Football is a game of inches, as they say. Well, the inches have not been in the Wildcats’ favor all season.

The bad fortune continued on Saturday. A gust of wind puffed to stop a 49-yard Declan Mangan field goal mere inches away from tying Saturday’s game vs. St. Xavier at 13 with seconds remaining.

The oh-so-close miss sealed a Bombers victory, 13-10. The defeat likely ends the 4-5 Wildcats’ playoff hopes.

“When Declan hit it, I thought it was going in,” said Head Coach Chuck Kyle ’69. “He hit the heck out of it. Then I noticed a gust and I thought, ‘Oh no.’

“We played hard. The St. Xavier vs. Saint Ignatius game always comes down to the fourth quarter. Who’s going to make the play? It’s always that way.”

Unless some amazing stroke of fate occurs, the Wildcats will miss the playoffs for just the third time since 1988. That’s not to say this team is not talented. The opposite is true – the Wildcats showed signs of greatness all season. The bounces just didn’t go their way.

Things didn’t start out in favor of the Wildcats in the first quarter. St. Xavier drove down the field on an impressive drive to start the game, showing no signs of fatigue after a 4-hour drive up from Cincinnati. Kellen Newman finished off a 9-play, 78-yard drive on a 1-yard rushing score. Dominic DeVengencie blocked the extra point, though, keeping the score 6-0 Bombers.

After a three-and-out by the Wildcats, the Saint Ignatius defense flexed its muscle by forcing a quick punt. The Wildcats’ offense started to get rolling on its next drive. Griffin Hanna marched the Wildcats down the field, aided by runs from Jack Welcsh. Then the Bombers’ defense made a big play, intercepting a pass.

St. Xavier could not capitalize on the pick, as several penalties pushed back the Bombers. The visitors were forced to punt on 4th and 28 from their own 34-yard line. A deflection on the punt gave the Wildcats the ball on the 34. Unfortunately, the Wildcats could not get any points out of it, as the men of Ohio City missed a 46-yard field goal wide left.

The Bombers again struggled on offense, with a quick three-and-out. With the rain coming down, the Wildcats decided to take a run-first approach with the ball near midfield.

Welcsh pounded the ball again and again, moving the Wildcats down the field. Griffin Hanna completed the 11-play, 52-yard grind-it-out drive with a 1-yard quarterback sneak. A Rory McConville extra point gave the Wildcats the 7-6 lead.

With 4:26 left in the half, the Bombers set about a quest to retake the lead. St. Xavier looked to be in great position to do so, moving down the field purposefully. But on the eighth play of the drive, Emmett Hanna picked off a Bombers pass. The junior defensive back charged 31 yards down the field, giving the Cats the ball at the Saint Ignatius 46-yard line with 2:36 left in the half.

Hanna and Welcsh moved the Wildcats down the field into the red zone. The Wildcats looked to be in good position to at least extend the lead by 3, if not 7 points. But an interception on a pass into the end zone, a throw into 1-on-1 coverage, ended the chance. The Bombers made the play on a jump ball, ending the half at 7-6 Cats.

Connor Cmiel came out of the half with his hair on fire. The senior caught two exceptional passes from Hanna for gains of 21 and 30 yards. His crazy catches set up the Wildcats with 1st and goal from the 4-yard line. But the Bombers held firm, and the Football Cats could not punch it in. Instead, the Wildcats settled for a 20-yard McConville field goal, extending the lead to 10-6.

A drive by the Bombers changed the game. A few smart strikes downfield led to a short touchdown throw for St. Xavier. The drive was stunning, as the Wildcats had dominated on defense since allowing the opening score. With the rain pounding down, the Bombers suddenly held a 13-10 lead with 1:28 left in the third quarter.

The score stayed at 13-10, and would remain that way for the rest of the game. The Wildcats’ next drive ended in a punt, and St. Xavier slowly ate yards and clock time. A controversial running into the punter call extended the drive, but the Wildcats managed to end the march on fourth down at the Saint Ignatius 28-yard line. But not before the Bombers wiped 3:23 off the clock.

Then, the Wildcats made a big mistake. A fumbled exchange gave the Bombers the ball back just three plays later. St. Xavier took over at its own 41-yard line.

Relying on a stout rushing attack with the rain continuing to come down, the Bombers used 12 plays and 2:51 of clock time before the Wildcats again stood tall on fourth down. With 5:08 remaining, the Wildcats took over at their own 25-yard line.

The Wildcats looked brilliant in methodically moving the ball downfield with the season on the line. The Wildcats played composed, showing no signs of pressure. Hanna completed several passes downfield to his favorite target in Connor Cmiel. Welcsh also pushed the team forward on great runs. The Wildcats got to the St. Xavier 23-yard line before stalling. A gain of zero yards on first down, a near-miss incomplete pass on second down, and a third-down sack doomed the drive.

“If Griff had a little more time a few plays earlier, Henry was wide open in the end zone,” said Coach Kyle. “He just didn’t have time to look there. We just needed a little more time. That’s the way it works.”

On 4th and 18 from the St. Xavier 31-yard, the Wildcats had no choice but to try the field goal to tie it with 16 seconds left. With the wind blowing, the Bombers called two timeouts in an attempt to ice Mangan.

In the end, Mother Nature did the trick, not the timeouts. But as Mangan said on the sidelines afterwards, he gave it his best shot. Mangan has an incredible leg and a bright future. With Mangan’s range this year, with several 50+ yarders, colleges will likely be calling Mangan in the offseason.

Statistically, the Wildcats finished with 74 plays for 340 yards and the Bombers tallied 325 yards on 65 plays. Hanna tallied 210 passing yards, while Welcsh topped the team with 81 rushing yards. The Wildcats’ defense deserves plenty of credit on a job well done. Erik Daugenti was all over the field, with 10 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 pass breakup. The linebackers also did very well, with Connor Francz notching 6 tackles, Aidan Crummie tabbing 5, and Michael McNamara earning 2. Also give credit to the defensive line, which showed lots of heart today.

“The last 4-5 games, we’ve played very good defense,” Kyle said. “We made some corrections playing against very good teams, and we’ve played really well. But we’re playing teams with very good defenses, too.”

With the defeat, the Wildcats stand at 4-5 with one game remaining. The men of Ohio City will wrap up the regular season next Saturday vs. West Toronto Prep.

“I guarantee you our guys will show up next week and play hard,” said Coach Kyle. “They’ll play absolutely until someone tells them they can’t play anymore.”