Fawcett Stadium has been winning venue for Cardinal Mooney

By Matthew Peaslee

mpeaslee@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

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Photo by: Vindicator file photo

Canton’s Fawcett Stadium, the facility’s south side seen above, has been a winning venue for Cardinal Mooney, which has played there four times this season: three regular games and one playoff . On Friday, the Cardinals will take their places for the fifth time and as the home team when they face Springfield Shawnee in the Division III state final.

The Shawnee Braves will travel 178 miles for a three-hour trip from Springfield to Canton on Friday for their first Division III state championship appearance. For the 11th time in school history, Cardinal Mooney is playing for Ohio supremacy.

Whether the Cardinals hop on Interstate 76 West or Route 62 first, they’ll eventually catch I-77 South that leads right to Canton’s Fawcett Stadium.

That trip barely takes an hour.

“I believe that gives them a little bit of advantage,” said Shawnee coach Rick Meeks. “They’ll have the comfort factor on their side.”

Since 2004, Mooney has played in Fawcett 11 times. Three games were in the regular season where the Cardinals are undefeated and they have a 6-2 record in postseason contests at the 72-year-old stadium.

“Obviously, Fawcett Stadium is a great place to hold high school football games and we’re honored to be able to represent our area and head up to Canton to play this game against Cardinal Mooney,” Meeks said.

The Cardinals opened the regular season at the home of the annual NFL Hall of Fame Game where they knocked off Canton McKinley, 28-24. A pair of playoff games, a nail-biting 24-22 win over Steubenville and a 70-44 victory over Dover, were played in Fawcett, too.

It’s been almost a luxurious getaway pad for Mooney, but coach P.J. Fecko doesn’t see it that way.

“It goes back to the focus of where it’s at,” he said. “The fact is — it doesn’t matter [where the game is played]. It’s definitely a great facility, we’ve played in it countless times, but ultimately it’s not going to determine the outcome of the game.”

Going back to Meeks’ earliest statement, Fecko has no reason to believe the location of the game has any impact on his team’s preparations and execution.

“I can’t speak in anyone else’s shoes,” Fecko said. “Getting caught up in all that stuff is somewhat silly. It’s a football field and you know that it’s going to be in good shape.”

Yes, the field will still stretch 100 yards long, each quarter will last 12 minutes and both schools will be strongly represented in the stands. Mooney will be in its home uniforms, while Shawnee dons the white. By most signs it will be a normal game.

But it’s a state championship.

“More than anything else, everybody has their roles to play,” Fecko said. “The alumni, the student body and the media on both sides.

“Our role is to make sure we focus ourself on getting better each and every day leading up to Friday.”

Fawcett Stadium will be waiting.