Thursday, October 18, 2007
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
After a 28-0 win over Beaver Local last Thursday, Ursuline High football coach Dan Reardon and his assistants traveled to Akron on Friday to watch their final two opponents, Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary and Mooney, play one of the best games of the season.
“Let me say this,” said Reardon, Ursuline’s head coach the past four years and an assistant at Warren Harding the previous six. “I’ve coached against a lot of very good teams, and I’ve coached on a lot of good teams, teams that were nationally ranked a couple times.
“All that being said, Mooney is the best football team I’ve ever seen. And that’s not lip service.”
Although Ursuline-Mooney needs no extra hype, this year’s game has taken on added importance since it pits arguably the best two teams in the Valley. But it’s just one of several huge matchups on “Championship Weekend,” and it may not even be the most intriguing.
South Range (8-0, 5-0) puts its 30-game regular winning streak on the line against the last team to beat the Raiders, Mineral Ridge (7-1, 4-1). The Rams defeated the Raiders 20-7 three years ago.
A Mineral Ridge win likely would give them a share of the Inter Tri-County League Tier One title and a home playoff game.
“Without this win, I don’t know if we get in the playoffs,” said Rams coach Dom Leone, who was an assistant at Warren Harding in 2004. “It’s a great opportunity for us. No one on the team either as varsity, JV or freshmen has beaten them, so for our seniors it’d be a heck of a way to go out.”
Mineral Ridge, which is led by running back A.J. Zitello (1,289 yards rushing), nearly pulled off the upset last year before falling 19-14. The Rams had a 14-13 lead before throwing a costly interception that allowed South Range to score the game-winning touchdown with 1:16 left.
“We respect them, but we’re not in awe of them,” Leone said. “We know what we’re up against.”
In the Trumbull Athletic Conference, Lakeview (6-2, 5-0) put its five-game winning streak on the line against another of the conference’s pleasant surprises, Girard. The game pits two of the area’s best running backs in the Bulldogs’ Ben Moody (969 yards, 8 TDs) and the Indians’ Kyle
Stadelmyer (1,020 yards, 19 TDs).
If the Indians can pull off the upset, it opens the door for Hubbard (5-3, 4-1) to earn a share of the league title. Of course, the Eagles need to beat rival Liberty (6-2, 3-2) first.
Mooney, meanwhile, has won three straight Steel Valley Conference titles (including the last two outright) and five straight against its rival. Technically, the Cardinals also won in 2001 due to an Ursuline forfeit. Mooney coach P.J. Fecko, who won two of three against the Irish as a player, is 5-2 against the Irish as a coach.
“It’s obviously historically an outstanding rivalry,” said Fecko, whose team owns a 34-15-3 record all-time in the rivalry. “There’s a lot of excitement at both schools and a lot of alumni travel back to attend the game.
“Having played in it and coached in it, it’s always an exciting night.”
The Cardinals, who are ranked ninth in the country by USA Today, have won 22 straight games since falling to Coldwater in the 2005 Division IV championship game.
“They have a [college] Division I player at multiple positions,” Reardon said. “And we’re not talking MAC [Mid-American Conference] players or Conference USA players. We’re talking BCS-caliber teams.
“When you have that much talent, you’re going to be a good football team.”
Ursuline (7-1) is no slouch, either. Junior running back Darrell Mason is one of the state’s top recruits and senior linemen Harold Coates and Justin Brown have offers from several Division I schools.
Reardon, a Canfield High graduate, has lost all three meetings with the Cardinals but said he hasn’t felt any heat from the fans.
“No, but I put pressure on myself,” said Reardon, whose team’s lone loss this season came against Massillon (14-3). “The people at Ursuline have been reasonable with their expectations. When I inherited the program, our program and their program were at two different levels. As much as people don’t want to hear that, it’s the reality.
“I think we’re on a more level playing field now. We’ve gotten better every year I’ve been here, I believe.”
If you choose to go to one of these four big games — and one of several other big games across the Mahoning Valley this weekend — you’ll likely see a good one.
And, odds are, you’ll have plenty of company.
“This is what it’s all about,” Leone said. “With us, you’ve got two small schools who are pretty well-respected around the area and are both winners.
“With all the pageantry that goes into it and all the buzz around the school and the community, it’s nice to be a big deal. It’s like your 15 minutes of fame.
“This is high school football at its best.”
scalzo@vindy.com