Mooney cruises despite miscues

The Cardinals committed five turnovers and still beat Lake Catholic, 40-14.

By RYAN JONES

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

YOUNGSTOWN — Three fumbles and two interceptions don’t lead a football team to many wins — unless it’s Mooney.

The Cardinals overcame five turnovers and circumvented a loss by beating Mentor Lake Catholic 40-14 on Friday at Stambaugh Stadium.

Mooney quarterback Dan McCarthy said Mooney expected a battle against the Cougars, especially given last year’s game.

“We knew it was going to be competitive game,” said McCarthy, whose team defeated the Cougars 21-16 in 2006. “It was close last year and we knew we were going to have to fight it out with them.”

The Cardinals (5-0), committed five turnovers, something Mooney’s head coach P.J. Fecko said is uncharacteristic of this year’s team.

“I think we had only one turnover in our first four games,” said Fecko, whose team is ranked No. 1 in Division IV. “Taking care of the ball is something we’ve got to focus on. You can’t go and turn it over like we did and expect to win many games.”

Given the field position his defense faced most of the night, the performance was solid, Fecko said.

“Our guys did a great job of making plays when they had to,” he said.

Strong defense

The Cardinals forced two fumbles, had two interceptions and recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown.

“We didn’t back down and we’re pretty stingy for the most part,” Fecko said. “We didn’t give up many big plays. It doesn’t matter where we take the field, or how the ball got there — we take pride in playing great defense.”

Although McCarthy failed to find consistency in the passing game — he went 1-for-5 for 9 yards and was intercepted twice — the senior found plenty of room with his legs.

Following a fumble recovery by Michael Zordich in the second quarter, McCarthy rumbled 84 yards for a score on an option keeper to give Mooney a 19-7 lead.

The Notre Dame recruit accounted for 204 of the Cardinals’ 329 rushing yards on 16 carries and scored twice.

“The offensive line opened up some holes and our backs did a good job of getting the tough yards,” McCarthy said. “I was fortunate enough to get outside a few times and be successful.”

Mentor Lake Catholic battled the Cardinals to a stalemate in the third quarter until Mooney lineman Mark Pelini blocked Randy Greenwood’s punt from the 2-yard line. Pelini then fell on the loose ball in the end zone to give Mooney a 26-7 advantage.

Taylor Hill and Brandon Beachum (playing his first game since injuring his knee three weeks ago) scored rushing touchdowns for Mooney, and gained 37 and 30 yards respectively. Zordich chipped in 42 on the ground.

Mike Sweigert led the Cougars (2-3) with 68 yards rushing, and Alex Kurowski had 95 yards passing and a touchdown.