By JOE SCALZO

scalzo@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

From 1973-1987, Don Bucci coached Cardinal Mooney in five state championship games — two at Ohio Stadium, two at the Akron Rubber Bowl and one at Upper Arlington.

He’s also been Mooney’s athletic director for its three state championship games at Massillon Paul Brown Tiger Stadium and two at Canton’s Fawcett Stadium over the last decade.

So, when he heard about the OHSAA’s decision Wednesday to award the 2014-2015 state finals to Ohio Stadium after 20 years in Stark County, he was uniquely suited to weigh in on the decision.

“In my opinion, I think it’s a mistake,” said Bucci, who won the 1987 Division III title at Ohio Stadium and lost the Div. II final in 1985 at the site. “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. And it’s not broke.

“The championship games have been well-supported up here, the teams are treated great and the times of the game are set up between the two stadiums where you can see all six games if you want. I think having all the games at one stadium creates a lot of problems.”

The 1985 final drew about 14,000 fans and the 1987 game drew about 10,000 in what was then a 90,000 capacity stadium.

“It looked terrible,” said Bucci. “The kids were thrilled to be playing at Ohio State but we certainly didn’t have the crowd into it.

“It was like no one was there.”

Since 1991, Fawcett and Paul Brown have split the six finals over two days. The OHSAA will stay with the current setup through 2013 with Ohio Stadium hosting the 2014-2015 finals. The OHSAA will reevaluate the setup after the 2014 season.

Mooney coach P.J. Fecko said he prefers Stark County but can see the advantages of both.

“One of the advantages of playing in a smaller stadium is when you look up and see all those folks packed in there, it’s pretty exciting,” said Fecko, the team’s coach since 2000. “But with Ohio State’s stadium, there’s a lot of excitement for the kids to play there.

“I just wonder if all the fans would get swallowed up.”

Ursuline coach Dan Reardon, whose team has played in three straight Division V finals, has similar concerns. His last two games — one at Paul Brown and one at Fawcett — drew just under 6,000 fans each. Fawcett seats 22,400, Paul Brown 19,000 and Ohio Stadium 102,300.

“That’s a lot of empty seats,” Reardon said of playing at OSU. “But I’ve talked to [OSU] Coach [Jim] Tressel before and one of his thoughts was how many kids want to play in that stadium, want to be a Buckeye and never have that opportunity.

“With 12 teams over six divisions, that’s hundreds of kids who get the chance.”

Reardon, who prefers Stark County primarily because it’s closer to Youngstown, is more worried about the proposed 10 a.m. start time. In 2007, his team played Maria Stein Marion Local at 11 a.m. The Irish had to bus over that morning because the school was too close to fall within the OHSAA’s hotel reimbursement mileage parameters.

“That makes for a very early morning,” he said. “If it’s in Columbus, it’s not an issue for us. But maybe someone [near Columbus] who’s just within that limit, that could be a very challenging day.”

Canfield coach Mike Pavlansky, who led the Cardinals to the Division II final in 2005 at Paul Brown, also likes having the games in Stark County. But he’s not opposed to giving central Ohio an opportunity.

“I think we have two of the best high school venues in the country in Fawcett Stadium and Paul Brown Tiger Stadium,” he said. “They’re wonderful places and wonderful hosts.

“But it’s certainly a big plus when the site is centrally located and you can play in Ohio Stadium. I understand the decision made by the committee.”

Not surprisingly, Valley football fans clearly favor the Stark County setup.

In 2005, The Vindicator conducted a readers survey and 80 percent of fans said the finals should stay in Stark County. A similar survey last fall garnered 72 percent in favor of Stark County, which also got 79 percent of the vote in a 2004 survey of area coaches.

“I like the current setup, but in the big picture, does it really matter? No,” Fecko said. “From a coach’s perspective, I don’t see an advantage or a disadvantage playing at either place. The fans are going to go, the parents are going to and the people there are going to be excited no matter where it’s being played.”

Pavlansky agreed.

“You could play six hours away and your fans will travel,” he said. “No matter where the finals are held at, it’s going to be a special event.”