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Turning the ball over six times and getting two punts blocked makes it tougher - if not downright impossible.
The Cougars (2-3) watched four scoring opportunities evaporate via interceptions and fumbles in the first 24 minutes, paving a way to an early deficit and a 40-14 loss to Cardinal Mooney at Stambaugh Stadium in Youngstown.
"I'm not going to talk about turnovers anymore," a disgruntled Coach Mike Bell said. "I'm not doing it."
Which is a difficult thing not to do, since the past two games have largely been lost via turnovers, including a 26-21 loss to Dublin Coffman last week when Lake Catholic turned it over on the first four possessions of the game.
"Obviously, you're not going to make mistakes and beat a team like that," said Bell, not cooling down much. "You can't give an offense like that a short field, and you can't get a punt blocked and expect to win. It's just not going to happen."
The Cardinals, seemingly steamrolling to another Division IV state title at 5-0, didn't just force turnovers. They converted them into points.
After Penn State-commit Brandon Beachum intercepted a pass on the third play of the game, Cardinal Mooney cashed in with a four-yard touchdown run by Oklahoma-bound Taylor Hill.
Later in the quarter, Lake Catholic evened things up when Alex Kurowski hit Randy Greenwood for a 55-yard touchdown pass. But it didn't take long for the turnover bug to bite the Cougars again.
After Notre Dame recruit Dan McCarthy picked off a Kurowski pass, Beachum bulled in for a short touchdown run. And after a fumble recovery by Penn State-bound Mike Zordich, McCarthy ran 84 yards for another score and a 19-7 halftime lead.
All three of Mooney's first-half touchdowns came immediately after Lake Catholic turnovers.
"Hey, our defense came to play tonight," Beachum said. "The main thing is to keep the momentum going. If you get a turnover, you can't go three-and-out. That's a waste."
The Cougars still had a golden opportunity to get back into the game after forcing Mooney to punt to start the third quarter.
But a fourth-down fake punt that went for a first down was nullified by a holding penalty and the two ensuing punts for the Cougars were blocked. One was blocked and recovered for a touchdown by Mark Pellini, whose Uncle Bo Pellini is the defensive coordinator for the LSU Tigers.
"That was a huge swing," Bell said. "We did a great job on the fake punt and it got called back. The next thing you know, we get a punt blocked for a touchdown."
And yet, the Cougars still weren't out of it.
Kurkowski (7 for 25, 94 yards) hit Darien Nulick on consecutive passes to get down to Mooney's 27. Then Kurowski took it the final 27 yards to cut the score to 27-14 with five minutes to go.
Apparently, Mooney took offense to the touchdown. On the next possession, McCarthy ran 54 yards for a touchdown to stretch the lead back out again.
McCarthy didn't hurt Lake with his arm, completing only two passes and getting picked off twice. But he ran for 214 yards on 17 carries.
Sophomore Ray Vinopal wrapped up the scoring with a 32-yard jaunt after the Cougars failed to convert deep in their own territory late in the game.
"You know, despite all that, we were only down by 13 with about six minutes to go," Bell said. "We've got to get this figured out before the second half of the season."
The Cougars passed for 150 yards and ran for 112 yards, including a team-high 69 for Mike Sweigert.
The offensive productivity was there, Bell said.
But so were the turnovers.
And those are the difference-makers right now for the green and white.
"I'm not going to let it become psychological," Bell promised. "I won't. From now on, our focus is on discipline and execution."
