with 233 yards -- 205 on the ground.
Youngblood led the Irish (3-6) with 55 yards rushing, although 42 came on one play. Ursuline finished with 195 yards.
"We knew the effort would be there," Reardon said. "We just made too many mistakes. We got too deep in a hole and Mooney's too good of a team to do that against."
scalzo@vindy.com