Staff photo / R. Michael Semple Cardinal Mooney’s Ashton O’Brien runs for a gain Friday night during the Cardinals’ 26-17 win over Harding.

WARREN — Just days removed from tragedy, Cardinal Mooney rallied for an emotional victory.

Playing in their first game since the death of offensive line coach Mark Pelini, the Cardinals fell behind 17 in the first quarter before surging back to top host Warren G. Harding on Friday night at Mollenkopf Stadium, 26-17.

Mooney wore black, football-shaped helmet decals on the back of their helmets. The decals included the letters “MP” and an offensive lineman ready to snap the ball. As the Cardinals exited Mollenkopf Stadium after the game, several players were overcome with emotion and in tears.

“These kids, they got a lot of character,” said Mooney head coach and uncle of Mark, Carl Pelini. “It was such a difficult thing for these kids. Just going to the funeral home today, it was really emotional, and I think they were a little bit spent emotionally when the game started and came out kind of flat.

“It didn’t take much at halftime. All we told them was let’s just go back and relax and start playing the game like we’ve been playing in the last few weeks.”

The Cardinals (4-4) did just that.

Jamar Howell, who didn’t register a carry in the first half, provided the needed jumpstart for the Mooney offense. The tailback ran for 109 yards on eight carries in the third quarter, and finished with 169 yards and a touchdown on 17 rushes.

With Howell rolling in the third quarter, Mooney called a well-timed quarterback bootleg, which Ashton O’Brien took 18 yards for Mooney’s first score of the night. The touchdown drew the Cardinals to within 17-7.

Then, early in the fourth, Howell hit paydirt himself, as he ran off the right tackle for a 7-yard score to cut Harding’s lead to 17-14 with 10:24 to play.

“Jamar has been battling injuries since the beginning of the year, but he’s that kind of back,” Pelini said. “He’s a really physical runner, and we felt like we found something there at halftime, and Coach (Rick Shepas) called a great second half, and our kids responded. It was a great night.”

Mooney took the lead with 8:34 to play. After Kingstown Powell intercepted a Harding (2-6) pass at the 39, the Cardinals faced a fourth and 1 from the 30.

Coming out of a timeout, Mooney lined up, and then O’Brien motioned to the sideline as though the play hadn’t been called in. As he did that, Alec Delsignore took a direct snap and initially gained enough yardage for a first, before breaking through some Harding tacklers and racing to the end zone to put Mooney up 20-17.

On the ensuing drive, Dalys Jett moved Harding to the Mooney 25 with a 53-yard run, but a couple plays later a bobbled snap was recovered by the Cardinals. Mooney gave the ball back to Harding at Harding’s 1 after O’Brien was picked off by Jett, but Delsignore answered with a pick 6 to push Mooney to a 26-17 advantage.

In all, Harding turned the ball over five times. Jeffrey Brenner and William Desmond each had fumble recoveries for the Cardinals.

“That’s what happens when you play fast and you run to the football and you’re pursuing,” Pelini said.

The turnovers — and a sluggish second half in general offensively — undid what was the best start to a game Harding has had this season.

The Raiders initially nabbed a 7-0 lead when Jett took the second play from scrimmage 74 yards to the end zone. On Harding’s next drive, he connected with Naujeat Jones for a 21-yard touchdown pass to extend the advantage to 14-0. Jake Daugherty rounded things out with a 20-yard field goal.

Jett finished the night with 155 yards and a touchdown on eight rushes, while Jones had five receptions for 74 yards and his score.

“We had all the momentum in the world,” Harding coach Steve Arnold said.

But, things unraveled. Jett exited the game in the second quarter with an injury and didn’t come back in until the second half, and Harding’s offense sputtered after that initial burst. No other Raider had more than 22 yards rushing, and only one other Raider caught a pass.

In all, Mooney outgained Harding 250-100 in the second half.

“We got out of our rhythm,” Arnold said. “After Dalys went down, we put Drew McKowan in, and through no fault of his, he had one day of practice this week because he was sick. But he was guided, and he’s our backup quarterback and gave it everything he had. But they stymied us, and we just couldn’t get anything moving in the second half. Sometimes when you get out of rhythm, that’s what happens.”

The Raiders visit Chaney on Friday. Cardinal Mooney hosts Steubenville on Saturday.