Playoff Preview: Pirates, Cardinals ready to do battle in trenches

WHEELERSBURG — Finally. It’s the Final Four.

After 10 regular season games and 4 more playoff weeks, the Final Four of the Ohio High School Athletic Association football playoffs get underway at 7 p.m. Friday and two of the four teams in Division 5 as the Wheelersburg Pirates and Youngstown Cardinal Mooney Cardinals at Westerville Central High School.

For the Pirates, the perfect regular season is the fourth under head coach Rob Woodward and first since 2017. Now in his 18th season, Woodward is 184-44 overall.

Under first-year head coach Frank Colaprete, has guided the Cardinals to a 10-2 record and a state semifinal berth. Mooney was just 3-8 last season and lost in the first round of the playoffs.

A graduate of Mooney, Colaprete had a successful 12-year run as the head coach at Wooster College in the North Coast Athletic Conference before taking the job at his alma mater.

Mooney (10-2) rolled past Girard 48-14 in their regional finals while Wheelersburg also had an easy time with a 41-0 win over Nelsonville-York.

Woodward said the Cardinals will give multiple formations on offense but the key is their execution.

“They start out in three basic formations and three basic plays. They’re trying to get the ball to number five (Ike Lake) and do his thing, but throughout all that, they’re really orchestrating what are you doing as a defense, what can they see and how can they exploit that,” said Woodward, who played his college football in the NCAC.

“You can tell they have eyes in the sky. Their coach has spent a number of years in the NCAC at Wooster. He has a good football mind and I’m sure he has a lot of assistants who you can tell do a good job with their kids.”

Running back Ike Lake — a 5-9, 167-pound senior — ran 148 times for 1,105 yards and scored 14 touchdowns during the regular season.

Another key player is 6-5, 230-pound senior tight end and defensive end Johnathan Brenner who had 17 catches for 306 yards and 5 TDs.

In the win over Girard, quarterback Vince Gentile (6-1, 195) threw touchdown passes to Mike Schiraldi (5-9, 155) and Tony Jackson (5-7, 155). Brady Desmond (5-10, 187) had two scoring runs and Rocco Zabel (6-1, 200) had a 1-yard TD run.

“They want to get the ball in (Lake’s) hands. Their quarterback is accurate enough and he knows on a given play where he wants to go with the ball and whether they’re trying to dial it up. He can put it underneath some of those receivers.”

Defensive lineman Kejaun Dean (6-4, 220) had 58 tackles including 13 for a loss and 6 sacks. Teammate Dom Letlow (6-3, 23) had 38 tackles with 11 for a loss and 2 sacks.

Zabel — a linebacker on defense — had 112 tackles with 18 for a loss and 7 sacks. Defensive back Jaie Manningham (5-8, 140) had 20 tackles and 5 interceptions.

“In comparison to all the teams that we’ve played, that’s the one thing I think that they have more than all the other teams,” said Woodward. “Ironton had speed, McNicholas both had speed. We’ve got some speed. We’ll see how it plays out.”

In Wheelerburg’s win over N-Y, Elijah Brown ran 15 times for 155 yards and 3 touchdowns in the Pirates win. Quarterback Braylon Rucker ran for 69 yards and a score and was 5 of 5 passing for 49 yards.

Wheelersburg’s defense held the Buckeyes to only 163 total yards.

Regardless of how good each team’s skill players are, Woodward said the game will be decided in the trenches.

“I’m going to stick with what I’ve been saying each and every week and that’s control the line of scrimmage,” said Woodward. “Offensively and defensively we have to control the line of scrimmage. We always talk about alignment is number one with our defensive unit. Recognition based on reading the keys, and we’ve got to be physical and all that stuff, but just controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides is going to be the most important thing throughout this game as it has been the last couple (of playoff games).”

Wheelersburg will come into the game unbeaten at 13-0 after winning their first regional title since 2018.

“It’s just who shows up on Friday night and pays four quarters,” said Woodward.

The other Final Four game matches Liberty Center (13-0) — last season’s runner-up — against Lewistown Indian Lake (11-2) at Lima Spartan Stadium.

The state championship game will be at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.

——————

OHSAA Division 5, State Semifinals

Cardinal Mooney Cardinals (10-2) vs. Wheelersburg Pirates (13-0)

Time: Friday, November 28, 7:00 PM

Where: Westerville Central Stadium, Westerville, OH

Key Matchup to Watch:

Wheelersburg rushing defense vs. Cardinal Mooney ground attack

Mooney's overall team speed could be the best the Pirates have seen to date and will they pose a huge challenge. And the fact the Cardinals are a run-first team, that speed will put the Pirates to the test. But like they have all year, the Pirates have found ways to make the plays needed to keep teams off the scoreboard. This will be an exciting matchup to watch.

Impact Players to Watch:

Ike Lake, Cardinal Mooney

The Cardinals will come in with a soli ground attack that headed by Lake. His combination of vision and speed makes him a much different challenge for the Pirates defense.

Elijah Brown, Wheelersburg

Brown has elevated his game during this postseason run. If he can come out strong on the first offensive series like he did last week, that could provide the spark the Pirates need to get the offense rolling.