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Mooney massacre, 49-7
STEUBENVILLE — Midway through the third quarter, Mooney High junior Michael Zordich dropped back in coverage from his linebacker spot, looked into the quarterback’s eyes and started to move. When he saw Bellaire senior Nick Rocchio fire the ball in his direction, his eyes got big, his hands grabbed the ball and he started running.
Fifty yards later, Zordich had the first defensive touchdown of his career, the Cardinals’ defense had its third touchdown of the game and Mooney had a 42-7 lead.
It was that kind of night. And Zordich gave his defensive coordinator, Ron Stoops, a huge part of the credit.
“He’s a genius,” said Zordich following Friday’s 49-7 win over the Big Reds in a Division IV state semifinal at Harding Stadium. “The guy knows what he’s talking about.”
The Cardinals (13-0) advanced to the state championship game for the third straight season and will play Plain City Jonathan Alder at 11 a.m. next Friday at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon. The Pioneers defeated Oak Harbor 24-7 in the other semifinal.
It’s the first time a Mooney team has advanced to three straight championship games. The Cardinals made it to the state semifinals from 1980-82, winning titles in 1980 and 1982.
“We lost last year and it left a bad taste in my mouth,” said Zordich, who also carried 10 times for 62 yards and a touchdown. “We’ve got some unfinished business.”
Mooney has a chance to become just the second team in school history to go undefeated and win a state crown — the 1980 team went 12-0 and won the second of the Cardinals’ five titles — and, as always, it’s doing it with defense.
“Our defense has played well all year,” said Mooney coach P.J. Fecko. “The guys did a great job all night. The whole unit played well.”
Mooney, which defeated the Big Reds 20-13 in last year’s state semifinal, forced six Bellaire turnovers (five of them interceptions) as the Cardinals flushed, flustered and flattened Rocchio all evening. Rocchio was playing with a hip pointer and it’s safe to say it didn’t get better as the night went on.
“Mooney’s a great football team,” said Bellaire coach John Magistro, who will retire after 22 seasons with the Big Reds. “Things kind of snowballed on us.”