MOONEY DEFENSE DENIES COUGARS

MINERAL RIDGE OH- The Cardinal Mooney Cardinals, coming off a heartbreaking defeat to The Boardman Spartans in week one by a score of 10-7, were looking to right the ship for week two. On a rare Saturday night game, The Cardinals welcomed in The Cougars from Mentor Lake Catholic. Both teams went into the evening looking for their first win, and both looked primed to be tough defenses to crack.

An opening drive fumble from The Cougars allowed Mooney to take over on their own side of the field, as Mentor Lake Catholic was driving into enemy territory. Adyn Paige broke open the scoring for Mooney, gaining a touchdown with his legs, allowing Mooney to take a 7-0 lead after the made PAT by Pregibon. A response touchdown from The Cougars and a missed PAT kept it 7-6 Mooney until the final minutes of the first half. A touchdown pass from Ashton O’Brien to Alec DelSignore extended The Cardinal lead; however, Fitzgerald became a huge target for The Cougars. Grabbing a third down conversion catch, a touchdown and a 2pt conversion on the next drive, Trinetti found Fitzgerald to even the game up 14-14. 

Mooney took the short clock as a challenge, getting some big plays to set themselves up for the 2 for 1, as Pregibon kicked a field goal to put The Cardinals up going into halftime. Out of the half, Mooney had the opening kickoff. The first two Mooney drives were met with an interception and a punt, both of which gave Mentor Lake Catholic field position on The Cardinals side of the field. But the defense of The 8-Time State Champions showed up in a big way, pushing them out of field goal range both times and shutting out The Cougars offense in the second half. A phenomenal pass from O’Brien to Ty Reali of Mooney set up another touchdown, before going right back to the house on an Ashton O’Brien faker, giving Mooney a 31-14 lead and a win. 

The Cougars (0-2) will now look to bounce back in week three, as they are set to face Akron Buchtel (0-2) in another battle of teams looking for win #1! Mooney will renew their old Youngstown rivalry once again, as they host The Chaney Cowboys (2-0) on Friday, September 2nd in what looks to be nothing short of hard hitting.

*Contributed By YSN’s Ty Bartell.