Published: Sunday, December 2, 2007
Dream season ends with blocked kick
The scene was surreal, a wedding taking place alongside a funeral. Cheers, tears. Joy, sorrow. Pride, disbelief. All playing out inside the hearts of kids in grown men's bodies who were jumbled together at midfield inside Massillon's Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
In the midst of the chaos, just seconds after one of the biggest upsets in state finals history, Mooney senior Dan McCarthy sought out his best friend, Tim Marlowe, who had tears streaming down his face. McCarthy hugged his friend, holding his head next to his as Marlowe repeated, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"You've got nothing to be sorry about," McCarthy said. "You played your heart out."
All around them, fans on both sides of the stadium stared at the scoreboard in shock. Did this really happen? Did Mooney lose?
"Everyone wants a storybook ending," said Lock Beachum, whose son Brandon rushed for a game-high 191 yards in Mooney's 28-27 loss to Coldwater in Saturday's Division IV state final. "Sometimes that doesn't happen."
And sometimes, just when you think you've overcome the odds, the unthinkable happens. Marlowe, the undersized and overlooked dynamo who had helped save Mooney's season, had somehow rescued the Cardinals once again late in Saturday's game, driving the Cardinals 69 yards in just over two minutes to set up what seemed destined to be the game-tying touchdown.
The comeback was almost complete. All the Cardinals needed was for kicker Ed Reese, who had made 58 of 60 extra points, to tie the game.
Instead, tragedy.
Coldwater's Kurt Schlarman broke through the line, put up his hands and blocked the kick, a final punch in the gut to a team that had picked itself off the mat and absorbed every blow.
And now, it was over.
"I couldn't be more proud of my guys," Mooney coach P.J. Fecko said afterward. "I wouldn't want to associate with anyone other than them."
As Coldwater's players accepted the state championship trophy for the second time in three years, Beachum stood 20 feet away from his teammates, wiping away tears. Someone stuck a microphone in front of senior Michael Zordich and his voice, barely audible, cracked out syllables when words wouldn't come.
"I ... I ... don't know what to say," he said. "They ... they ... blocked it."
He shook his head, then walked away. There was nothing more to say.
Know this about the game: Mooney didn't lose it. The Cavaliers, a team no one outside the Coldwater city limits thought could win, did the unthinkable: They won.
They upended the nation's eighth-ranked team, a team that many felt was the best in Ohio regardless of division, despite trailing 21-7 in the fourth quarter. They won it with big plays and trick plays. They won it with their wide receiver throwing for one touchdown and missing another by one yard, and their running back rushing for 18 yards.
"It's a tribute to Coldwater," said McCarthy. "They were the better team."
Now. There remains one question. It's the same question the Cardinals asked themselves two years ago, when the Cavaliers won a title with Mooney's starting quarterback sidelined with an injury. It's the same question the Cardinals' fans were asking themselves Saturday night — and will ask themselves again and again.
What if?
What if, when McCarthy came up for a tackle against Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary three weeks ago, he'd turned his head an inch to the left? What if he'd never herniated discs in his neck? What if the player that many felt was the best in Ohio this season had been under center and not on the sideline? What if Marlowe had played wideout on Saturday, his natural position, and not quarterback?
What if? Would the Cardinals have won? Who knows? One thing's for sure: You can't blame this loss on Marlowe.
"Timmy's done an outstanding job," McCarthy said. "He's done wonders."
McCarthy, a Notre Dame recruit who was consoled afterward by an Irish coach, suited up Saturday for the first time since his injury but couldn't play.
"It's obviously very difficult," McCarthy said. "I would have done anything to be out there. But I'm so proud of these guys. You couldn't ask for better teammates and better friends."
Thirty minutes after the game ended, after Fecko had submitted to the inevitable onslaught of interviews, he walked out of the press box with his four captains by his side: McCarthy, Beachum, Zordich and Taylor Hill.
When asked what he planned to tell his players in the locker room, Fecko shook his head and said, "I think I'll just wait. We'll talk about that when we get back to school."
As Fecko walked into the locker room, Mike Zordich Sr. walked out and waited for his son to cross the field. Then he hugged him.
And then defensive coordinator Ron Stoops — whose brother, Bob, had called after the game despite being two hours away from coaching Oklahoma in the biggest game of his season — hugged him. And Beachum's father hugged his son.
What did he tell him?
"I told him I loved him," he said.
And with that, the dream season was over. But through it all, Mooney's players and coaches said all the right things, never making excuses or placing blame, instead giving credit to their opponents.
"These are great kids," Stoops said of the Cardinals.
Mooney may have lost a state final, but it gained a few things Saturday, too, things like respect and admiration. The Cardinals' character was on display on the field, and it was there off the field, too. Losses reveal those things.
All season, everyone knew the Cardinals had the talent of champions. But know this: On Saturday, they showed they had the hearts of champions, too.
Even when they weren't.
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