By Kevin Connelly

kconnelly@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

The good news for the Cardinal Mooney football team is it was defeated convincingly last year at Lakewood St. Edward, 41-14, and still finished the season in Canton playing for a state championship.

The bad news for the Cardinals is that doesn’t make Friday night’s 34-6 loss to the Eagles at Stambaugh Stadium any less frustrating.

The former top-ranked team in the nation got back to playing St. Edward football with a heavy dose of running back Cole Gest, who gashed the Cardinals defense for 248 yards and three touchdowns.

Mooney (4-2) couldn’t get anything going on offense — the Cardinals averaged 2 yards per carry — against a fast and physical Eagles defense.

“A loss is a loss,” said Cardinals coach P.J. Fecko. “It’s in the ‘L’ column and that’s obviously, as a competitor, something that you’re not looking to do. We look to win every game and it doesn’t matter how it all falls out — it’s a loss.”

St. Edward (4-2) found the end zone three times in less than six minutes during the second quarter to jump out to a 20-0 halftime lead. All three scores came from Gest, who struck from 56, 27 and 15 yards, and was untouched on the first two runs.

“My linemen were awesome tonight — just beautiful,” Gest said. “The holes were just, like, wide open. I’m so happy for my linemen right now. They bounced back from those last two weeks.”

The Eagles were in the midst of a two-game losing streak since earning the nation’s No. 1 ranking on MaxPreps.com. They fell 21-14 to Cincinnati Elder and 14-10 to New Jersey’s Bergen Catholic. Head coach Rick Finotti felt the travel might have affected his team last week, but was pleased with their preparation in practices leading up to Friday night at Youngstown State.

“I just think you’re on the road a lot and you’re trying to get your guys ready to go and play at their best,” Finotti said. “If anything, [practice] was more intense this week than it’s ever been.”

The three second-quarter scores by the Eagles didn’t come without devastating mistakes by Mooney.

The Cardinals missed a 32-yard field goal toward the end of the first quarter and then squandered great field position to start the second. From the St. Edward 35-yard line, Mooney went for end zone where quarterback Jon Saadey was intercepted by Eagles defensive back Tony Butler.

Saadey had very little time to set his feet on throws all night and took a beating when he did try to step up in the pocket.

“Tackling’s a part of the game,” Fecko said. “Football’s a physical sport and guys up front, guys carrying the ball, the quarterback all take shots and they all get beat up along the way, but that’s just how it goes.”

After the pick, the Eagles marched 80 yards behind Gest for the game’s first score. By the time Mooney fumbled inside its own 20-yard line late in the second, St. Edward was getting whatever it wanted on the ground. The Eagles held a 246-84 advantage in total yards in the first half.

“They’re tough and physical and they shoot the gaps really well, so I didn’t think there was an advantage, I think there was just a commitment,” Finotti said. “[We were] trying to commit to the run and trying to commit to something early.”

The Cardinals found the end zone on the last play of regulation to avoid getting shu tout, as Saadey connected with Jack Reider after a defensive pass interference penalty extended the game.

“You don’t have time in a football season to ponder over a win or a loss for very long,” Fecko said. “You’ve got to learn from both, move forward and not keep repeating any mistakes that were made in your past.”