TOLEDO, Oh - The Saint Ignatius Wildcats (1-5) traveled to Toledo to take on the number one ranked team in Division III in the Central Catholic Fighting Irish (6-0). This was the first-ever meeting between these two programs and the Wildcats were looking to avoid their first four-game losing streak in over 40 years.
However, Central Catholic was too much to handle for the young Wildcats and would shut out the Cats 28-0 at Gallagher Stadium on Friday night to extend the Irish winning streak to 21.
The Wildcats kicked off first, and a penalty on the Fighting Irish negated an extended return. TCC kept the ball on the ground for most of the drive, giving it to their senior captain, Marquan Braswell, seven times and having the drive capped off with a Tyler Morgan three-yard plunge.
Sophomore gunslinger Peyton Frontino made his first varsity start for the Wildcats on the first offensive drive; the Wildcats would go three and out and punted. The defense returned the favor, highlighted by a Jayshon Thomas eight-yard tackle for loss, one of 13 total tackles in the game.
The offense picked up their first down of the night when Frontino hit Marcus Tekancic for a nine-yard gain. The play after, Frontino stretched the field and hit Luke Simms for a 37-yard completion, putting the ball on the Irish 29-yard line. The drive stalled from there and a Tommy Kilbane 40-yard field goal was no good.
Starting the second quarter on their own 20, TCC ran 11 consecutive run plays to get 79 yards to the Wildcat one. But faced with fourth down, quarterback Terry Collins kept the ball on the read option and got thrown back by senior Ryan Ardire, forcing the turnover on downs.
The Wildcat run game only picked up 36 yards throughout the night, but a bright spot was a Grant Washington 34-yard scamper from his end zone. However, an incomplete pass on third down forced the punt unit out again.
Starting around midfield, the Irish made quick work of the tired Wildcat defense, as a big-hitting pass to Preston Fryzel for 47 yards got them to the red zone and just three plays later, Braswell scored his first of the night to extend the Irish lead to 14-0 with 3:51 remaining in the first half.
A bad snap and a negative run put the Saint Ignatius offense in a hole, and they punted. A holding call on a converted fourth by Fryzel once again forced the Irish to punt.
With time winding down in the half, the Wildcats tried to push the ball down the field, but two consecutive holding penalties pushed the offense back and although senior AJ Haddox had a 29-yard reception on the last play, it was not enough for the end zone, and time ran out.
The offense went nowhere on their first drive despite Haddox making an exceptional diving snag behind the sticks and the Wildcats would punt on their first drive of the second half.
TCC kept feeding the hot hands in Braswell and Morgan as they ripped off consecutive runs of 17 yards to get the ball to the three, where the Irish ran a Philly Special type play with Iowa commit wide receiver Jaylen Watson, who would throw to his quarterback Collins for a score. With 8:09 left to play in the third quarter, it was all Irish, leading 21-0.
Things went from bad to worse when Frontino faced early pressure on the ensuing drive and had to get rid of the ball, which was picked off and taken to the end zone by Jayden Barnes. The 53-yard pick-six rounded out the scoring for the night as the Irish led 28-0 with 5:54 remaining in the third quarter.
The offense finally had the big play they were looking for when Tekancic took an out route and accelerated up the sideline for a gain of 54 to put the Wildcats inside the ten-yard line. Four straight run plays were called, and four consecutive stops were made, making it a turnover on downs and keeping the Cats out of the endzone.
A punt for the Irish followed and to start the fourth quarter, Jordan Rodman made an exceptional diving catch, but Irish cornerback D’haron Flowers did well to break up the fourth down attempt pass.
Patrick Cooney made a big play to force the punt team to come out again for the Irish, but on third and long, Frontino chucked up a prayer to Rodman that was intercepted by Marvon Greenlee deep in Central Catholic territory.
The Irish did well to milk the rest of the game clock and sent the Wildcats home with their fourth consecutive loss. Central Catholic added to their impressive 21-game winning streak.
In Frontino’s debut start, he would finish with 219 yards on 19-of-28 passing and two interceptions. His favorite target was fellow sophomore Tekancic, who hauled in nine passes for 105 yards.
The defense got a lift with the return of their captain in Ardire, as he collected seven tackles, with three for a loss.
Eyes are set to Lakewood for week seven of the high school football season as the Wildcats face their cross-town rivals in the St. Edward Eagles. The Eagles are the 18th-ranked team in the country by High School Football America.
Kick-off is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday, September 30, at First Federal Lakewood Stadium. It will be the 64th edition of the Wildcats and Eagles on the gridiron and the Cats will seek their first victory against St. Edward since October 2018.