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Mooney eyes Poland, not history
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Boardman Vs Mooney
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Mooney Vs. Ursuline
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By Joe Scalzo
The Cardinals will meet the Bulldogs Friday in the first meeting between the teams.
YOUNGSTOWN — There are plenty of people who are already starting to wonder whether this year’s Cardinal Mooney High football team deserves to be ranked among the school’s best.
Coach P.J. Fecko isn’t one of them.
“It’s impossible at this point to sit back and rank them,” he said. “They’ll be judged in history when the year is completed.”
That year continues Friday with the Cardinals’ first-ever meeting with Poland in a Division III regional final at Austintown Fitch Stadium.
Mooney (12-0), the state’s top-ranked team in Division III, is in the playoffs for the seventh straight season — making the state final from 2004-07 — and 23rd overall.
The Cardinals are 46-16 all-time in the playoffs, with state championships in 1973, 1980, 1982, 1987, 2004 and 2006.
They finished the regular season unbeaten for the third time in four years, and won the Associated Press poll title.
“Our guys have done a great job all year of doing the things necessary to win,” said Fecko. “They get better every week, they stay focused every week and we’ve had good senior leadership.”
Mooney played arguably its most complete game of the season last Friday when they defeated a 10-1 Hubbard team 55-0 at Mollenkopf Stadium in Warren.
Poland was the only other team to beat Hubbard this year, winning the season opener 24-13.
“I was pleased with the way our guys came to play,” said Fecko, whose team improved to 13-0 all-time against the Eagles. “Right from the start, we were able to dominate field position, the momentum and ultimately with those two, the game.
“Defensively, we played extremely well and forced them into bad situations with field position and also with some defensive plays of our own.”
The Cardinals are led by dynamic senior running back Braylon Heard, who has carried 140 times for 1,243 yards (8.9 average) and 16 TDs.
Karrington Griffin (540 yards) and Ray Vinopal (512) are the two other main rushers, but QB Alex Zordich (374) and FB Mark Brandenstein (193 yards, five TDs) are also big parts of Mooney’s run-first, run-second attack.
Zordich has completed 29 of 51 passes for 544 yards and six TDs this year.
Poland (10-2) is in the playoffs for the third straight year. The Bulldogs are 12-7 all-time with a state title in 1999.
Poland is 1-1 all-time in regional finals, beating Steubenville in 1999 and losing to Chagrin Falls Kenston in 1995.
The Bulldogs are led by dynamic two-way starters Darius Patton (WR/CB) and Luke Wollet (RB/safety). QB Colin Reardon hasn’t looked like a sophomore all year and senior LB Mike Day leads an extremely sound defense.
“Poland is a really good football team,” said Fecko. “They’re a team that has played well all year, a team that is solid in all three phases of the game, and a team that has some big play ability with some of their athletes.
“Plus, they have an extremely good supporting cast.”
And while you can never totally prepare for Mooney, the Bulldogs’ schedule should come close.
In addition to wins over Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary and Akron Hoban the past two weeks, the Bulldogs played playoff teams in Hubbard, Lakeview, Howland, Steubenville and Canfield.
Those last two teams handed them their only losses.
“They’ve proven week in and week out that they’re a very good football team that deserves to be in the third round of playoffs,” said Fecko.
scalzo@vindy.com