Published: Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Mooney
repeats
as poll
champs
The Cardinals won their second straight Associated Press Division IV poll crown.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN — Cardinal Mooney High football coach P.J. Fecko was happy to hear his team has won its second straight Associated Press poll title. He just doesn't plan on enjoying it for awhile.
"It's tough to think a lot about it right now," Fecko said Monday. "It'll be more special when the season's over."
The Cardinals (10-0) nabbed 25 of the 28 first-place votes in Division IV, easily outdistancing Steubenville 272-229. The Cardinals won last year's Div. IV poll and, five weeks later, won the state title.
It's the fifth AP title for Mooney. The Cardinals won the Div. III title in 1987 and later won the state title — the only other year they've done both. Mooney's other poll titles came in 1981 (Class AA) and 1999 (IV).
"It's definitely a great tribute to our team to be recognized across the state of Ohio for their hard work and their play," Fecko said. "They should be congratulated for it.
"But what it basically boils down to is, and this has nothing to do with the award itself, we deal with that stuff when the season's over. It's tough at this point."
Mooney, which has won 24 straight games, plays host to Coshocton (7-3) on Saturday. The Cardinals have played in the past three state championship games and have won six state titles overall.
In Div. V, South Range finished second to Maria Stein Marion Local. The Raiders, who won last year's poll title, were one of three area teams to make the list in Div. V, joining 8-2 Ursuline (ninth) and 10-0 Mathews (11th).
Unbeaten Howland placed fourth in Div. II, followed by Canfield (fifth). The Cardinals (9-1) lost to Howland in Week Four.
West Branch (8-2) placed 10th in Div. III. The Warriors' two losses came against ranked teams: Canal Fulton Northwest (No. 1 in Div. III) and Louisville (No. 8 in Div. II). Warren JFK, last year's state runner-up in Div. V, was 12th in Div. VI.
Elsewhere across Ohio, Cincinnati St. Xavier walked off with the No. 1 spot in Division I.
The only other time the Bombers won the media poll, in 2005, they went on to capture the state championship. They host Cincinnati Elder on Saturday night in a regional quarterfinal, the first of five steps to a state crown.
Other schools taking poll championships were Columbus DeSales in Division II and Bascom Hopewell-Loudon in Division VI.
Of the 158 schools that have won AP poll championships since Ohio went to a playoff format in 1972, 46 have gone on to take playoff titles.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
The Cardinals won their second straight Associated Press Division IV poll crown.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN — Cardinal Mooney High football coach P.J. Fecko was happy to hear his team has won its second straight Associated Press poll title. He just doesn't plan on enjoying it for awhile.
"It's tough to think a lot about it right now," Fecko said Monday. "It'll be more special when the season's over."
The Cardinals (10-0) nabbed 25 of the 28 first-place votes in Division IV, easily outdistancing Steubenville 272-229. The Cardinals won last year's Div. IV poll and, five weeks later, won the state title.
It's the fifth AP title for Mooney. The Cardinals won the Div. III title in 1987 and later won the state title — the only other year they've done both. Mooney's other poll titles came in 1981 (Class AA) and 1999 (IV).
"It's definitely a great tribute to our team to be recognized across the state of Ohio for their hard work and their play," Fecko said. "They should be congratulated for it.
"But what it basically boils down to is, and this has nothing to do with the award itself, we deal with that stuff when the season's over. It's tough at this point."
Mooney, which has won 24 straight games, plays host to Coshocton (7-3) on Saturday. The Cardinals have played in the past three state championship games and have won six state titles overall.
In Div. V, South Range finished second to Maria Stein Marion Local. The Raiders, who won last year's poll title, were one of three area teams to make the list in Div. V, joining 8-2 Ursuline (ninth) and 10-0 Mathews (11th).
Unbeaten Howland placed fourth in Div. II, followed by Canfield (fifth). The Cardinals (9-1) lost to Howland in Week Four.
West Branch (8-2) placed 10th in Div. III. The Warriors' two losses came against ranked teams: Canal Fulton Northwest (No. 1 in Div. III) and Louisville (No. 8 in Div. II). Warren JFK, last year's state runner-up in Div. V, was 12th in Div. VI.
Elsewhere across Ohio, Cincinnati St. Xavier walked off with the No. 1 spot in Division I.
The only other time the Bombers won the media poll, in 2005, they went on to capture the state championship. They host Cincinnati Elder on Saturday night in a regional quarterfinal, the first of five steps to a state crown.
Other schools taking poll championships were Columbus DeSales in Division II and Bascom Hopewell-Loudon in Division VI.
Of the 158 schools that have won AP poll championships since Ohio went to a playoff format in 1972, 46 have gone on to take playoff titles.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Cardinal Mooney High football coach P.J. Fecko was happy to hear his team has won its second straight Associated Press...
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