Cougars outlast Barons

In a game of big plays, Cardinal Mooney got the last one.

Steve Ierulli? Nah, even though he still got his big game.

Robby Lyons? Nah, even though he threw two scoring passes after an 0-for-4 start.

It was the Cougars' special teams that did the trick. Right after St. Petersburg Catholic took the lead, Nick Conforti returned the ensuing kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown, then Mooney held on for a 31-25 win over the visiting Barons Friday night.

"We score 31, we should win," Mooney coach Josh Smithers said. "We do have a ton of work to do, but we got a win."

The Barons (0-5) went up 25-24 when Richard Waddell caught a 7-yard scoring pass from Chris McKay in the front right corner of the end zone with 8:44 to play.

Conforti took the ball at the 19, found some holes and outran one last SPC defender for the final 50 yards.

On their next possession, the Barons missed on a fourth-and-12 with five minutes left and never got the ball back.

The Cougars (4-1) nearly blew it, but Ierulli got his team out of a hole created from a first-down penalty. He gained 13 on a screen pass and gained 14 yards on the first of seven straight runs netting 66 yards.

He was just short on a third-and-5 at the SPC 29, but got 5 yards on fourth-and-inches to seal it. Ierulli finished with 200 yards.

Lyons finished 6-for-11 for 173 yards. His 59-yard strike to a wide-open Drew Obermeier got Mooney on the board late in the second period.

"We need to do a better job of protecting him," Smithers said. "He can do it, but we need to give him time. It was good for him to be in a battle and throw the ball again."

SPC's Keelyan Bryant returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards, but the Cougars tied it at 10 on a 32-yard Porter Windom field goal with 18 seconds left.

Mooney scored touchdowns two minutes apart in the third. A Nick Smith sack and forced fumble led to Ierulli's 16-yard TD run with 6:40 to go, then Lyons hit Joe Ceravolo from 45 yards out with 4:49 left.

Bryant rambled in from 26 yards, part of his 116 on the night. But Mooney got more, and a much-needed win.

"It was a bit frustrating all night. When we had something going, they came back," Smithers said. "We were one play away from doing it."