For the fourth consecutive time, rivals Saint Ignatius and St. Edward will meet in the RugbyOhio State Championship Game. When it comes to high school rugby in Ohio, few other schools can compete on the pitch two West Side rivals.
So to have the Wildcats and Eagles face off with each other again seems fitting. This year, for the second time, the state title game will take place at Rocky River High School Stadium on Detroit Avenue at 7 p.m. on Saturday evening.
The past three meetings in the State Championship have went well for the Wildcats. In 2013, rugby’s first season as a varsity sport at Saint Ignatius, the Eagles defeated Saint Ignatius in the State Semifinals, 22-13. The following year, the Wildcats finally met in the state title game.
That season, the Wildcats earned revenge and won, 31-10. The same outcome resulted in 2015, with the Wildcats defeating the Eagles in the State Championship. However, last season, the Wildcats faced one of the best rugby teams ever to play at St. Edward. After losing twice to the Eagles in the regular season, the Wildcats gave St. Edward all they had before falling, 12-7, at Fairview High School.
This time around for the Wildcats, it’s not necessarily about revenge, though that’s one theme. These 2017 Wildcats already defeated the Eagles back in April on Wasmer Field, 26-17, though this game is for keeps.
In the regular season matchup, Juan Pen got things going early, giving the Wildcats the lead first with a try. Sean Soeder then touched the ball in the endzone for a 12-3 Wildcats’ lead, and then to start the second half, Joe Johnson scored for the Wildcats for a 19-3 lead. To conclude the scoring for Saint Ignatius, Josef O’Brien touched it down to make it 26-10 Wildcats.
That game was a huge momentum builder for the men of Head Coach Dan Arbeznik ‘00 before the Midwest Tournament. Yet, it was also a telling sign of what type of team the Wildcats figured they would be playing in the State Championship, St. Edward. Eagles Head Coach Tom Cleary said that his team “made some fundamental errors. We got down in the beginning and dug ourselves a hole and couldn’t get out of it soon enough.”
Grant Gutchall provided the only two tries in that game for St. Edward. Down 19-3 at halftime, it was St. Edward’s largest halftime deficit of their season up to that point.
The Eagles may have contributed the loss to their own mistakes, but they were playing the No. 1 team in the country at that point in the Wildcats. Saint Ignatius started the season off on an eight-game win streak, with wins over Mishawaka (IN) Penn, three teams from France, and Kansas City Jr. Blue’s Club. But then after a 41-24 win over Xavier from New York, the Wildcats were put a top everybody else and ranked number 1 in the country according to GoffRugbyReport.com. However, a late upset loss to Archbishop Moeller placed them all the way down at #22. St. Edward is now up at No. 11.
National rankings aside, the Wildcats have definitely proved why they are one of the top teams in the country, and come Saturday, one of the top teams in the state. The reason being is the team’s tough schedule, going 3-0 in France, 2-1 at the Midwest Tournament, and overall 10-2 versus out of state teams. What can the Eagles say about their season and the experience they have gotten?
Well, St. Edward has not had it easy when it comes to their opponents they are playing. The Eagles started the season well in advance before the Wildcats did at the Lindenwood University High School Tournament in Missouri. The Eagles fared very well, with their only loss coming to Cathedral (a.k.a Royal Irish Rugby), 15-0. The Eagles’ two wins at that tournament were against Bishop Dwenger, 43-0, and Chargers RFC from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, 19-0. Jack Bradfield, a finalist for Mr. RugbyOhio, was electric that weekend in Missouri. He scored four times versus Bishop Dwenger and then had one try versus Chargers RFC.
The Eagles then came back and lost yet again to Cathedral for their second loss of the season, and then fell to Penn, a team that the Wildcats beat early with a full team, to set St. Edward back at 2-3. Charlie Green, who also wrestles had two tries in that game.
But then they started to get back to their winning ways with in-state wins over Brunswick, Archbishop Moeller, Hudson, and St. Xavier. The Wildcats then snapped that four-game winning streak.
That set up the Midwest Tournament. For the Wildcats at the Midwest Tournament, they played without their seniors due to Prom. A 2-1 record says a lot about the underclassmen that Head Coach Dan Arbeznik ‘00 has on the team. The Wildcats defeated Bishop Dwenger, 43-10, beat Notre Dame La Salette, 24-14, but then lost to Penn, 22-13. Compare that loss with no seniors to the win over Penn back in early April with senior stars Jimmy Desmarteau, Brian Cook, Joe Johnson, and Matt Lipaj, just to name a few.
St. Edward knocked off Brownsburg, 22-21, at the Midwest Tournament. That game saw the Eagles come back from a 14-7 deficit, where Joe Toth, Ian Carlin, and Charlie Green led the way for the Eagles national win. Then they fell to Penn for the second time this season, 34-10. But in the consolation game of the tournament, the Eagles knocked off Notre Dame La Salette, 24-14. Green, Mo Hamed, Grant Gutchall, and Graham Peterjohn all had tries in that win.
The Eagles then had nearly a two-week layoff getting ready for the National High School Boys Rugby Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri. Coach Cleary’s team went 1-2 versus nationally ranked competition. They began the tournament with a loss against a team that the Wildcats had troubles with as well, Gonzaga College from Washington, D.C. Gonzaga knocked off St. Edward 25-5, whereas Saint Ignatius made it a little closer, falling 21-10. The Eagles’ second game in the tournament came versus Greenwich RFC from Connecticut, losing in double overtime, 31-26. But then finished in seventh place at the tournament with a 26-19 win over Fishers High School from Indiana.
That took St. Edward to the State Semifinal versus Archbishop Moeller and beat the Crusaders for the second time this season, 31-17. Archbishop Moeller hurt themselves with four penalties on the day, allowing Conor Forrestal to kick four penalty kicks. The Eagles were also led by two Grant Gutchall tries.
Saint Ignatius advanced to the State Final via a forfeit by St. Xavier.
The state title game will be headlined by a big matchup between the Wildcats’ Jimmy Desmarteau and the Eagles’ Jake Bradfield. Desmarteau, a 2-year starter for the Wildcats, is 11th in Division 1 in points with over 30, and is tied for 7th in tries with over 10. Bradfield is a 3-year starter and is 1st in the state in both tries and points, and is 4th in the state in conversions. It should be real interesting to see those two go at it, and it will also be interesting to see how the Eagles’ defense tries to slow down the Wildcats offense.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Rocky River High School for the 10th RugbyOhio State Championship Game. The Eagles will be going for the 4th in program history, winning it all in 2012, 2013, and 2016. The Wildcats will be going for their 3rd state title, recently going back-to-back in 2014 and 2015.
The RugbyOhio B Division State Final will also feature the Wildcats and Eagles. Kickoff is set for 11:30 a.m. at Rocky River High School. Same thing goes for the RugbyOhio U16 League. Saint Ignatius and St. Edward will battle it out at 10:00 a.m. at Rocky River High School. The Wildcats have yet to win an underclassmen State Championship.
GOOD LUCK JAGS: On the girls side, the Saint Joseph Academy Jaguars Rugby Program has seen their share of success. Five state titles, to go along with two national titles. Saint Joseph Academy will be looking for their fifth in a row on Saturday when they face Hudson at 5:30 at Rocky River High School.