YOUNGSTOWN – For those who aren’t aware, before Bo Pelini became one of the more prominent defensive coaches in the country, he was really good at something else: playing football.

Pelini starred at Cardinal Mooney High School in the mid 1980s at quarterback and safety. He went on to play safety for the Ohio State Buckeyes and was a co-captain his senior year in 1990. But before he made the trip to Columbus, Pelini was part of one of the more heated rivalries in northeast Ohio: Mooney vs. Ursuline.

The reason that’s important as Pelini, now the head football coach at Youngstown State, prepares to lead the Penguins onto the field for the first time at 1 p.m., Saturday against Pittsburgh is because the coach on the other side of the field was part of the same high school rivalry.

Pittsburgh’s Pat Narduzzi, making his head coaching debut for the Panthers, was a senior at Ursuline High School in 1984, and Pelini was a junior for the Cardinals. Narduzzi, a linebacker, and the Irish dominated Mooney, 35-0, that day.

To add to the victory, Narduzzi sacked Pelini.

Maybe that’s why Pelini didn’t care to elaborate when asked about their high school days earlier this week at his weekly press conference.

“I was a year younger than Pat,” he said. “When I was a junior, we played Ursuline (and against Narduzzi). He was a good football player.”

Pelini and the Penguins hope he’s not as good at being a head coach.

Narduzzi spent the last seven seasons as the defensive coordinator at Michigan State. He turned the Spartans’ defense into one of the top units in the country. Not many people are more aware of that than Pelini, who went up against that defense four times during his seven-year stint as head coach of Nebraska. Pelini did OK against the Spartans, going 2-2 and scoring an average of 25.5 points against Narduzzi’s defense.

Pelini understands their time against one another could benefit each other, but things change when coaches move to different schools.

“When I was the head coach (at Nebraska), he was the ‘D’ coordinator (at Michigan State), so yeah, he learned some things, I’m sure,” Pelini said. “He’s had to make some adjustments I’m sure. You always have to, according to personnel and those things. There is some familiarity there, but he’s put together a different coaching staff, so there’s going to have to be some adjustments on both sides, as far as figuring out what they’re going to do, what they’re not going to do and how they adapted to their personnel and that type of thing.”

Narduzzi’s history with YSU also runs deep. His father, Bill, coached at YSU for 11 seasons, finishing with a 68-51-1 record. Pat was set to play for his father and did so for one season, but Bill was fired in 1985 and Pat transferred to Delaware the following season. Pat said he hasn’t forgotten the past, both with Pelini and the Penguins, and told the Pittsburgh Tribune Review earlier this week “it will never totally be forgotten,” but he’s making sure the past doesn’t affect his mindset for the present.

“You can’t let the emotions get to you,” he said. “It’s great to go out against someone and play someone you know. I have a ton of respect for Bo. Obviously being from (Youngstown) plays into it, but when it comes down to it, me or Bo aren’t going to play one down. We’ll shake hands, hug pregame, that’s about it and let the players take it over. How much does that really play?”

Not as much as a homecoming of different sorts, according to Narduzzi.

“I think the bigger thing is those players from Pittsburgh who are coming back home (from YSU) and want to put on a good show for their families,” said Narduzzi, referring to the 14 players from the Pittsburgh area who are on the Penguins two-deep depth chart. “That to me, is a bigger show.”

Pelini is taking a similar approach as Narduzzi, as far as how their past experiences will affect the game. He respects what Narduzzi accomplished at Michigan State and appreciates their friendship, but that all gets pushed aside Saturday.

“I’ve known him for a fairly long time,” Pelini said. “I have a lot of respect for him. He’s a good football coach. He’s going to do a heck of a job at Pitt. Obviously he’s a Youngstown guy, and other than this game, I wish him well.”

The feeling may or may not be mutual.