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Regional champion Tigers take on perennial power
(by Tony Lange - November 23, 2011)
Regional champion Tigers take on perennial power
By TONY LANGE
The Chagrin Falls Tigers (13-0) travel to Uniontown Friday to take on the Cardinal Mooney Cardinals (9-3). The game will be the third consecutive state semifinal game for the Tigers.
The winner advances to play for the Division III state championship at 3 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, at Fawcett Stadium in Canton. The opponent will be the winner of Elida (10-3) and Springfield Shawnee (13-0).
In Region 11, Cardinal Mooney was the fourth-seeded team as it entered the 2011 playoffs with three losses. During the regular season, the Cardinals were beaten by St. Edward, 34-17, Lake Catholic, 27-22, and Youngstown Ursuline, 25-21.
Meanwhile, standout wins for Mooney include its 28-24 triumph against Canton McKinley at Canton McKinley in the first week of the regular season and its 41-21 triumph against St. Vincent-St. Mary in week eight.
During their playoff journey, the Cardinals beat Canal Fulton Northwest, 42-22, top-ranked Steubenville, 24-22, and Dover, 70-44. During the Steubenville game, the Cardinals nailed a 30-yard field goal with nine seconds remaining for the win.
Beating previously undefeated Steubenville, the Cardinals pushed themselves into the frontrunner position for a state title as 18 out of 26 Associated Press pollsters had picked Steubenville to win it all this season.
At the end of the regular season, Chagrin Falls was No. 4 in the AP rankings and Cardinal Mooney was No. 10.
The only common opponent for Chagrin Falls and Mooney, however, is SVSM. While the Cardinals beat the Fighting Irish by 20 points in the regular season, the Tigers are coming off a 30-12 triumph against them in the Region 9 championship.
To beat Cardinal Mooney, the Tigers will have to stop the run on defense and execute all facets of their multidimensional offense.
During Mooney's regional title win against Dover last week, they scored 10 touchdowns. Nine were rushing and one was an interception.
Judging by the Dover game, the Cardinals have two stellar running backs who combined for seven touchdowns. Their quarterback, P.J. Quinn, is also quick on his feet as he had two rushing touchdowns, both 20-plus yards.
When it comes to renowned programs in Ohio high school football history, Mooney is right up there with the best. With seven football state championships, only St. Ignatius, 10, and Newark Catholic, eight, have more titles.
Perhaps that's why Mooney's scarlet-and-gold uniformed players are regularly featured on the front page of the Ohio High School Athletic Association football magazine.
While Chagrin Falls is making its third straight appearance in the state semifinals, Mooney lost 35-10 to Buchtel last season in the regional finals. Mooney did, however, win the 2009 Division III state championship.
In the history of state semifinal games, Mooney is 10-5. Its overall playoff record in school history is 54-17.
Defining itself as an up-and-coming football school, Chagrin Falls made its state semifinals debut back in 2009 and has a 15-8 overall record in playoff games.
In their last meeting, Mooney beat Chagrin Falls 42-13 in a 2004 regional semifinals game. The Cardinals went on to win the Division IV state championship that year.
TONY'S TAKE: The Tigers win by a field goal.
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