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'06 OH ATH Derrell Johnson (Iowa Signee)

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10/13/05

Youngstown Mooney at St. Vincent-St. Mary

What, when, where: Nonleague game, 7:30 p.m., Green Street Stadium, Green St., Akron. Call 330-253-9113.

Records: Mooney 6-1; SVSM 5-2.

What to watch: The Irish have not made the playoffs since 2002, but a victory over the Cardinals would almost reserve a spot in Division IV, Region 13. SVSM sits in third place in the region and Mooney, which lost starting quarterback Derrell Johnson to a broken leg three weeks ago, is in first place. Johnson, a move-in from Campbell Memorial, has been replaced by Tony Brunetti, who was the scheduled starter before Johnson moved in. This will be a battle of single-wing teams, so this one could be over early. Games against Mooney are not part of SVSM's illustrious history. The Irish are 1-11 against Mooney since 1972.
 
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10/15/05

Cardinals shut out Irish

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Cardinal Mooney blocks punt, runs ball back for only touchdown
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[SIZE=-1]By Michael Beaven[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=-1]Beacon Journal sports writer[/SIZE]
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Coaches always say defense wins championships.

Friday night Youngstown Cardinal Mooney and host St. Vincent-St. Mary each played solid defense, as each unit allowed zero points.

The difference in the game was one special teams play in the third quarter that allowed Cardinal Mooney to escape with a hard-fought 7-0 victory.
Four minutes into the quarter, Mooney senior Robert Walker sprinted into the backfield to block a punt. Senior Calvin Littlejohn picked up the ball and ran 38 yards for a touchdown. Senior Will Kandray converted the extra point.

Mooney coach P.J. Fecko had a feeling the game would be a defensive battle.
``We knew it was going to be a defensive struggle,'' Fecko said. ``We knew we had to be persistent.''

Fecko said special teams are often an overlooked aspect of the game.
``There are three phases of the game... special teams are an important part of the game,'' he said.

For Irish coach Keith Wakefield it was another night to have a tired look on his face.

After the game he talked about how his team had just played four quarters with heart and effort.

``We did have more kids fight tonight than I have in my two years here,'' he said. ``We have been looking for that.''

But yet again the Irish fell short in another close game.

``That was the third game we lost like that,'' Wakefield said in reference to losses to Hoban (20-13 in double overtime) and Steubenville (21-14 in overtime).

``Its been torture,'' he said.

Mooney, the defending state champion in Division IV, improved to 7-1 and will remain the top team in Region 13. The Irish dropped to 5-3, but remain in the hunt for a playoff berth.

Wakefield was proud that his defense did not allow Mooney senior quarterback Desmond Marrow to complete a pass. He went 0-for-2.

Irish seniors Jimmy Gilchrist, Joshua Rohler, Luke Stafford, Jeffrey Speck and Anthony Oliverio provided a steady rush with junior Dean Corpas and freshman Harvie Tuck IV.

``We had kids playing hard, playing with a lot of heart,'' Wakefield said. ``I'm real proud of them.''

Mooney was limited to just four first downs and 145 yards of total offense. St. V-M tallied seven first downs and 174 yards.

The Irish struggled offensively, as senior quarterback Darius Green completed just 9-of-22 passes. Mooney limited Irish senior receiver Brian Glasper to only two receptions for 18 yards.

Rohler led St. V-M with 60 rushing yards yards on 10 carries. Mooney's defense kept junior backs Diamond Hart and DeWayne Richardson in check.

Wakefield was impressed by Mooney's display of quickness and athleticism.
Marrow also plays defensive back for Mooney and made two interceptions.

He picked off a Green pass a minute after the blocked punt and intercepted a pass by senior Blaise Meeker in a late rally attempt by St. V-M.

Mooney senior tailback Nate Burney used speed and power to gain 105 yards on 24 carries.

``Nate is a hard runner, he gets tough yards and he'll get yards after the catch,'' Fecko said. ``He likes to move the sticks.''

The Irish limited stick moving, but came up short.
 
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10/31

Johnson will be back at the helm for Cardinal Mooney this week for the first round of the playoffs. He is considering North Carolina (offer), Virginia Tech, Purdue, Arizona, Illinois, Syracuse, Ohio State, and Cincinnati(offer). He also has offers from West Virginia and Ohio U.
 
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scout.com (free)

11/15/05

<TABLE width=445 bgColor=#ffffff border=1><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top borderColor=#ffffff width=96 bgColor=#c0c0c0>
Gary Housteau:
</TD><TD borderColor=#ffffff width=333 bgColor=#ffffff>I couldn't have been any happier for any football player than I was while I was watching Derrell Johnson of Youngstown Cardinal Mooney High School in action this weekend.

Here's a young person that was on the brink of becoming a statistic that's not football related and now he's at the top of his game and on top of the world.

Last year he was the most talented player on a 1-9 team and barely got any recognition for it in the Youngstown area. I had heard of him but was told by more than one person that Johnson would never come close to meeting any academic standards that would allow him to continue playing football on the next level. So I never even went to see him practice and his previous school is not even five miles from my home.

But fortunately for Johnson, he received divine intervention at the 11th hour which led to him being adopted by a family that had a son at the same school, which led to him transferring to Mooney, which has led him to success on the gridiron and even in the classroom now. He just had his best report card ever this past grading period.

Johnson is listed at 6-3 and 202 pounds, which may be generous measurements on both dimensions. But he plays really big at quarterback for the Cardinals. He's becoming more of dual threat at quarterback in the Mooney offense and has the legitimate ability to beat you with his arm as well as his legs.

He alone, with the help of running back Nate Burney of course, is talented enough on the D-IV level to take his team back to the state title game and win it this year.

Against Akron Manchester, Johnson ran for 2 TDs (1 and 39 yards) and threw for another (35 yards) after a quiet first half. He ran for 102 yards in all on the night.

This summer Johnson worked with the wide receivers at OSU's advanced camp and Darrell Hazell is calling on him from the staff at this time.
It looks like this story has the potential to end happily ever after for Johnson. If he gets all of the academic issues solved, there's a good chance he could become a member of the OSU's 2006 recruiting class. Only time will tell.

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