Dan McCarthy’s 70-yard punt return for a touchdown keyed the 34-0 win.

By J.J. BENSON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

AKRON — Cardinal Mooney made an official announcement with its 34-0 win over Archbishop Hoban Friday night: there’s more to the Cardinals than a ground game.

And doing most of the announcing was Mooney quarterback Dan McCarthy, who scored three touchdowns, including a 70-yard punt return, as the Cardinals improved to 3-0.

McCarthy’s punt return was more than a momentum grabber — it seemed to simply put Hoban into shock mode as he entered the end zone with 4:11 in the first quarter.

“Our offense was stalled out at first, but the defense held and Dan [McCarthy] really swung the momentum in our favor,” Mooney coach P.J. Fecko said.

McCarthy added a 13-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and he connected with Tim Marlowe from 24 yards out to put the Cardinals ahead 14-0 with 1:38 left in the first quarter.

“It’s always good to get in the end zone, no matter how you do it,” said McCarthy, who finished with 116 yards on 5-of-6 passing.

“We managed to get the momentum, and the confidence, on our side.”

41 runs

The Cardinals ran 41 times for 198 yards, led by Taylor Hill’s 82 yards. He scored on a 16-yard run with 2:33 left in the first half to help give Mooney a 27-0 halftime lead.

With so much going on offensively, it’s sometimes easy to forget about the Cardinals’ defense.

But for the second straight week the Cardinals held an opponent to fewer than 200 yards of total offense and forced three or more turnovers.

Vinnie Patella and Justin Leonelli each had fumble recoveries for the Cardinals, who face Warren Harding next week.

Leonelli’s recovery came immediately after McCarthy’s punt return and gave Mooney possession at Hoban’s 24.

Donald D’Alesio added an interception in the fourth quarter to help seal the shutout.

“We’ve played some good football teams over the years, but this is one of the best,” Hoban coach Ralph Orsini said.

“We gave up big plays and we made mistakes. You can’t do that and win.”

This was the second straight week Hoban (1-2) couldn’t find the end zone.

Michael Zordich had an 18-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to give the Cardinals a 21-0 lead with 5:45 left. He finished with three carries for 26 yards.

Mooney held Hoban to 133 total yards and gave up just 67 on the ground.

Hoban quarterback Josh Masters finished 8-of-17 for 66 yards and running back Laymon Carter picked up 44 yards on 11 attempts.

Mike Gemma had three catches for 72 yards for the Cardinals, and Marlowe finished with two grabs and 44 yards.