Submitted photo / Jim Stickle Productions The 2024 Cardinal Mooney football team.

YOUNGSTOWN — Cardinal Mooney head football coach Carl Pelini was not satisfied with the Cardinals’ 2023 season, a 5-6 campaign that failed to capitalize on the momentum from a regional semifinal berth a year earlier.

“Wasn’t what I hoped,” Pelini said. “But deep down, it was probably what I expected.”

Pelini said last season’s team was relatively young and inexperienced, which contrasted with the 2022 roster that made it further in the postseason than any Mooney team since 2013.

Pelini hopes 2024 is exactly what he expects.

“We went young last year and played a really young team. Hopefully, it pans out and that pays off for us this year like it did two years ago,” Pelini said.

Although the Cardinals will have a few new starters, most of which on offense, there is good reason for Pelini to be confident in Mooney’s cumulative experience. He said that nearly three-fourths of the starters from last year’s team are returning.

Pelini hopes that most of his team having previous varsity reps will limit the errors that could cost the Cardinals games.

“When you play with really young teams, they do a lot of good things. But there’s always mistakes gonna be made and maybe they don’t play as physically as you’d like,” Pelini said. “Now, the guys have had this entire offseason in the weight room. They’re bigger, stronger, faster. I expect more physicality.”

Pelini admitted that there is a delicate balance between breeding physicality and toughness in practice without risking the health and hindering the potential of the team.

“I think our strength is going to be our toughness and our physicality. I really believe that we’re working hard for that,” Pelini said. “We’re a small school, and we only have so many kids. … So depth is always going to be an issue. We’re gonna have to figure out how to practice and develop that physicality without beating the hell out of our kids, because it’s a long season against a lot of big schools that have more depth than we have.”

In addition to their experience on Friday nights, the Mooney players have also become familiar with Pelini, who is entering his fifth season as head coach of his alma mater, and vice versa.

“It’s a good group. It’s nice to have kids in this program now that only know me and how we do things,” Pelini said. “Just everything’s gone so much smoother. The expectations are high. I think kids are really into it.”

So what would success look like to Pelini and the Cardinals? Although a winning season – Pelini has yet to register one at Mooney – a victory over rival Ursuline, to which Mooney has lost the last three years, or another long playoff run would likely be satisfying, Pelini is focused on the process, not the results. He wants to maximize the potential of his experience-laden team.

“Be as good as we possibly can be. How good that is? I don’t know,” Pelini said. “For me, at this age, I’ve been doing it for so many years. It’s important that we get better every single day and that I see constant improvement.

“Where we end up, it’s limitless right now. You don’t really know where you’re gonna end up as a team, but I just want to see constant improvement. I want to see great discipline, and most importantly, I want to see toughness.”

OFFENSE

Quarterback is among the few positions where Mooney will need a new starter.

With the graduation of Ashton O’Brien, Mooney’s all-time passing yards, touchdowns and completions records holder, the Cardinals entered the summer with a competition between senior Keith Rhodes and sophomore Vince Gentile. Pelini remarked that although Gentile has a good arm and is athletic, Rhodes is one of Mooney’s best leaders and he, after sitting behind O’Brien and starting at wide receiver instead, had “earned the opportunity to get the first shot.”

Pelini said that losing a player as valuable as O’Brien is always tough, but Rhodes may be able to fill the vacancy in different ways.

“Ashton, more than just as a player, replacing his leadership [is hard]. He was a great role model for the younger kids, never complained, always did everything right,” Pelini said. “But Keith has that in him too. They’re very different kids. Keith’s a little more fiery, plays with a lot more emotion than I think Ashton did. But you just adapt to their skill set, figure out what they’re good at, what they can do and you make that the core of your offense.”

Pelini said that with the departure of offensive coordinator Rick Shepas, who became the new athletic director of Warren City Schools, the Mooney offense will look a little bit different in 2024.

“We were more wide open, and [Shepas] really liked that Texas Tech style of football,” Pelini said. “I learned a lot from him about offense, but we’ll have really good balance. I want to be able to run the football and go back to our roots as Cardinal Mooney and run the football well and throw play action but still be able to drop back and throw the ball when we have to.”

Returning starters on the offensive side of the ball include Adyn Paige, the Cardinals’ leading rusher last season, and Carlos Gomez, the team’s top wide receiver who led Mooney in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.

Pelini indicated that the team’s offensive line, although talented, lacks the experience found in most of the Cardinals’ other position groups and that it may take time during the season for the O-line to find their footing.

DEFENSE

A defensive-minded coach by nature, Pelini anticipates Mooney’s defense to be exceptionally strong this season. Mooney is returning all but one starter on that side of the ball.

“I expect the defense to be really, really good,” Pelini said. “We think that we’re gonna be able to rely on that defense, especially early in the season, to keep us in games until we can gel as an offensive unit.”

Pelini said the defense will operate out of a 3-4 scheme and features Kingston Powell and Dennis Clark, some of the most talented cornerbacks in the area.

“I guess our philosophy comes from my college days; defend the run effectively with as few guys as possible, don’t give up the big play in the passing game and play action game and make teams earn everything you get. But again, with more experience this year, we plan on expanding the playbook a little bit in expanding our pressure game.

“Our two corners, you can’t talk about us without talking about them. They’re three-year starters. They’ve been starting since they were freshmen,” Pelini said. “They’re going to be highly recruited kids and we’re really going to lean on them. That’s really where the defense starts.”

Pelini also named Chris Strong, Brady Desmond, Rocco Zabel and Dom Letlow as key players on the defensive side of the ball.

“Dom Letlow and Rocco Zabel and Brady Desmond are three sophomores that played a lot last year. And now they’re sophomores, just bigger, more mature. I expect a lot of that from them,” Pelini said. “Chris Strong is a guy who’s just worked his tail off for three years. He’s a junior now and he’s ready to step in and play a little bit of offensive line, a little bit at linebacker.”

Additionally, Pelini said the improvement of safety Brayden Mahone, who transferred from Chaney before last season, has been noticeable over the past year.

“[Mahone] played every down for us as a safety last year and, at times, it’s just a different coverage,” Pelini said. “Now, this summer, he really gets it, and you’ll see you’ll see a lot of leadership from him as well defensively.”

SPECIAL TEAMS

Sophomore Chris Clautti will resume his place kicking responsibilities.

“He handled our kicking duties a year ago, so he’s a year older, he’s a year stronger,” Pelini said. “He’s been going to kicking camps all summer. I think he’s gonna be really good.”

As for returning, Pelini heaped praise on Gomez, who, in addition to being the Cardinals’ best wide receiver, had two kick returns of more than 50 yards last year.

“Carlos Gomez was an absolute weapon as a returner,” Pelini said. “He kept us in games last year, so he’s gonna be a big part of our special teams group as well.”

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