'08 OH S Dan McCarthy (Signed LOI to ND)

[IrishCPA]

Is he a safety or is he a QB??

[scooper]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAN

im not sure CW will even offer him, he maybe better than kyle but thats really not saying much since TW was the one who offered and recruited kyle mccarthy to ND in the first place.

Kyle McCarthy has impressed so far this year in practice, from what I've heard. He's second on the depth chart behind Nedu in front of some more highly rated prospects. He is very athletic. Your opinion of him is not the reality of the situation. If his brother is better, don't be surprised if he is offered.

[scooper]

Originally Posted by IrishCPA

Is he a safety or is he a QB??

He'll be recruited as a safety.

I don't like OSU, but I trust their taste in defensive players. If they offered him this early, he's probably going to be a good one.

[knute]

Originally Posted by Svoboda

McCarthy picked up an offer from Ohio State today.

Ohio State wouldn't offer a defensive player this early if he wasn't really good. Glad to hear that he's so high on Notre Dame. I'd love to get a top safety in the bank for 2008.

[EnviedOne]

YOUNGSTOWN — When Mooney junior Dan McCarthy was converted from running back to quarterback this summer, he had quite a legacy to live up to.

The last three Cardinal quarterbacks — Ron Stoops (Michigan State), Kyle McCarthy (Notre Dame) and Derrell Johnson (Iowa) — earned Division I scholarships, although all of them were recruited as defensive backs.

On Tuesday, the number grew to four — Dan McCarthy got a letter in the mail from Ohio State coach Jim Tressel offering him a full-ride — but McCarthy hasn't lost his focus.

Self-restraint

"I was very excited about the offer," said McCarthy, who hasn't yet decided on a college. "But I'm just trying to concentrate on this season."

He didn't seem to have any trouble on Friday, running for six touchdowns to lead Mooney (3-0) to a 40-13 win over Akron Hoban at Stambaugh Stadium.

"Did he really have that many [touchdowns]?" Mooney coach P.J. Fecko said. "Honestly, I didn't know that."

What Fecko did know was that losing Johnson to graduation left a big hole for his team at quarterback entering this season. Last year's backup, Tony Brunetti, was better suited at wideout.

McCarthy's athletic ability, meanwhile, was perfectly suited for Mooney's run-first offense, Fecko said.

"Danny's a pretty good athlete," Fecko said. "He's still learning and he's still figuring things out. But at this point, the only thing he's lacking is experience."

Not perfect

McCarthy wasn't perfect — he fumbled a punt return and threw an interception into double coverage in the end zone — but he certainly didn't play like it was his third start at quarterback.

"I'm just taking it week by week," said McCarthy, who said that his brother's decision to play at Notre Dame won't have any effect on his own. "Our line opened up some great holes and our fullbacks got the tough yards. I was just fortunate enough to get outside."

McCarthy finished with 152 yards on 16 carries and completed 3 of 4 passes for 65 yards, including a 42-yarder Vinny Petella.

Junior fullback Mike Zordich, an outstanding linebacker who is also getting interest from Division I schools, added 114 yards on 13 carries as the Cardinals finished with 361 yards on the ground. (Running back Brandon Beachum injured his ankle and did not play the second half, but the injury was not expected to be serious.)

"We're working on putting a full game together," Fecko said. "We've seen glimmers of what we can do."

Mooney took a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, only to turn the ball over on three straight possessions in the second quarter, giving Hoban new life.

Knights within eight

The Knights (1-2) pulled to within 21-13 late in the third quarter and stuffed Mooney on its first three plays of the next series. Problem was, a Hoban defender got flagged for a personal foul on third down, giving Mooney a first down.

Five plays later, McCarthy scored his fourth touchdown and Hoban never again threatened.

Hoban senior running back DeAnte Johnson, who was carrying a bigger load due to the injury to running back Steven Yoak, finished with 97 yards on 25 carries and a touchdown.

"We did some things that I think we can build on," said Akron Hoban coach Ralph Orsini, whose team also lost to Walsh Jesuit. "You just can't get in a hole against a team like Cardinal Mooney.

"They're a really tough team," Orsini said. "Anybody who beats them this year is going to have to play awfully well."

Source: Vindy.com

[EnviedOne]

Junior Mike Zordich put the Cardinals up for good in the 21-16 victory.

MENTOR — Mike Zordich's 31-yard touchdown run with 7:01 remaining in the game erased Mentor Lake Catholic's three-point lead, but Dan McCarthy's 39-yard TD run eventually sealed Cardinal Mooney's 21-16 victory Saturday night.

Defense for the unbeaten Cardinals (5-0) was just as instrumental in pulling out the win for the state's top-ranked Division IV team.

Trailing, 10-7, after suffering its fourth turnover, Mooney held the Cougars on four plays. That's when the Cardinals got another shot. Dom Scarnecchia returned a punt into Lake Catholic territory with 8:20 left and, a minute later, Zordich's explosive TD run followed.

Mooney put what appeared to be the exclamation point on the game when McCarthy, a junior quarterback, ran 40 yards for a touchdown and 21-10 lead at 3:16. But a 65-yard desperation pass play from Alex Kurowski to Randy Greenwood pulled the Cougars (2-3) within four points at 2:27.

Mooney held a 21-9 advantage in first downs and a lopsided 304-93 differential in rushing yards.

Zordich gained 129 yards and McCarthy 108 yards The Cougars held a 10-7 lead at the half.

Settling in

It took one scoreless quarter for both teams to settled in.

Mooney opened the second period at its 20-yard line, but lost the ball when Zordich fumbled at the 50-yard line.

After a punt, McCarthy completed a 39-yard pass to Nick Pederzolli and McCarthy's 17-yard pass to Ryan Babyak preceded McCarthy's 34-yard touchdown toss to Tony Brunetti. Mark Babyak's kick gave the Cardinals a 7-0 lead at 4:56. The five-play TD drive covered 92 yards.

McCarthy fumbled a punt return and Lake Catholic recovered at Mooney's 28. A reverse run by wide receiver Chris Spahar put the Cougars 18 yards closer to the goal line before Dave Jaranovic scampered 10 yards for the tally. The two-play drive culminated with John Schaffer's PAT to knot the score, 7-7 at 2:20.

Mooney's third turnover — Alex Kurowski's interception and 24-yard return — put Lake Catholic at the Mooney 46.

The Cougars advanced and Schaffer's 24-yard field goal put the home team ahead with three seconds remaining before the half.

Source: Vindy.com

[EnviedOne]

WARREN — A bevy of offensive backs and a strong defense led Cardinal Mooney to a 52-14 win over Cleveland Benedictine Friday night.

"We had a lot of different guys touch the ball," Mooney P.J. Fecko said. "That keeps the defense off balance."

Eight backs gained 374 yards on 52 carries for Mooney (6-0). The victory ended a string of five consecutive victories for Benedictine (1-5) over the Cardinals.

Leading Mooney's offensive charge was quarterback Dan McCarthy, who gained 140 yards on 13 carries, including a 3-yard touchdown run. Mooney also scored a touchdown on the only pass McCarthy completed, a 25-yard toss to Ryan Babyak.

Two other keys to Mooney's offensive efforts were running backs Michael Zordich, who gained 90 yards on eight carries, and Brandon Beachum, who gained 84 yards on 13 carries. Zordich scored two touchdowns, on runs of 23 and 33 yards, while Beachum dashed 12 yards into the end zone.

Mooney scored first, marching 72 yards into Benedictine's end zone in the first quarter. The drive was capped by Jamelle Bowers' 3-yard plunge into the end zone, but the extra point kick failed.
Bengals led 7-6

But Benedictine came back quickly, scoring on a 14-play drive that covered 77 yards. Bengals quarterback Najee Goode ended the drive with a 1-yard drive across the goal line. Josh Steigerwald kicked the extra point to give Benedictine a 7-6 lead.

That was the only lead Benedictine would hold all night.

Mooney scored a second touchdown in the first quarter and two more in the second quarter to take a 25-7 lead into the locker room at halftime.

"We were fortunate enough to jump out and grab the lead," Fecko said. "And we were fortunate to come up with some stops" of the Benedictine offense.

The rout continues

Mooney took the second-half kickoff and marched 51 yards in seven plays, scoring when Zordich dashed 23 yards into the end zone.

After holding Benedictine without a first down, and sacking Goode, Mooney launched another successful scoring drive, scoring on Babyak's 25-yard catch.

Benedictine found the end zone again in the fourth quarter. The drive was keyed by running back Anthony Urbania's 53-yard jaunt. Urbania also carried the ball into the end zone, scoring on a 1-yard run.

But after Urbania ended his team's long scoring drought, Mooney scored two more fourth-quarter touchdowns. Second-team quarterback Jonathon Zyznar scored on a 4-yard run and the scoring ended when safety Lou Salreno intercepted a Benedictine pass and dashed 37 yards into the end zone.

Leading the Bengals

Urbania, a junior, was the key to the Bengals' offensive efforts, gaining 186 yards on 30 carries. The other offensive bright spot for Benedictine was running back Romel Dismuke, a sophomore who gained 63 yards on six carries.

Despite the big scoring margin, Fecko said after the game, "We're still not where we need to be."

Mooney entered the game in first place in the Division IV, Region 13 OHSAA computer ratings, and seems headed into the playoffs.

While admitting he was proud that his team avoided turnovers Friday night, Fecko insisted, "We've got a number of things we need to work on."

Source: Vindy.com