Cardinals set for another title contest

Friday Mooney will make its third straight trip to the Div. IV title game.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- A few months after leading the Cardinals to their second straight state championship game, Mooney High football coach P.J. Fecko was at a banquet when someone asked him the difference between going 0-10 (which he did in 2001) and winning a state title.
"I told him the biggest difference is the adjectives people use in front of my name," Fecko said, chuckling.
At a school like Mooney, where the expectations are enormous every season, Fecko has done something not even his predecessor, Don Bucci, could do: lead a team to three straight state finals.
"It's not easy to do this once, let alone three times in a row," said Fecko, who is 56-27 in seven years at the school. "It's a whole lot of hard work. And to be here again is just a tremendous tribute to the players and the coaching staff and the program."
The Cardinals (13-0) will meet Plain City Jonathan Alder (13-1) in the Division IV championship game at 11 a.m. Saturday at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon.
Won five state titles
Mooney is 5-2 all-time in the state final, winning championships in 1973, 1980, 1982, 1987 and 2004 and losing in the state final in 1985 and 2005. Only the 1980 team finished the season undefeated.
Fecko has led the Cardinals to four straight playoff appearances, losing in the first round in 2003 before defeating Versailles 28-6 in the 2004 final and falling to Coldwater, 33-9, last year.
Alder, meanwhile, had never won a regional title before this season and has an 8-7 record in eight postseason appearances. (Mooney, by contrast, is 38-14.)
Still, Fecko doesn't think his team's experience will make much of a difference.
"I don't think that argument holds much weight," he said. "This year's team is a different team from last year's team."
Tough schedule helped
What might give the Cardinals an advantage, however, is their schedule, which included some of the state's best programs.
"It was a very brutal schedule, to put it bluntly," Fecko said. "It was very physically demanding. We had some extremely physical games but we battled through them and the guys kept focused.
"As the weeks went on, the target kept getting bigger and bigger."
Mooney has compiled a 37-5 record over the past three seasons (the Cardinals had an open date this year and in 2004), which means the players have benefited from an extra 15 weeks of practice.
But the benefits also can be a burden. Playing that many games can be a grind at times, Fecko said.
"Our seniors have played 45 weeks of football," said Fecko. "It's very difficult, not just physically but more mentally. It starts to take a toll after awhile."
Preseason pick
Mooney has also dealt with even higher expectations than usual. The Cardinals were a preseason pick to win the state title, something that Fecko downplayed at every opportunity, preferring to focus on the weekly challenges so his team wouldn't lose focus on the game ahead.
That doesn't mean they weren't aware of the possibilities. Since August, the Cardinals have also broke their team huddles with the words, "State champs!"
"Obviously, we're where we want to be," Fecko said. "We feel very fortunate to be at this point."
And, if the playoffs are any indication, the Cardinals are playing their best football right now. Mooney has won its four playoff games by an average score of 42-7.
"People talk about size and speed, but the No. 1 asset this team has is team chemistry," said Fecko. "It's a special group."
scalzo@vindy.com