Bedford, Ohio - Coach Steve Trivisonno's Cardinals, who scored the winning points on a 27-yard field goal by junior Conor McIntosh with 37 seconds remaining and then watched a 52-yard field goal attempt by Saint Ignatius sail wide left in the final seconds, will take a 12-1 record into next Friday night's OHSAA State Semifinal matchup with the Patriots from Olentangy Liberty.

 Liberty (11-2), which was defeated by Saint Ignatius, 24-14, in the State Semifinals last season, advanced to face Mentor by dominating previously undefeated Toledo Whitmer, 34-7, in Friday night's Region 2 final.

 Saint Ignatius, a record 11-time OHSAA Division I State Champion, closed its fall to recall at 11-2.

 With the victory over the Wildcats on Friday night, the Cardinals accomplished the same thing they did in 2012, when they also defeated perennial area powers St. Edward and Saint Ignatius in consecutive weekends - St. Edward in a Region 1 semifinal and Saint Ignatius in a Region 1 final. Mentor advanced to Friday night's matchup with the Wildcats by stunning St. Edward, 21-13, in last weekend's Region 1 semifinal game at Byers Field in Parma's Robert M. Boulton Stadium.

 Saint Ignatius and St. Edward were ranked 1 and 3, respectively, in this season's final Associated Press Division I State poll. Mentor garnered a sixth-place ranking in the final AP Division I poll for 2017. The Wildcats, the Eagles and the Cardinals were seeded 1-2-3 for the Region 1 playoffs in the OHSAA's Harbin Computer Playoff ratings system.

  The Wildcats of Hall of Fame Head Coach Chuck Kyle '69 displayed a lot of grit and character during their run to what would have been their 16th Regional Championship. Saint Ignatius was making its 28th OHSAA playoff appearance.  

 Throughout the regular season the Wildcats adjusted nicely to a change at the starting quarterback position and injuries that took away some mainstays at various times, especially at the wide receiver and running back positions.

 At nationally acclaimed Saint Ignatius, there are no excuses offered and none accepted.

 Coach Kyle's 'Cats secured the top ranking in the state and the No. 1 seed in Region 1 by closing their regular season with victories over previously undefeated St. Xavier, the 2016 Division I State Champion, and previously undefeated St. Edward. St. Xavier and St. Edward were ranked No. 1 in Ohio when the Wildcats faced them in Weeks 9 and 10, respectively.

 PLAYING FROM BEHIND EARLY

 Mentor, whose only setback this season was to Saint Ignatius, 41-31, in Week 2 at the Cardinals' Jerome T. Osborne Sr. Stadium, made itself at home in Bearcat Stadium on Friday night and took a 7-0 lead on a 7-play, 80-yard drive that featured a 36-yard touchdown run by strong and elusive senior tailback Elijah McDougal. The drive was capped by McIntosh's extra-point kick with 9 minutes and 36 seconds remaining in the first quarter. McDougal's TD gallop came off a fourth down-and-1 from the Wildcats' 36.

 Keeping its composure, Saint Ignatius answered with a 12-play 73-yard scoring drive. Junior tailback Jahadge "Bo" Floyd, who helped keep the 'Cats' ground game intact this fall, scored from 1-yard out and the extra point by standout senior kicker Matthew Trickett knotted the score at 7 with 5:28 left in the first quarter.

The key fuel plays in Saint Ignatius' game-tying drive were a strong extra-yardage reception by senior wide receiver Max Pike, a reverse sweep over the right side by gifted senior wide receiver Sammy Snyder, and the running and scrambling of senior quarterback Danny Alexander.

 Saint Ignatius' standout senior nose tackle Aidan Gill, the pride of Our Lady of Angels, came up with a huge third-down, momentum-swinging sack after the Cardinals, behind more tough running by McDougal, marched into Wildcats territory.

 The Wildcats, ranked fourth in the Midwest this past week by USA Today, rode a clutch third-down reception by oh so promising sophomore tailback Jack Welcsh, the running of Welcsh and Alexander, and a diving reception by multi-skilled senior wide receiver and Holy Cross recruit Connor Kennedy to a first-and-goal at the Mentor 2.

 After a holding penalty on the 'Cats made it first-and-goal at the 13, Snyder came up with a tough catch at the 1-yard line and from there Alexander fought his way into the scoreboard end zone of Bearcat Stadium. Trickett's PAT stretched Saint Ignatius' lead to 14-7.

 It remained a 14-7 game entering the halftime break after Wildcats first-team All-Northeast Lakes District senior cornerback Cam Toppin made an exceptional move on the ball and batted down a pass in the red zone off a fouth-and-5 play from the Saint Ignatius 20-yard line. Mentor's hard-nosed senior cornerback Will Laganke came up with a leaping interception in the scoreboard end zone to end the half.

 A TEST OF WILLS

 The third quarter saw more punch and counter punch from two of Ohio's gridiron heavyweights, with Mentor landing another scoring blow from McDougal, this time an authoritative 18-yard run to pay dirt off a 10-play, 80-yard drive that was engineered by one of the top quarterbacks in the Buckeye State, 6-foot-4, 215-pound senior and three-year starter Tadas Tatarunas. McIntosh's ensuing PAT tied the score at 14 with 5:42 left in the third quarter.

 Saint Ignatius, taking advantage of a strong kickoff return by Toppin, more tough inside running by Welcsh and a key reception by Kennedy, drove 59 yards in eight plays and went back on top off a 13-yard TD run by Welcsh and the ensuing extra point by Trickett with 3:10 remaining in the third quarter. Welcsh kept the drive alive by picking up a first down off a fourth-and-1 from the Cardinals' 29.

 Most of the fourth quarter belonged to Mentor, however, as Tatarunas consistently hurt the Wildcats with his poise under pressure on third down conversions and his uncanny ability to scramble away for big yards.

 A 32-yard touchdown rope down the right seam from Tatarunas to sophomore wide receiver/backup quarterback Luke Floriea cut the Cardinals' deficit to 21-20 and the Wildcats held that 1-point advantage after they blocked the attempt for the tying extra point with 7:45 remaining to be played. The Tatarunas to Floriea laser finished off an 8-play, 83-yard drive.

 More of Tatarunas' third down resolve came to the fore, as he and the rest of Mentor's productive offense put together a 17-play, 71-yard march through the brisk winds in Bearcat Stadium, a drive that ate up 5 minutes and 15 seconds, and ended with McIntosh's eventual game-winning field goal.

 Saint Ignatius' 52-yard field goal attempt, which sailed away to the left in the final 5 seconds, came after a clutch catch and run by Floyd and a key scramble for a first down by Alexander. The missed field goal by the 'Cats, their second unsuccessful three-pointer on the night, did not go smooth in the entire process.

SOME NUMBERS TO CHEW ON

 Saint Ignatius leads its all-time football series with Mentor, 13-9. The Cardinals have the edge in OHSAA playoff matchups with the Wildcats, 4-2, and have now won the last three postseason meetings with the 'Cats - 2012, 2013 and Friday night, with 2012 and 2013 also being regional final games.

Mentor ran 64 plays for 420 yards and Saint Ignatius totaled 403 yards on 74 plays. McDougal rushed for 151 yards on 18 carries to go along with his two touchdowns. He also had 28 yards off three receptions. Tatarunas was 14-of-21 through the air for 166 yards and picked up 61 yards rushing on 12 carries.

 Floyd and Welcsh showed why the Wildcats' ground game will be in good hands next season, as Jahadge rushed for 94 yards on 20 carries and had four receptions totaling 32 yards, and Jack totaled 85 yards rushing on 16 carries.

 Alexander put together another strong game with his arm and legs. Danny completed 13 of his 18 passes for 132 yards and rushed for 80 yards on 17 carries.

 And last, but certainly not least, All-District first team senior wide receiver Sammy Snyder, who put together an exceptional season, contributed 4 receptions for 36 yards.

 FROM COACH KYLE: "It was going to be a fourth quarter game," said the man who has also guided his Wildcats to three national championships (1989, 1993 and 1995) and a national runner-up in 2008. "As for their running attack, I guess the running back (McDougal) wasn't healthy at the beginning of the season and now he is doing really well. And that was a huge difference in the game.

 "He (McDougal) was really reading the blocking schemes well, doing a lot of cutbacks and finding a little seam," Coach Kyle continued. "But you know, we had our opportunities That's the way it is. When you have opportunities against a good team you have to take the points that you can get.

 "It's disappointing. We knew this was going to be a battle and they got it done with a couple of key third down plays. A few times, I thought we were going to sack him (Tatarunas) and he breaks away and gets the first down. But we had our shot to kick a field goal and we just didn't execute there."

 In closing, this corner would like to thank Coach Kyle, his entire staff, Saint Ignatius Athletics Director Mr. Rory Fitzpatrick '88, the Wildcats' parents and families, and all of THE 2017 WILDCATS, for the privilege to be associated with such outstanding young men. Our Lord be willing, I will look forward to more wonderful memories next summer and fall. God Bless, Mr. Eddie Dwyer.