By Eddie Dwyer, courtesy of Dennis Casey '72, the father of Wildcats endlessly devoted senior running back Reilly Casey.
Ohio City - In what has been a Saint Ignatius tradition for many years, the Wildcats' Varsity Football Team has families host dinners for the offensive and defensive players the night before a game.
Many times a guest speaker is invited to lend a motivational thought-provoking story that can help inspire the Wildcats on to victory the next evening.
Last Thursday, November 9th, the night before Saint Ignatius' Regional Semifinal showdown versus the Euclid Panthers, the Casey and Stankewicz Families hosted the Offensive Team Dinner in Kirtland for approximately 45 players.
Through the efforts of Dennis Casey, Reilly's father, the Casey and Stankewicz families were able to invite Browns quarterback Kevin Hogan to speak to the players at the Casey home.
In the words of Dennis Casey, Kevin Hogan was "a perfect fit."
But then that is what one would expect from a Jesuit-educated young man from Gonzaga High School in Washington DC, the winningest quarterback in Stanford University history, an offensive-minded player, and a professional athlete at the age of 25.
"Kevin is a remarkable young man who showed dignity and humility throughout the evening," said Dennis Casey in his e-mail to Saint Ignatius' Communications Department. "He conducted a nearly 40-minute 'Town Hall Session' with just the players in the lower level of our home. Kevin was willing to take and answer any question.
"Knowing the boys had to play Euclid the next night, a repeat opponent in the same season, Kevin told how his Stanford team had to get motivated to beat UCLA again after defeating the Bruins six days earlier to advance to the PAC 12 Championship game," added Dennis Casey. "Kevin related exceptionally well to the players. I believe his words connected with the players and had a small role in helping them mentally prepare for the win over Euclid (45-22 at Bedford's Bearcat Stadium)."
Dennis Casey emphasized that Kevin Hogan is now a fan of Saint Ignatius football and planned to stream last week's Regional Semifinal.
"It was an awesome experience having an NFL player like himself come to just a local high school team dinner," said Reilly Casey, who will be closing out his football career at Saint Ignatius in early December. "There was definitely a connection between Kevin's high school and ours.
"He talked with us about how hard it is to play the same team twice in a season and how you have to stay focused throughout the season," Reilly Casey said, as the Wildcats were going through practice on Tuesday for another repeat matchup from earlier in the season, the Mentor Cardinals in Friday night's Region 1 final at Bedford's Bearcat Stadium. "He emphasized that no matter how bad you perform in one play, you just have to forget about that play and keep going. Kevin also shared with us that he almost quit football in high school, because he was also an All-Star basketball player. He was thinking about just concentrating on basketball, but he stuck with it and was fortunate enough to get an offer from Stanford and become the all-time winningest quarterback at Stanford.
"My dad has been a Browns season ticket holder for a long time and has some connections inside the Browns organization," Reilly continued. "He sent an e-mail to the Browns, asking if Kevin would be interested in coming out and talking to us. Kevin was more than willing to, and we much appreciate him coming out. We hope he enjoyed himself. It seemed like he did."
Reilly said he and his Dad kept Kevin Hogan's visit a surprise, keeping it on the "down low" so when the players walked into his home they would be really excited.
FROM SENIOR CAPTAIN AND TAILBACK MARK BOBINSKI ON KEVIN HOGAN'S VISIT WITH THE WILDCATS.
"It was really cool to have someone as successful as he was in the PAC-12 at Stanford and an NFL quarterback sit in front of you for what was more of a 'pick his brain talk,'" said Mark. "So we got to talk about what it was like for him growing up. It was cool to hear his stories and what he has been through. It was a traditional team dinner, but the ending was definitely a little different and something that we all really appreciated."