Ohio City - For those many loyal readers who inquired, here is how Saint Ignatius' 2018 Varsity Football schedule is shaping up.
Thanks to another marvelous job by Wildcats outstanding Athletic Director Rory Fitzpatrick '88, Saint Ignatius has just two openings to fill for 2018 - Weeks 4 and 7.
As of now, here is a glance at what the Wildcats have scheduled for next year.
The season will open on Saturday, August 25 with a home game versus Archbishop Hoban.
Week 2 - Versus Mentor at home
Week 3 - at Euclid
Week 4 - Open as of now
Week 5 - Versus Cincinnati Elder at home
Week 6 - Versus Canada Football North-Clarkson at home
Week 7 - Open as of now
Week 8 - Archbishop Moeller, most likely at home. There has been discussion about going back to a yearly schedule with Moeller in which the teams play at their respective home fields and not at a neutral site.
Week 9 - At Cincinnati St. Xavier
Week 10 - Home versus St. Edward
IT ALL STARTS UP FRONT: As we reported in the corner's game story from Friday night's 45-22 Regional Semifinal victory over Euclid, Saint Ignatius' offensive line took over.
Led by two-time, first-team All-District senior guard/Captain Jack Jamieson, senior All-American, first-team All-District selection and University of Kentucky recruit, tackle Darian Kinnard, senior center and All-District Honorable Mention Jivan Meguerditchian, and the invaluable efforts of seniors Juan Pen, Billy Corte and Xavier Everett, along with junior Grant Abbott, the Saint Ignatius offense is attacking opponents with its traditional and highly successful balanced attack.
That was evident again on Friday night at Bedford Bearcat Stadium, as the Wildcats totaled 435 yards of offense, 326 on the ground.
One of the positions that many of Saint Ignatius' faithful were concerned about coming into this summer was the center position, where three-year starter and two-time, first-team All-Ohio selection John Spellacy (now playing for East Carolina) had graduated.
Wildcats fans are resting easy now, as Jivan Meguerditchian has stepped up with a solid season as the director of the O-Line, if you will.
"From the beginning, he just kind of jumped in and was the leader right from the start," said Saint Ignatius' veteran Offensive Line Coach Adam Rini '99. "He was really impressive of how he kind of took over.
"There really wasn't that let down," Coach Rini said. "John (Spellacy) obviously was one of the best and Jivan learned from John and kind of understood what we were looking for. Right from the start, Jivan was able to make all of the calls and we really never missed a beat from when John graduated and Jivan stepped in.
"Jivan has grasped hold of the position and has done a great job in getting everybody where they need to be and setting up everything in pre-snap," Coach Rini continued. "Whether it's run blocking or pass blocking, he is there doing his job."
The classroom in another place where Jivan excels. After he received one of the Great American Rivalry Series/ United States Marine Corps Student-Athlete Awards before the kickoff of this year's Saint Ignatius-St. Edward game in Lakewood Stadium, Jivan shared with this corner that he would like to attend Case Western Reserve University and major in Engineering. Jivan is also a member of the Wildcats' State Champion Rugby Program.