By Colin Harris
Record-Courier staff writer
YOUNGSTOWN — There are running games, and then there’s what the Cardinal Mooney Cardinals showed Friday night.
Mooney ran around, past and through the Field Falcons on its way to a 42-14 victory in a Division III regional quarterfinal state playoff game.
The top team in the division, the Cardinals (11-0) racked up 420 yards rushing on just 37 carries.
“Mooney is a totally different animal,” said Field coach Patrick Youel. “We were going to have to throw everything at them to give our kids a chance, and they just did what they needed to do.”
Field (8-3) opened up its offense from the opening whistle, trying to catch the Cardinals off-guard. On the first play from scrimmage, quarterback Jay Wilson pitched the ball to Mike Boosinger, who launched a pass from his own end zone.
Boosinger’s errant throw was intercepted, however, as Mooney’s Karrington Griffin brought the ball back to the Field 24-yard line. Three plays later, Griffin barreled in from the 1 to put Mooney up 7-0 just minutes into the game.
After a Falcons fumble on the next drive, Mooney fullback Mark Brandenstein broke off a 32-yard run to get down to the one. On the next play, Brandenstein found his way into the end zone, giving Mooney a 14-0 lead with 7:37 to go in the first quarter.
Mooney running backs broke off first-half runs of 20, 32, 34, 49 and 55 yards as the Cardinals’ line simply overwhelmed the smaller Falcons.
“We just don’t compare to Mooney, and that’s not a knock against our kids,” said Youel. “We didn’t compare speed-wise. We knew we’d have to try a lot of things defensively to slow them, and it didn’t work.”
Griffin finished the night with 96 yards and two scores on only five carries. Senior quarterback Alex Zordich was equally effective with the ball in his hands, netting 82 yards and a score on eight rushes.
Field’s offense began to show signs of life during the second half, outscoring the Cardinals 14-0 over the final two quarters.
Kicking off to Mooney to begin the third quarter, the Falcons successfully recovered an onside kick at the 50-yard line. Taking advantage of the momentum, Field marched down to the 30 before Wilson hooked up with a leaping Aaron Polasky in the end zone for the Falcons’ first points of the night.
Aside from the pass to Polasky, Wilson had a tough night under center. The junior completed 6-of-14 passes for 76 yards with three interceptions. Wilson did make some plays with his feet however, rushing for 43 yards — including a 23-yard touchdown scamper.
Despite the final score, Mooney coach P.J. Fecko credited Field for the effort displayed in the face of what proved to be an uphill battle.
“From what we saw, it was obvious (Field) was going to try to do whatever it took to win,” he said. “Fortunately, our defense was able to capitalize on some early mistakes, and that put our offense in a position to make plays.
“It was clear that Field had a good game plan tonight and did a great job to prepare their kids,” he added. “Teams that play with their physical nature can be dangerous. They should be commended on their season.”
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Colin Harris can be contacted at charris@recordpub.com or 330-298-1123