Mooney Vs. Steubenville

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Mooney vs Steubenville

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By Jon Moffett

CANTON — The Mooney High football team had seven first half possessions Friday, but went into the locker room with only three points.

Playing top-ranked Steubenville, the Cardinals (9-3) had three turnovers, two punts and time expire on their non-scoring drives.

Their lone scoring drive in the first half, a 30-yard field goal by Ed Reese, gave Mooney some early hope.

But Steubenville fullback Branko Busick and the Big Red running game gave the Cardinals fits.

The Big Red had 204 rushing yards in the first half, and 277 overall in a 28-16 victory over Mooney.

“We played good defense overall,” Mooney coach P.J. Fecko said. “We just gave up a couple of big plays here and there.

“Steubenville is a team that has been making big plays all year, in the first half they were able to make some big plays and we weren’t,” Fecko said.

Busick, a senior, accumulated 96 rushing yard in the first half, including a 74-yard romp which led to a 1-yard touchdown. He finished with 108 yards on nine carries and the score.

“I’m proud of my team, we worked really hard,” Busick said. “Our coaches do so well in preparing us for the game. We had a great week of practice and we just came out and executed on the field.”

When he wasn’t rumbling for yardage, the 5-foot-10, 190-pound Busick was opening holes for quarterback Dwight Macon.

Macon had 88 rushing yards in the first half, and finished with 123 yards on 20 carries. Macon started the scoring with a 63-yard run on the Big Red’s first possession of the game.

A fumble by Mooney running back Karrington Griffin in the second quarter gave Steubenville the ball at Mooney’s 24-yard line.

Big Red tailback Jeryl Christian pounded the ball in, behind a block by Busick, for a one-yard touchdown run. The score gave Steubenville a 21-3 lead going into the half.

Mooney came out firing in the third quarter. The Cardinals defense forced a punt on Steubenville’s first drive of the second half and forced a fumble on the second.

Junior defensive back Donald D’Alesio of Mooney ripped the ball out of Macon’s hands at Mooney’s 27-yard line.

D’Alesio’s teammates pounced on the ball to give the Cardinals their first takeaway of the game.

Mooney took advantage of the opportunity and scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak by junior Alex Zordich.

However, time and constant pressure by the Big Red defense limited the Cardinal offense to 252 total yards. Steubenville finished with 350 yards of offense.

Macon added his second touchdown of the game with 2:37 left in the game which all but spelled the end for Mooney.

The 19-yard run put the Big Red up 28-10. Macon finished completing five of his eight pass attempts for 73 yards without a touchdown or interception.

Zordich and the Mooney offense stayed composed and played hard until time expired. Zordich connected with receiver D’Alesio for a 13-yard score as time ran out.

Zordich finished completing 10 of his 19 attempts for 114 yards with two interceptions and the score.

jmoffett@vindy.com