Ursuline, Mooney advance/ Irish, Cards win regional titles; Poland falls

STAFF REPORT

The Cardinal Mooney and Ursuline High football teams used dominating second halves to advance in the OHSAA playoffs on Friday night.

The Cardinals (13-0) were tied with Poland (10-3) at halftime, 7-7, of their Division III, Region 9 championship game at Austintown Fitch Falcon Stadium.

But Braylon Heard capped Cardinal Mooney’s first drive of the second half with a touchdown, and the Cardinals went on to post a 24-7 victory.

In the Div. V, Region 17 title game at Aurora’s Veterans Stadium, Ursuline (9-3) trailed previously-unbeaten and top-seeded Cuyahoga Heights (12-1) 28-14 at the intermission, but behind quarterback Paul Kempe, running back Allen Jones and dominating defense, the Fighting Irish scored 33 unanswered points to win 47-28.

Both Cardinal Mooney and Ursuline will play in state semifinals next Friday. Their opponents and sites for those games will be announced Sunday afternoon.