It was a historic night on Saturday for the Saint Ignatius rugby program at Rocky River High School Stadium. For the third time ever, the Wildcats were crowned State Champions of Ohio High School Rugby.
And also for the third time, the Wildcats triumphed over their rival, St. Edward, to win the state title. In front of a packed crowd on hand, who also witnessed Saint Joseph Academy beat Hudson, 56-12, for their 5th straight title, the Jimmy Desmarteau-led Wildcats battled back and forth with the Eagles for the entire game, especially in the first half.
Saint Ignatius jumped out to an early 7-0 lead in the first half, and it stayed that way heading into halftime. As the Wildcats were marching down the field, Juan Pen found an open hole and punched his way into the try zone for the Wildcats’ first try of the night to make it 5-0. Chris Fedor, who has mastered the art of conversions, made it 7-0 with the conversion from the far sideline.
That try occurred at the 23-minute mark of the first half. The rest of the half, the Wildcats and Eagles had a hard time getting any momentum. Rory Koehl of St. Edward had a big run down the left sideline before losing the ball, and Jake Bradfield, one of the best players in the state, if not the country, found it difficult to move the ball against the stingy defense of the Wildcats.
In addition to the great defense by both teams in the first half, the sir didn’t make it any easier, as nearly three minutes went by going through one scrum. It was a bit of a rough half for both teams, yet the Wildcats were happy with how things were going, as Rugby Cats went into halftime up 7-0.
Then came the second half, and St. Edward’s game changed. The Eagles became more physical and had more possession time. With less than 17 minutes left in the second half, the Eagles finally started to get their way.
St. Edward marched inside the 15-yard line and started pounding the Wildcats’ defensive front. Kyle Sikora tried to find an opening, yet he was stopped short by Jimmy Desmarteau, and then on a free ball Grant Gutchall was stopped short again. Bradfield then got the ball and thought he found an opening, but Josef O’Brien had other ideas, holding him back. Joseph Toth was stopped by Juan Pen, and then Conor Forrestal was wrestled back hard by Sean Soeder.
All of this occurred within the 10-yard line. It got intense, until finally the Eagles broke the line and got into the try zone after a free touch was awarded to St. Edward. John Aerni got the ball and broke through to narrow the deficit to 7-5, and then Conor Forrestal converted to tie the contest.
With just over 12 minutes left to play in the State Final, the Wildcats started to play with more urgency, and with the tough legs of Jimmy Andrews, Saint Ignatius clawed their way inside of 10 meters. With just over 7 minutes to go, the Wildcats broke off a scrum and with a pile of bodies on the goal line, it was Sean Soeder who touched the ball down for the eventual game winning try, and with the Chris Fedor conversion, it was 14-7 Wildcats over the Eagles.
St. Edward could not get any momentum back and couldn’t put together a good drive, due in part to the tough defense from the Wildcats. Saint Ignatius snatched the ball back with the final seconds ticking away, and they elected to kick for points with time running out. Chris Fedor made it 17-7 as the clock hit zero.
After the win, Head Coach Dan Arbeznik '00 tipped his cap to the senior class, who led this team all season long.
“What comes to mind here is the senior class. They were a class that was counted out by a lot of people, inside and outside of the program as not having the talent to go the distance like this. Those guys certainly proved everybody wrong.
“St. Ed’s, my hat goes off those guys. They played a heck of a game. It’s a 17-7 scoreboard, but in rugby the game might as well be 8-7 it was so close. Those guys played a great game, their coaches had a great game plan for them. But I’m just so happy for our seniors because they get to go out on top, and they’ve worked so hard during the offseason to put themselves in this position.”
Once the game was tied up at 7-7 in the second half, most people thought back to last year when they table was turned and the Wildcats started to claw their way back into the game before falling to St. Edward. But this year, the Wildcats stood strong and were able to pull out a forceful victory.
“In rugby, it’s so player focused," Arbeznik said. "You can’t really tell them anything, they just have to know how to react to every situation. So the fortitude that those guys showed when all of a sudden it’s 7-7 and they’re in the game right here, and they come right back and within three minutes they go up with the try, and Chris Fedor hits that conversion. I don’t think people understand how huge that kick was in a pressure situation. And then to nail that nail in the coffin three minutes later with no time left on the clock to really ice that thing away, it was a huge response under pressure.”
This State Championship win for the Rugby Cats is the program’s third in school history. This was the program’s fifth season as a varsity sport, and to already have three stars above the school seal on their jersey’s is remarkable and is an ode to all of the coaches, players, and others involved in the program, all of their hard work to starting what could eventually become a dynasty, much like soccer, football, and hockey at Saint Ignatius.
All of the international trips, bus rides to the Midwest Tournaments, and welcoming out of state schools to Ohio City have paid off for Coach Arbeznik and the program, and with the eyes from around the country and the world on Saint Ignatius Rugby, the Wildcats have truly been setting the world on fire.
“We have been practicing and working together for six months every day of the week now," Arbeznik said. "It’s really like a family. We did the math on it and we spent 96 hours together on buses over the last five months, over 100 practices, 70 lifts during the course of the season. So these guys have been around each other I’m willing to wager more than they’ve been around their own families. It truly is a family at this point, and for them, for us not to be together any more, I’m going to get emotional.”
And deservingly so. Any time the Wildcats defeat St. Edward, especially in a State Title game, or any time a team competes for the last time on a field together, it’s the perfect time to get emotional.
Congratulations to Head Coach Dan Arbeznik ‘00, his coaching staff, the players, and their families on capturing the 2017 RugbyOhio Division 1 Boys’ State Championship!