YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — For about five minutes Friday night, it looked like Fairless might be the story of the first round. Then Cardinal Mooney scored, and scored again, and did not stop until 47 unanswered points had turned a Division V, Region 17 playoff opener at Stambaugh Stadium into a 47-14 rout, according to the Canton Repository’s game report.
The 11th-seeded Falcons (6-5) struck first, when Mikey Ritterbeck connected with CJ Pumneo on a 46-yard touchdown pass for a 7-0 lead, the Repository reported. It was the high point of Fairless’ night. Sixth-seeded Mooney answered with two first-quarter touchdowns to lead 13-7, and that score held through a scoreless second quarter to halftime.
The game broke open in the third quarter. Mooney poured in 27 points in the period, turning a one-score game into a running-clock rout before the fourth quarter began, according to the Repository. Brady Desmond ran for three touchdowns to lead the Cardinals’ ground attack.
Fairless, meanwhile, could not run the ball at all. The Falcons were limited to just 23 yards rushing as a team, the Repository reported — a number that tells the story of a Mooney defensive front that controlled the line of scrimmage from the second series onward. After the early Pumneo score, Fairless managed only one more touchdown all night.
The win was Mooney’s sixth in a row, improving the Cardinals to 8-3. It also ended a three-game winning streak for Fairless, which had ridden that late-season run to a playoff berth and an early lead Friday before Mooney’s depth and line play took over.
Mooney’s playoff pedigree is part of the backdrop here. The Cardinals are one of Ohio’s storied small-school programs, and a first-round home game at Stambaugh Stadium — the venue they share with Youngstown State — is a difficult assignment for any lower seed. Fairless learned that in the span of one third quarter.
The turnaround also underlined how quickly playoff games can flip. Fairless owned the game’s first big play and the early momentum, but Mooney’s two quick answers meant the Falcons played from behind for the final three and a half quarters — and a team that cannot run the ball, as the 23-yard total showed, has few ways to protect a defense or shorten a game.
For Fairless, the loss closes a 6-5 season that included a three-game winning streak entering the playoffs. The Falcons’ early strike Friday showed why they believed an upset was possible; the final three quarters showed the gap that still separates them from Region 17’s perennial contenders.
Friday’s opener was one of several Mahoning Valley playoff games on a busy first-round night. In another all-Bulldogs matchup, Poland Seminary upset Woodridge 41-38, and a night earlier in the Stark County rivalry series, Louisville topped rival Hoover 21-7 to advance in Division II.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on: the final score, the 47 unanswered points, Desmond’s three rushing touchdowns and Fairless’ 23 team rushing yards are confirmed in the Canton Repository’s report. Complete individual statistics for Mooney’s passing game and the full Region 17 bracket pairings beyond Mooney’s next opponent had not been published as of Saturday morning.
What happens next: Mooney advances to the regional quarterfinals at third-seeded Girard, which finished the regular season 10-0 and had a first-round bye. That game is set for Friday, Nov. 6 — a step up in competition that will test whether the Cardinals’ six-game winning streak can carry into the second round.
The scoring timeline shows how complete the flip was. Fairless led 7-0 on the Ritterbeck-to-Pumneo strike, Mooney answered twice in the first quarter for a 13-7 lead, neither team scored in the second quarter, and Mooney’s 27-point third quarter turned 13-7 into 40-7 before the Falcons scored again. Forty-seven unanswered points, in sequence, is the kind of run that ends playoff games early.
For Mooney, the formula travels: a defensive front that held a playoff opponent to 23 rushing yards and a ground game led by Desmond’s three touchdowns are exactly the ingredients that win November games on the road. Girard, unbeaten and rested after its bye, will be a different level of test — but the Cardinals arrive as the hottest team in the region, winners of six straight, with their most complete performance of the season fresh on film.
Photo: Greenstrat, CC BY-SA 4.0