Tag Archive for: Cardinals

MOONEY BOYS BASKETBALL COACH’S CORNER (EP1 WITH CAREY PALERMO)

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Entering his fourth year as the Mooney boys’ basketball coach, Carey Palermo brings an unwavering competitive nature and drive. Through his coaching, he hopes he instill all of those things into his players.

A young team with only four seniors will take the court in a few weeks for the Cardinals, and our own Nate Keiper sat down with Coach Palermo to discuss how the team has improved through the offseason, how last year’s roller coaster season helped build for this season, and about the importance of patience when it comes to coaching.

Episode 1 of the Coach’s Corner for Mooney Boys Basketball with Coach Palermo, brought to you by MP Vivo.

A SECOND HALF COMEBACK LIFTS THE FALCONS

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YOUNGSTOWN, OH-Football is a 48-minute long game. What happens in the first 24 matters little if you can’t perform in the final 24 minutes. Cardinal Mooney fell victim to this as the Fitch Falcons made fantastic adjustments to win 27-14.

The first half was largely dominated by the Cardinals. Walter Sweeney, in his fourth career start at QB, along with sophomore running back Zyere Rodgers marched down the field on their first two offensive possessions. Sweeney was the first to find the endzone, a 15 yard scamper that put the Cardinals up 7-0. Later in the second quarter, running back Dom Byrd had a 3 yard plunge to extend the lead before halftime to 14-0.

But the second half adjustments from the Falcons were superb. Devin Sherwood, the sophomore QB, used his legs as well as his arm to get the Falcons back into the game. After a muffed punt, Sherwood took little time to run in a touchdown for the Falcons first score of the game. Fitch’s defense put the clamps on the Mooney offense, forcing punt after punt. Sherwood would find Todd Simons for 2 more touchdowns, one at the end of the third and another in the first 2 minutes of the fourth quarter. Then, while trying to run off the clock, Sherwood broke free again for a 38 yard touchdown run.

Despite a third-quarter interception from Jack McGlone, Mooney simply could not match the second-half scoring run put on by the Falcons. Mooney falls to 4-6, Fitch playing the playoff spoiler and keeping Mooney from reaching week 11.

 

CARDINAL MOONEY COACH’S CORNER (EP. 10) WITH P.J. FECKO

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Week nine matched Coach P.J. Fecko and the Cardinal Mooney Cardinals up with the Ursuline Fighting Irish, unfortunately, the Cardinals fell just short in the last few minutes, 20-13. Week ten will keep Cardinal Mooney at home at Stambaugh Stadium as they will host the Austintown Fitch Falcons on Friday night.

YSN’s own, Steve Leslie, took some time this week with Coach Fecko to talk about what he took away from the Ursuline game last week and also what the Cards need to do against Fitch this week to keep their playoff chances alive, as they currently hold the #10 seed in their region of Division 4.

 

All that and more in this week’s episode of Cardinal Mooney Cardinals football coach’s corner with head coach, P.J. Fecko!

 

PRESENTED BY:

IRISH STORM BACK; TAKE “HOLY WAR”

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YOUNGSTOWN, OH – It took nearly three quarters for the Ursuline Fighting Irish to crack the code on the Cardinal Mooney defense in the 2019 Youngstown “Holy War,” but after they solved the puzzle, the flood gates opened up. The Irish scored three consecutive times in a 20-13 victory over the Cardinal Mooney Cardinals on Friday night.

Cardinal Mooney got on the board first tonight on an eight-yard touchdown run from Zyere Rodgers in the first quarter with David Philibin adding the extra point. The score remained 7-0 at the half. Late in the third quarter, the Cards once again punched it in on the ground, this time from six yards out by Walt Sweeney. Ursuline then responded quickly as they got their offense rolling with a 59-yard touchdown pass from Brady Shannon to Matthew Reardon. Taylor Tomlinson added the extra point to cut the Mooney lead to 13-7, with 15 seconds left in the third quarter. The fourth quarter was all Irish as they controlled the ball and Trent Hill punched it in on the ground from one yard out with 7:45 to play. Another Tomlinson extra point gave the Irish the lead at 14-13. Ursuline then added another touchdown pass from Shannon to Reardon, this one coming from 28 yards out. That pushed the score to 20-13, where it would stay as a final score.

Ursuline was led through the air by Brady Shannon with 5 completions on 8 attempts for 158 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Fighting Irish were led on the ground by Trent Hill with 11 carries for 45 yards and a touchdown. Ursuline’s top receiver was Matthew Reardon with 4 receptions for 145 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Irish were led defensively by Dante Walker with 9 tackles, as well as, Zach Simon and Matt Phillips, both with 6 tackles each.

Cardinal Mooney was led through the air by Walt Sweeney with 5 completions on 9 attempts for 31 yards and one interception. The Cardinals were led on the ground by Zyere Rodgers with 20 carries for 126 yards and a touchdown, as well as, Walt Sweeney with 15 carries for 90 yards and one touchdown. Cardinal Mooney’s top receivers were Michael Pastella with 4 receptions for 22 yards, and Michael Scavina with 1 reception for 9 yards. receptions. The Cards were paced on defense by Andrew Armile with 5 tackles.

Cardinal Mooney will now begin their preparation for their week ten matchup against the Austintown Fitch Falcons at Stambaugh Stadium. The Ursuline Fighting Irish will be traveling in week ten as they will head to Akron to take on the Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary Fighting Irish.

 

Cardinal Mooney Cardinals – Box Score Report – 10_26_2019

CARDINAL MOONEY COACH’S CORNER (EP. 9) WITH P.J. FECKO

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Week eight saw Coach P.J. Fecko and the Cardinal Mooney Cardinals take on a talented Raiders squad from Warren G. Harding. Unfortunately the Cardinals fell just a little short. Week nine has Cardinal Mooney returning home to Stambaugh Stadium to take on their biggest rival, as they will host the Ursuline Fighting Irish on Friday night.

YSN’s general manager, Steve Leslie, caught up with Coach Fecko this week to discuss last week’s close game with the Warren G. Harding Raiders, but also what the Cards need to do moving forward in week nine to keep their playoff hopes alive.

 

Episode nine of Cardinal Mooney football coach’s corner with head coach, P.J. Fecko, is LIVE!

 

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TURNOVERS SINK MOONEY

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YOUNGSTOWN, OH- It only got tougher for Walt Sweeney, playing in his second game as the QB for the Cardinals, this week as Mooney would post only one score against a talented Warren Harding Raiders squad.

Each team came into the game with a record of 4-3 and, most importantly, each was currently in the playoff picture for their respective regions. Needing a win to keep pace, Warren Harding would strike quickly, taking their first offensive possession into the endzone with a 3-yard touchdown by Elizah Smith. The Cardinal’s incurring possession would result in a punt, but the defense stood tall and forced a punt as well. Leading the charge was Michael Pastella, who led the Cardinals with 8 solo tackles and 2 sacks.

In the second, Mooney’s offense would click into high gear. The sophomore sensation, Zyere Rodgers, ripped off big run after big run. The drive was capped by Sweeney finding Mike Scavina up the middle for a 26-yard touchdown pass, the first for Walt Sweeney. But turnovers would become the story for the Cardinals. The first of two fumbles occurred in the first quarter, however, Mooney’s defense was able to hold. The second came in the second half on a muffed punt. Tack on 3 interceptions, a couple of them tipped balls, and the opportunistic Raider defense gave the offense plenty of short fields.

Marcus Brown, who came in as the wildcat formation QB, finished with two rushing touchdowns and 86 yards on the ground. QB Elijah Taylor also had a great game, 6/10 for 101 and a touchdown, a 56-yard bomb to his number one target Ty Artis. The Raiders would go on to win the game 31-7.

Cardinal Mooney finds themselves in a must-win situation next week, against arch-rival Ursuline.

The Holy War draws near…

CARDINAL MOONEY COACH’S CORNER (EP. 8) WITH P.J. FECKO

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Coach P.J. Fecko and the Cardinal Mooney Cardinals battled the entire night and took the Leopards of Louisville to double overtime, but fell just short. Week eight will once again see the Cards play host, as they welcome the Warren G. Harding Raiders to Stambaugh Stadium.

YSN’s legendary general manager, Steve Leslie, sat down with Coach Fecko this week to discuss what he and his staff took away from the double overtime game last week but also what to expect from the Cardinals in week eight against the Raiders.

 

All that and more in this week’s episode of Cardinal Mooney football coach’s corner with head coach, P.J. Fecko!

 

PRESENTED BY:

MOONEY FLIES HIGH, ADVANCE PAST CANTON SOUTH

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Cardinal Mooney started their tournament run on the right foot with a first round sweep of Canton South (26-24 25-20 25-10).

The night began quicker than usual as technical difficulties bypassed the announcement of starting lineups. Canton South was ready to give the favored Cardinals all they could handle. The first set of the night was very competitive. Canton South held a small lead for most of the set. That was until the score reached into the twenties. It was at that point Mooney flexed their muscles and were able to come up with clutch points down the stretch. The Cardinals hit a modest .181 in the set helping them secure a 26-24 victory.

In set 2 the Cardinals would have to navigate some struggles hitting the ball. Their hitting percentage for the set dipped well into the negatives. At -.100 they weren’t going to win it with their attack. So the Cardinals made adjustments. They played solid defense and blocked extremely well in the front row. Mooney survived the tough hitting to take set two 25-20.

The Cardinals straightened everything out in set three. They had control from the very start. Rolling out to an 11-1 lead, they took away any momentum the already tired Wildcats had.  The Cardinals also had their best hitting set of the match. Only commuting two attack errors and finishing with a .269 percentage. Mooney rolled to a 25-10 match sealing set three win.

Katie Hough led the Mooney offense with 10 kills and 3 digs. Angelina Rotunno and Angela Proia split the setting duties tallying 8 assists each. CJ Sapp finished with 14 digs.

Mooney advances to play Salem on Saturday October 19th. That match will start at 6:30 at West Branch High School.

WEEK 6 BAIRD BROTHERS BIG DOGS OF THE VALLEY ANNOUNCED

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After a big week of voting, we have two champions that have emerged in Week 6!  Our weekly contest presented by Baird Brothers had some downright amazing competition, but the support by the fanbases has been totaled.  Both winners are now eligible for the Big Dog of the Year in their respective sport which is presented to one of the area’s top student-athletes from participating schools.

Congratulations to this week’s victors.

 

VOLLEYBALL

PHOTO CREDIT: JOSH WORKMAN

Greta Cartwright -Wellsville- (vs. East Palestine) 24 Assists/4 Aces

 

 

FOOTBALL

PHOTO CREDIT: JOSH WORKMAN

Pat Guerrieri – Cardinal Mooney – (vs. East) 86 Yards Passing/72 Yards Rushing/3 TD

HEARTBREAK IN OT, MOONEY FALLS TO LOUISVILLE

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YOUNGSTOWN, OH – Forced into action due to injuries, Walter Sweeney took his first ever snaps at quarterback in Mooney’s home game against the Louisville Leopards. It would take two extra frames of overtime to settle it, but the Cardinals would fall 20-14.

Louisville came into the game averaging well over 30 points a game, but the Cardinals leaned on their defense early on. Dino Mario D’Alesio would pick off Colton Jones on the Leopards opening possession, but Mooney could not come away with any points. A scoreless first quarter would end with the Cardinals punting it away to Louisville.

The defenses continued to dominate through the first half, with each team committing two turnovers. That was until Colton Jones found Davis Burick up the middle for a 28 yard touchdown strike on a fourth down and ten.

Both team’s offenses got going in the third quarter, exchanging touchdown drives. It was the sophomore phenom Zyere Rodgers would struck first, when Mooney took their opening second half possession straight to the endzone, a 3 yard plunge from Rodgers. Leopards responded quickly with a massive play of their own, when Jones hit Burick again but this time for a 61 yard touchdown. But Sweeney and the Cardinals refused to quit. Rodgers would again break free for a another touchdown, this one for 23 yards. Rodgers would finish with 174 yards along with the two scores.

We entered the first overtime with Louisville on offense, but two high snaps ending their scoring opportunity. Mooney’s responding drive ended with a field goal try, and Brian Philbin just barely missing a 30 yard field goal. The second overtime had Mooney on offense first. But the Leopard defense stood tall, and forced the only fumble of the game from inside their own 1 yard line. And on the ensuing possession, Louisville would need only 4 plays for Davis Burick on the wildcat snap to find pay dirt and lift the Leopards to victory. Louisville wins 20-14.