Correspondent photo / David Dermer. Cardinal Mooney running back Ike Lake carries the ball against VASJ on Saturday evening at Stambaugh Stadium.

YOUNGSTOWN — Ike Lake took a toss to the left of the formation. He found a little bit of room and cut back toward the middle of the field.

Lake weaved his way through the Villa Angela-St. Joseph defense and found even more space as he ran down the right sideline for a touchdown.

Cardinal Mooney’s senior running back scored the game-winning touchdown as the Cardinals beat the Vikings 27-20 on Saturday night at Stambaugh Stadium in downtown Youngstown.

Lake finished with 22 carries for 82 yards and three rushing touchdowns, including his 34-yard game-winning run. He also caught a 34-yard pass in the first half.

“He’s special,” Cardinal Mooney head coach Frank Colaprete said. “When you have someone special, it’s a great feeling knowing you can do anything on any one play.”

The Vikings (1-1) struck first after a scoreless first quarter. Jamir Martemus intercepted a pass and took it down to the Mooney 42-yard line, and a Cardinal personal foul at the end of the play moved the ball up to the 27.

VASJ quarterback Joe Efford connected with Jerry Black over the middle of the defense for a 23-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring with 10:23 to play in the second quarter.

However, Cardinal Mooney responded on its next possession.

The Cardinals put together a seven-play, 67-yard drive, which ended with Lake taking a toss to the left and scoring on a 4-yard run to tie the game at 7.

Mooney’s Vince Gentile started to heat up in the second quarter. After starting 0-for-4 with an interception, the junior quarterback completed 5-of-6 passes for 93 yards.

Gentile got a little help from tight end John Brenner to give the Cardinals a 14-7 lead just before halftime. With the ball at the VASJ 13-yard line and 58 seconds left before the break, Gentile connected with Brenner just outside the left hash mark. Brenner was hit immediately, but he stretched the ball across the goal line for a touchdown just before losing control.

“When you play balanced football and you can throw and run, it’s hard to defend,” Colaprete said. “Now (opposing coaches) are guessing your calls. Players on the field are guessing things too, so it’s a beautiful thing when you can be balanced.”

Gentile stayed hot to start the third quarter as the Cardinals extended their lead.

The Vikings forced a fumble on Mooney’s first drive of the second half, but the Cardinals got a fourth-down stop at their 14 to regain possession. Then a 55-yard pass from Gentile to Brady Desmond flipped the field and put the ball at the Vikings’ 2-yard line. Lake went right up the middle for a 1-yard touchdown, his second score of the night, but a bad snap led to a failed point-after attempt as the Cardinals pushed the lead to 20-7.

But the Vikings weren’t out of it.

After forcing another Mooney fumble, the Vikings regained possession with 3:55 left in the third quarter. They scored 51 seconds later when 6-5, 250-pound tight end Deanglo White — an Ohio State recruit — took a screen pass 12 yards for a touchdown to make it a 20-14 game.

Mooney went down the field on the next drive, but a 41-yard field goal attempt by Jacob Gugliotta went off the right upright to keep the Vikings within striking distance.

VASJ drove down the field on a 13-play, 80-yard drive, capping it with a 31-yard jump ball from Efford to Black for a touchdown, tying the game at 20 with 4:55 to play.

But Lake scored the winning TD on the Cardinals’ only possession of the fourth quarter, and the defense forced Efford to throw the ball out of the back of the end zone with zeros on the clock to clinch the win.

“Watching them step up when they needed to, I couldn’t be more proud,” Colaprete said.

Gentile finished 10-for-18 passing with 187 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Desmond caught two passes for a team-high 67 yards, and Brenner had a team-high three receptions for 33 yards and a score.

Cardinal Mooney improved to 2-0 this season, beating Lake Catholic on the road and the Vikings at home.

It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s Mooney’s first 2-0 start since 2011.

The Cardinals will have a tough stretch coming up, which could determine the narrative for their season. They play Canfield (2-0) for the first time in program history on Friday at Bob Dove Field, then they go to Steubenville (0-2) and end the run by hosting Chardon (1-1).

All three of those opponents are in Division III, which could potentially lead to points for the playoffs for D-V Mooney.

“I’m proud of these guys,” Colaprete said. “I’m excited. I’m happy for them. … It’s a long time coming. They deserve this, they earned this, they work for this. These are two great wins over two great programs and two great teams. They went out there, competed, battled and I couldn’t be more proud or happy for them.”