The Football 'Cats wrap up their preseason camps on Tuesday through Friday (July 25-28), with the Varsity taking the field from 3 PM until 5 PM and the Junior Varsity following at 5 PM to 7 PM. Then it is on to the always challenging two-a-day practices.
Here are some gridiron notes to whet your appetite for the preseason scrimmages and the start of what is sure to be another memorable late summer/fall in Ohio City.
By Eddie Dwyer
Chagrin Falls, Ohio - Coach Chuck Kyle's Varsity, ranked second to Huber Heights Wayne in The Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com Division I state preseason rankings for 2017, will be seeking an impressive 28th OHSAA big-school playoff appearance since 1988 and looking to add to its Ohio-best 11 Division I state championships. The Wildcats were state runners-up to their Jesuit brothers from Cincinnati St. Xavier in 2016.
Helping Coach Kyle and his football savvy coaching staff prepare for what is a regular season schedule laden with playoff-caliber teams will be the traditional preseason encounters with the Solon Comets and the Bulldogs from Canton McKinley.
Saint Ignatius will make the I-480/Route 44 trip to Solon's storied Stewart Field on August 8 for a 10 AM drills/scrimmage with Coach Jim McQuaide's Comets. Coach McQuaide is a longtime colleague and friend to Coach Kyle and Jim is a coach this corner has respected and admired for nearly 50 years.
Back in November of 2016 Solon and Saint Ignatius were doing it for real, as the Wildcats defeated the Comets, 31-17, in a Regional Semifinal playoff game at Mentor's Jerome T. Osborne Sr. Stadium. It was a matchup much more intense and tighter than the final score would indicate.
Coach McQuaide graduated a strong senior class, including Ohio's Division I Defensive Player of the Year in linebacker Matt Brown and gritty and gifted All-Northeast Lakes District quarterback Joe Bubonics. The football cupboard is far from bare on Inwood Road, however, as Solon welcomes back one of the state's best in cornerback/safety/wide receiver Taj Ward. Taj has committed to furthering his education and football career in 2018 at the University of Cincinnati under Coach Luke Fickell.
Saint Ignatius' second preseason test is the annual Jamboree versus Coach Dan Reardon's McKinley Bulldogs on Friday evening August 18th. The kickoff from Tom Benson Hall of Stadium in Canton will be 7 PM and, as always, the Jamboree will be played under regular game conditions.
Following the Jamboree, the Wildcats will have just five days to prepare for their season opener versus the Archbishop Hoban Knights. Coach Kyle will send his 'Cats against Archbishop Hoban on Thursday, August 24th. The kickoff from the Knights' Monsignor Richard A. Dowed Field is scheduled for 7 PM.
For those faithful readers who inquired, yes Archbishop Hoban does currently have a promising young quarterback on its roster. His name is Shane Hamm. Shane is a product of the Austintown Fitch Middle School System. He has a video on line. Also trying to fill the huge void left by the graduation of All-Ohio quarterback and University of Kentucky recruit Danny Clark will be senior signal-caller Jacob Simmons. Simmons played on the Junior Varsity and Varsity levels last season.
JJ Huddle and MaxPreps have the Knights ranked No. 1 in their 2017 preseason Division II State Poll. Archbishop Hoban, which brought home back-to-back Division III state championships in 2015 and 2016, has moved up to Division II, Region 5 under the OHSAA's new Competitive Balance System.
Ranked second in Division II by JJ and MaxPreps is Cincinnati La Salle, which is seeking a fourth consecutive State Championship on the gridiron.
We will have more on Archbishop Hoban when the corner previews the August 24th opener, but right now you can pencil in the names Garrett Houser, a multi-skilled wide receiver who is bound for Navy in 2018, wide receiver Nate Bauer, who holds numerous college offers, running back William Collier, junior offensive lineman Nolan Rumler, who has committed to Michigan, and guard/nose tackle Jaden Baxter.
According to the Knights' numbers, Houser hauled in 30 passes during 2016 for 946 yards and nine touchdowns. Saint Ignatius' veteran secondary, keyed by senior corner Cameron Toppin and senior safety Justin Sands, will relish the challenge.
In a reply to more questions from another old gridiron grinder like myself, Clarkson Football North Canada's prep program, Saint Ignatius' Week 6 opponent at Parma's Byers Field (Sept. 30th), has a home base of Clarkson Secondary School. Clarkson is a south Mississauga high school.
And yes, Canton's Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium will host both this season's and the 2018 OHSAA State Championship Football Games. No details for the football state championship games after 2018 have been finalized, but the OHSAA intends to return to Ohio Stadium in Columbus for the 2019 state championship games.
Here is the OHSAA's 2017 Football Schedule.
Monday, July 31 – Practice begins (mandatory 5-day acclimatization period)
Monday, Aug. 21 – Regular season begins (719 schools playing football in 2017)
Tuesday, Sept. 19 – Weekly computer point releases begin
Saturday, Oct. 28 – Regular season ends
Sunday, Oct. 29 – Final computer points and playoff qualifiers announced (224 total qualifiers)
Friday, Nov. 3 – Regional quarterfinals played at higher seed, 7:30 p.m. (112 games)
Friday, Nov. 10 – Regional semifinals played at neutral sites, 7:30 p.m. (56 games)
Friday, Nov. 17 – Regional finals played at neutral sites, 7:30 p.m. (28 games)
Friday, Nov. 24 – State semifinals played at neutral sites, 7:30 p.m. (14 games)
Have a great weekend and we will see you at Wasmer Field next week.