Team

Ursuline

Record	Div.	Conf.
2/8	Div. IV	Independents

Team

Cardinal Mooney

Record	Div.	Conf.
7/5	Div. IV	Independents

By Brian Dzenis

bdzenis@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Ursuline ensured that rival Cardinal Mooney will have to sweat out the end of the regular season after riding a dominant first half to hand its Catholic rival a 28-6 defeat in Stambaugh Stadium on Friday night.

“We came and we were ready for them — we punched first, we struck first, we were going out with the first punch and we knocked them down and they didn’t get back up too good,” Ursuline defensive lineman Giacomo Cappabianca said.

As the Irish (5-4) grabbed their 20th win in the 62-year-old series that Mooney still leads by 19 games, the Cardinals (4-4) could potentially face a must-win situation next week against Austintown Fitch in order to ensure a berth in the Division IV playoffs.

“I have no idea, we’ll have to see how that all falls out,” Mooney coach P.J. Fecko said. “Our only concern is winning next week, that’s the important part.

“I think every week is a must-win game. I think you’re never satisfied with anything. We’re competitors, we want to go out next week and do everything we can to put ourselves in a position for success.”

With the exception of a 61-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jack Lynch to Andrew Armstrong in the second quarter, every Cardinals drive in the first half ended in a three-and-out. Cappabianca and company repeatedly set up shop in Mooney’s backfield, translating to a night where the Cardinals were limited to just 76 rushing yards.

“Stay outside, stay outside and don’t let them come out, stretch them out to the sidelines and don’t let them get back,” Cappabianca said. “Our coaches coached us well, the it was the best coaching I’ve had in my entire life this week.”

Ursuline coach Larry Kempe credited film study.

“We have been watching their film and I’ve been a defensive coordinator for about 10 years now,” he said. “We usually give them a five-man line and that wasn’t working very well because we were over-pursuing, so we made a commitment to something we made two weeks ago against Boardman and fortunately our kids bought into it.

“I can’t complement our kids enough, they just played a heck of a football game and I’m so proud of them.”

Ursuline took full advantage of its edge in the trenches as Kimauni Johnson put the Irish on the board first with a 53-yard touchdown run down the left sideline on the team’s second drive. The Irish’s second touchdown came in the following quarter after a few close calls.

Stalled at fourth-and-inches on Mooney’s 13, Kempe used two consecutive timeouts to ponder what his team should do. He made the right choice to put the ball back in Johnson’s hands, as the running back gained just enough for the first down. On the next play, Irish quarterback Jared Fabry completed an 11-yard pass to Dakota Hobbs that he hauled in right at the corner where the sideline and goaline meet, setting up Johnson to punch in his second touchdown of the night.

“We lost for the last two years bad, it feels good to get the shillelagh back,” said Johnson, who finished with 120 rushing yards on 17 carries.

Ursuline responded to Mooney’s touchdown with a scoring drive of its own that ended with a 13-yard scoring run by Ty Spinks.

The real punch in the gut for Mooney came in third quarter. After Armstrong intercepted Fabry on the opening drive of the half, the Cardinals took ate up all but the final seconds of the third quarter on a drive deep in Irish territory. But Mooney fumbled at the goal line.

“It’s obviously a crucial point, any turnover is, but at that point it was the third quarter and it would have made it a one score game and we were moving the ball pretty well at that point, and to turn the ball over like that doesn’t help matters and that really put our backs to the walls.” Flecko said.

Hobbs’ 10-yard touchdown on ann end-around in the fourth quarter had the game all but locked down. After the Cardinals fumbled on the ensuing kickoff, the win belonged to the Irish.