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Weekend Preview 3/10-3/12: Postseason heating up for Basketball, Wrestling, Hockey

By Brendan DeVenney , 03/10/17, 4:30PM EST

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Weekend Preview 3/11-3/12: Postseason heating up for Basketball, Wrestling, and Hockey

We are almost midway through March, and much like last season, the playoffs are in full swing. The Wildcats are looking to bring home some major hardware this weekend.

In addition to seasons drawing to an end, spring sports are getting underway, with the rugby team having already opened up their campaign.

So let’s take a look at this major weekend in Saint Ignatius Wildcat Athletics.

Wrestling

We start with the Saint Ignatius wrestling team, which is competing this weekend down at Value City Arena in the 2017 OHSAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament. The Wildcats sent four wrestlers to states after the North Canton District Tournament last weekend. Kaden Russell (182), Michael Drobnick (195), Aidan Gill (220), and as an alternate, Cal Miller (170) are looking to make historic marks in the Saint Ignatius Wrestling program.

Competition has already gotten underway with the Championship Preliminaries and Consolation Rounds on the Thursday, and the Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and other Consolation Rounds on Friday. Defending Individual State Champion Kaden Russell won his first round match on Thursday night, lost in the quarterfinals on Friday morning, but won his consolation match Friday to guarantee a top eight spot in the state on Friday night.

Michael Drobnick lost by pin in his Championship Preliminary match, and then lost a close one, 3-1, to be eliminated from contention.

Aidan Gill also lost both matches by pin in the Championship Preliminaries and the Consolation Rounds to conclude his junior campaign.

Make sure to check @SIHSWrestling for all updates from this weekend’s State Individual Wrestling Tournament at Ohio State.

Basketball

Head Coach Brian Becker’s 2016-2017 Wildcats have a big one on Saturday night at Strongsville High School. For the third time this year, the Wildcats will face off with their rival St. Edward, who will enter having lost four straight games to Saint Ignatius dating back to last year.

Saint Ignatius is coming off a 66-41 win over Brecksville-Broadview Heights where six different Wildcats hit a three ball, and knocked down 11 overall. Matt Davet once again led the way with 21 points, and the defense held the Bees to just four points in the third quarter in a huge momentum building win for Saturday.

The Eagles have one of the best backcourts in Northeast Ohio, led by hot shooters in Tommy Schmock, Jack Sullivan, and Demetrius Terry, who have all shot the ball very well for the Eagles this year. St. Edward will be coming off a 85-46 win over Normandy in the District Semifinal on Thursday. Head Coach Eric Flannery saw senior Jack Sullivan put up a game-high 18-points while Sullivan’s partner in crime, Tommy Schmock, had a shortened night with 10-points and five assists. St. Edward had six different players shoot a three which shows you how hot they can get from behind the arc, and four players got into double figures.

The Eagles have had it easy in the playoffs, with a 76-23 win over Max S. Hayes in the Sectional Semifinal, a 90-40 win over Lincoln West in the Sectional Final, and the 39-point victory over the Invaders. But according to Coach Flannery, the easy road in the playoffs doesn’t speak to the tough road they had to the playoffs with their tough schedule. Having lost four straight to the Wildcats, and two overtime losses to the Blue & Gold this year, they will come out with a lot of fire and fury on Saturday night.

Tipoff for the sold out, state headliner District Championship game is set for 7:00 at Strongsville High School. If you were unable to get a ticket to the game, you can catch all the action from Matt MacKenzie ‘18 and Brendan DeVenney ‘17 on the Saint Ignatius Broadcast Network starting at 6:45. It is audio-only due to OHSAA regulations.

Hockey

Two wins. That is all the 2016-2017 Ice ‘Cats need this weekend in order to become the State Ice Hockey Champions of Ohio. But it will not be easy.

Riding the momentum of a 6-4, District Championship victory over rival St. Edward last Saturday at Brooklyn, the Wildcats will matchup with their GLHL rival, University School in the State Semifinal on Saturday at 4:00 from Nationwide Arena, home of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The 28-9-1 Preppers are one of eight teams to beat the 27-8-2 Wildcats this year. They defeated the Wildcats back in January, 4-2, at Cleveland Heights Ice Arena. The Preppers are led by J.D. Clemens, who has 30 goals on the season and 61 points overall. He is their leading forward, along with Tommy Nook and Ethan Whetstone, who have 31 goals combined. The Preppers’ first line is tremendous.

However, it could very well be a defensive showdown with both teams having phenomenal goalies. Benny Savarino for Saint Ignatius has taken the role in his first year in the net with a lot of heart and looking to have his biggest game of the season. But the Preppers’ Jackson Polish is not easy to score against and while small, he is a big body in the net for Andre Lacroix’s squad.

It will be a rematch of last year’s State Championship Game in which the Wildcats were able to hold off a late comeback from the Preppers and win the State Title, 4-3. Saint Ignatius has defeated the Preppers once already this year back in early January with a 3-2 score at Brooklyn.

Tickets are still available for this contest. If the Wildcats come out victorious over the Preppers, they will face the winner of St. Francis de Sales vs. Olentangy Liberty on Sunday in the State Championship at 2:00 at Nationwide Arena. The Wildcats have already defeated the St. Francis de Sales Knights once this year, 7-3, back in December in the Padua Franciscan Christmas Tournament. The Wildcats and Knights did battle in the State Semifinal last year with the Wildcats upsetting the top team in the state, 5-1.

The Saint Ignatius Broadcast Network will bring you live, audio only coverage of both games.