Monday, November 23, 2009
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Mooney faces Steubenville, which eliminated the Cardinals in 2008, while Ursuline faces a new opponent in Ridgewood.
By JOHN BASSETTI
Vindicator SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN — A coach whose team recently faced Steubenville Big Red offered a bit of insight into what Cardinal Mooney might encounter during Friday’s Division III state semifinal at Fawcett Stadium.
Salem High coach Mike Kopachy, who was recently named the NEO Inland District’s co-coach of the year with Akron Springfield’s Kevin Vaughn, said that Steubenville’s strength is its defense.
The Cardinals (13-0) and Big Red (12-1) meet in a state semifinal on Friday at Fawcett Stadium in Canton.
Also on Friday, Ursuline (9-3) plays West Lafayette Ridgewood (13-0) of Coshocton County in a Div. V state semifinal at Lowell Klinefelter Stadium at Canton Central Catholic High School.
Kopachy likes Steubenville’s defense.
“They move around a lot and bring a lot of pressure and they have great athletes in the secondary,” said Kopachy. “That defense will be able to hold its own against Mooney. They’re very aggressive and pursue well to the football.”
After holding a 10-6 halftime lead, Salem succumbed to Big Red in the Div. III, Region 11 semifinal, 34-10.
Once-beaten Steubenville’s most recent success was 28-14 against Dover in the Region 11 championship, while Mooney advanced by beating Poland, 24-7, for the Region 9 title.
“Defensively, Mooney will have to contain [Big Red] quarterback Dwight Macon,” Kopachy said.
Macon was Ohio’s Div. IV offensive player of the year in 2008.
On the other hand, Mooney may have the upper hand if Big Red is less than full strength.
“My concern for Steubenville would be if they’re going to have more than Macon to beat Mooney,” Kopachy said of Big Red’s backfield arsenal that include tailbacks JoJo Pierro, Shaquille Petteway and LeShawn Luke and fullbacks Lucky McLure and Danny Bayne.
“I’m not sure if they’ll have enough, offensively, to score on that great Mooney defense. If Big Red has to rely heavily on their quarterback to do most of the damage on offense, I think it will take more than that to beat Mooney.”
The only other area team to play Big Red this season was Poland, which lost, 24-13, during Week 6.
Steubenville’s only loss was to Inkster, Mich., in Week 9.
Mooney and Big Red are quite similar in their state playoff numbers, with Mooney 47-16 all-time and Steubenville 45-18. Their all-time appearances are close, too: Mooney 23 and Big Red, 22.
Besides beating Salem and Dover, Big Red’s 2009 opening postseason win was against Marlington, 34-26.
Mooney’s first two postseason wins were blowouts — 42-14 over Mogadore Field and 55-0 over Hubbard, while Poland held the Cardinals to a 7-7 halftime tie before falling, 24-7.
Ursuline’s three wins were 28-0 against Garfield Hts. Trinity, 48-14 over Crestview and a 47-28 come-from-behind victory over Cuyahoga Heights.
The Irish will meet West Lafayette Ridgewood for the first time. The Generals beat Fredericktown, 21-14, for the Region 19 title.
Against Cuyahoga Falls, Ursuline trailed at the half, 28-14, then scored the game’s last 33 points.
“We’ve played with adversity all year long,” running back Allen Jones, referring to a 1-2 start. “We just came out focused on getting back into the game.”
For much of the credit, Jones cited his offensive line of Zach Conlan, Pete Wearsch, Dave Rossi, Greg DeMario and Joe Wess.
On defense, Rossi, Tony Brown, Jordan Markota, Dawalyn Harper and DeAndre Harris are up front, while Jesse Curry and Trevor Smith are linebackers. The Irish secondary comprises Teague, Aaron Edwards, Jeff Podolsky and Chris Collins.
Coach Dan Reardon is now 51-23 in his five years with Ursuline, which only played 12 games because of a Week 5 bye.
bassetti@vindy.com
