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Football Cats Ease Past Polar Bears, 35-0, in First Round of Playoffs

By Eddie Dwyer, 11/05/16, 2:45AM EDT

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By Mr. Eddie Dwyer, Copyright Credit November 2016

Back where they belong!

The Saint Ignatius Varsity Football Wildcats, behind the rushing of tailbacks Mark Bobinski and Dean Stowers, the passing and running of quarterback Patrick Ryan, the sure hands of Travis Pot and Connor Kennedy, the leg of Matthew Trickett, and a defense that rendered Massillon Jackson's offense one dimensional, defeated the Polar Bears, 35-0, in Friday  night's OHSAA Division 1, Region 1 Quarterfinal Playoff Game on Byers Field in Parma's Robert M. Boulton Stadium.

From a brisk, yet perfect football weather night under a thumbnail moon in Parma, Ohio.

As he stood near midfield on Byers Field Friday night, Saint Ignatius' Hall Fame Head Football Coach Chuck Kyle '69 had plenty of wonderful things to say about his team - the running of Mark Bobinski and Dean "The Dream" Stowers, the work by one of the premier offensive lines in Ohio, the kicking of junior Matthew Trickett and the all-around game turned in by senior quarterback Patrick Ryan, just to name a few.  

The night just wouldn't be complete, however, without another tribute to the Wildcats' defense of 2016, which is on a pace to be remembered as one of the all-time best in Saint Ignatius' rich football history.

"We forced them to be one dimensional," Coach Kyle said of the way the Cats' strong and athletic defense shut down Massillon Jackson's running game during a 35-0 victory over the Polar Bears in an OHSAA Region 1 Quarterfinal Playoff matchup in storied Robert M. Boulton Stadium.

"In the playoffs, it's hard to win games if you're one dimensional," Coach Kyle continued.

And no coach in the Buckeye State knows more about postseason football than the man who has guided his alma mater Saint Ignatius to a record 11 OHSAA Division I State Championships, a State Runner-Up, three National Titles and a National Runner-Up.

Coach Kyle, whose postseason record now stands at 67-15, led his team back to the program's traditional November stop after the Wildcats did not qualify for the OHSAA's Harbin Computer Playoffs in 2015.

Saint Ignatius, now 10-1 and riding a seven-game winning streak, will continue what is its 27th overall appearance in the football playoffs since 1988 when it faces the 10-1 Solon Comets in a Region 1 Semifinal next Friday night in a 7:30 kickoff at a site to be determined by the OHSAA.

Coach Jim McQuaide's Comets, the top seed in Region 1, advanced to the highly anticipated matchup with the fourth-seeded Wildcats by wearing down eighth-seeded Canton GlenOak, 39-10, at Solon's Stewart Field on Fridaynight. The Comets forced six turnovers.

The corner will preview another matchup between two of the finest and classiest coaches in Ohio on Tuesday night.

As for fifth-seeded Massillon Jackson, a season that got off  to a 6-0 start and a top ranking in the early state polls, ended with the Polar Bears losing four of their last five games, including Friday's first playoff appearance on the gridiron since 2004. Jackson is now 1-6 in the OHSAA football postseason.

"Those two are a rough combination," said Coach Kyle of Polar Bears senior wide receiver Dillon Dingler and junior quarterback Jaret Pallotta, who hooked up on five highlight-reel receptions. "The passes were there and he made some circus catches, wow," Coach Kyle added in reference to Dingler, who finished with five receptions for 101 yards.

"But, you know, okay first-and-10, line up and let's go," Coach Kyle said. "Get a little pressure on the quarterback, throw off his timing and then don't let them run the ball. And that's kind of what we did."

Saint Ignatius' defense, which was coming off a superb performance in last weekend's 34-7 victory over West Side rival St. Edward in the Browns' FirstEnergy Stadium, limited Jackson to 43 rushing yards. Polar Bears senior running back Jack Dear, who entered the game with 1,198 yards and 11 touchdowns rushing, was limited to 41 yards on 11 carries.

The 6-foot-6, 185-pound Pallotta did throw for 144 yards, but pressure up front from Wildcats' standout defensive linemen Mike Chime and Joe Gibbons, and the best linebacker corps in Cleveland in seniors Adam Shibley, Johnny Velotta and James Leyden, began to wear on the promising signal-caller.

Pallotta, who threw for 1,909 yards and 18 TDs during the regular season, also found the air waves to be rough versus the 'Cats' underrated defensive secondary.

After Jackson moved to a first down at Saint Ignatius' 30-yard line on the game's first series, the Wildcats defense regrouped.

Faced with a fourth and 11 from the Saint Ignatius 31, Pallotta fired a pass down the middle that was read perfectly by the Cats' tough and talented junior safety Justin Sands, who intercepted the ball deep in the red zone and returned it 27 yards.

Coach Kevin Johnson's and Coach Pat Hinkel's secondary also produced a perfect-coverage and break on the ball interception by senior cornerback Alex Ringfield.  

After Gibbons, Saint Ignatius' Athlete of the Week for his performance against St. Edward, came up with a sack that forced a punt, the Wildcats' offense started to rev its engine to the sound of 28 first-half points.

It started with a 12-yard touchdown run by the ever-present Bobinski that was followed by a 5-yard TD sprint down the sideline by Ryan, who has developed into another in what is a long line of Saint Ignatius take-charge field generals.

After a 43-yard pass from Ryan to senior wide receiver Travis Pot put the ball on the Jackson 2-yard line, Bobinski, behind the work of his O-Line, went over the right side and into the scoreboard end zone of Byers Field standing up with 3 minutes and 47 seconds remaining in the first half.

Following a strong punt return by one of the more versatile athletes in the area, junior wide receiver/defensive back Connor Kennedy, Stowers closed out the first-half TD barrage with a 3-yard touchdown run over the left side off a display of vision, balance and toughness.

Dean "The Dream," who helped set up his TD with a 19-yard run to the Polar Bears' 12-yard line, finished his night with 93 yards rushing on six carries. Dean stands 5-foot-6 and weighs 130 pounds.

Saint Ignatius scored the game's final touchdown and put the OHSAA running-clock deficit rule into play off a 22-yard catch and second-effort run by Bobinski with 7:02 left in the third quarter.

Coach Kyle gave a shout out to Trickett, who, with the injury to All-Ohio senior punter/kicker Colin Goodfellow in the St. Edward game, had to handle all of the kicking chores on Friday night. Matt, who in less than 24 hours will be facing Jackson's Varsity Soccer Team in a high noon Regional Championship match at Nordonia High School, was 5-for-5 on his extra points and also made a solid tackle on special teams. Just FYI, Matt made his presence felt at linebacker on the Freshman level.

BY THE NUMBERS: Along with Stover's 93 yards rushing, Bobinski had 79 yards on 16 carries, Ryan picked up 46 yards on 10 carries, and senior tailback Nicholas Kilbane totaled 21 yards on four carries.

The Cats finished with 227 yards on the ground and Ryan was near perfect with a 15-for-18 night passing that delivered 180 yards.

Pot with six receptions for 69 yards and Kennedy with four catches for 51 yards showed the way in the receiving department. The first downs were 20 to 12 in favor of Saint Ignatius.

 FROM DEAN STOWERS: "Every time I get the ball I just follow behind my big offensive line," said Dean, who is as quick to smile as he is darting through a hole. "They make their blocks and I make sure I get the read. We practice it a lot.

"As a team, I feel we have the talent," Dean continued. "We just have to put the effort in every week. If we keep that up, no one can stop us."

FROM JOHNNY VELOTTA, ONE OF THE BIG-HEARTED MEMBERS OF "THE LINEBACKER LEGION", WHO ALSO SERVES AS A CAPTAIN: "The are not many teams that can run on us," said Johnny V, who made his presence felt early and often on Friday night. "We've known since freshmen year that we have a talented group of guys.

"In the offseason, we put in all of the hard work and we're motivated, " Johnny continued. "We all get along very well, which helps create such a defense that we have. We rely on each other and we are confident in each other, knowing that the opposing team has to play a perfect game if they want to do something against us.

"Just being here (back in the playoffs) is a great feeling," Johnny said. "All of our spirits have increased. Last year we were all disappointed, we didn't feel that were given the shot we deserved. We wanted to become this great Saint Ignatius team that we knew we could be, showing our talents week by week."