Another chance at perfection

That 1980 team was the school's only state title team to finish undefeated.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
When Bob Maggs was a junior lineman at Cardinal Mooney in 1980, he remembers watching film of his team's Division II state championship game opponent, Lebanon, and being very impressed.
After going undefeated in a grueling regular season schedule, the Cardinals had rolled through their first two playoff opponents, Dover (42-6) and Richfield Revere (31-6), and Maggs expected the final to be a lot closer.
"We had just been crushing teams," Maggs, who later played at Ohio State, said. "Every game, I was out of there in the third quarter. We were watching film of Lebanon and they were looking good.
"All the sudden, bang, it's the third quarter [of the final] and I'm out of the game again."
Mooney won 50-0, setting Div. II state championship game records for total points, points in a quarter (22), touchdowns (7) and rushing yards (362). Three players rushed for more than 100 yards: quarterback Ralph DePasco (106), fullback Mike Hardie (102) and running back Steve Johnson (102).
It was the first -- and last -- time the Cardinals went undefeated en route to a state title. This year's Mooney team has a chance to match that record, carrying a 13-0 mark into Friday's Division IV state final against Plain City Jonathan Alder.
"We had all these tough games in the regular season and to go in there and have the success that we did against these other teams was just unbelievable," said Maggs. "I tell guys now, I'm amazed what we did to those teams."
SVC crown was special
It might seem strange to people statewide, but at the time, winning a Steel Valley Conference title was (almost) on par with winning a state championship. The difference was, winning an SVC title was sometimes more difficult.
"Every year, we set our goal to win the Steel Valley," said then-head coach Don Bucci, now the school's athletic director. "If we did that, we knew we could get into the playoffs. We felt, if you go through that schedule and win seven or eight ballgames, you're going to be well-prepared for the playoffs."
Of course, at the time, the playoffs weren't a given. Mooney went 9-1 in both 1978 and 1979 but missed qualifying for the postseason. (Since then, the playoffs have expanded from eight teams in a division to 32.)
"When you look at what the 1981 and 82 teams did, we could have had a heck of a stretch," said Terry Reardon, a senior wide receiver on the 1980 team. "With the schedule we had, by the time we hit the playoffs, we were really prepared.
"We weren't running up the score on anybody. It was just that they weren't ready for that level of competition."
Schedule is key again
This year's Cardinals are in a similar situation. After playing tough games against statewide powers such as Walsh Jesuit (20-14), Warren Harding (28-13), Mentor Lake Catholic (21-16) and Ursuline (10-0), the Cardinals have rolled through the playoffs, beating their four opponents by an average score of 42-7.
"I think the schedule you play is probably the most important thing in preparing you for the playoffs," Bucci said.
Mooney's 1980 team started against City Series power Chaney, winning 30-8. The Cardinals rolled over Pittsburgh North Catholic (40-0) and East Liverpool (35-0) before edging Warren Western Reserve in the closest game of the season, 14-13. Mooney went on to beat Ursuline (27-6), DuBois, Pa. (57-0), Howland (49-13), Cleveland St. Ignatius (7-0) and Fitch (17-0). A Boardman teacher's strike wiped out a game against the Spartans, which had a junior named Bernie Kosar playing quarterback.
"We didn't have that many starters back [from the 1979 team], so the expectations that season weren't that high," said Maggs. "We just got on a roll. I think that team jelled, like a lot of good teams do."
Like this year's Cardinals, a lot of the talent on the 1980 team was in the junior class. Besides Maggs (a Parade All-American), several juniors went on to play Division I football, including Johnson (Michigan), tackle John Thomas (Georgia Tech) and linebacker Jim Fordyce (Akron). The 1981 team, considered by many to be the most talented in Mooney's history, started the season 10-0, but was upset in the state semifinals by Cleveland Benedictine, 21-17, on a windy, snowy day. Mooney won its third state title the next season.
"From my standpoint, I don't think the guys knew how special it was," said Maggs of the three-year stretch. "We didn't have as much media coverage back then and we were a little more isolated."
No other unbeaten teams
Although the Cardinals won three more state titles after 1980, each team lost at least one game, something that doesn't surprise Reardon.
"Mooney always plays a very tough schedule," he said. "When you're playing that level of competition, it's very tough to go undefeated."
After his career at Ohio State, Maggs stayed in Columbus, marrying Marcy (a Worthington native) 14 years ago. They have a 5-year-old daughter, Sophie, and a 3-year-old son, Mason. Maggs, who lives in Dublin, is a vice-president at Buckeye Staffing. He won't be able to go to Friday's game, "but I'm going to TiVo it and watch it later that day," he said.
Reardon, who owns Higgins-Reardon funeral home on Mahoning Avenue, has stayed in the area. His wife, Judy, is a 1983 Mooney graduate and they have four kids (two sons, two daughters), who range in age from 8-15. He plans to go to Friday's game.
"Mooney is kind of a family," said Reardon, whose oldest son will be a freshman at the school next year. "It seems that generation after generation, even though the ages are staggered, you're always seeing a nephew or a niece or a son or a daughter of one of your classmates."
And even though their undefeated record is in jeopardy, Reardon and the rest of his teammates don't have any mixed feelings about this weekend.
"I'm sure every member of our team is very happy to relinquish that record," he said.
scalzo@vindy.com