LAKEWOOD, Oh - Saint Ignatius (1-6) traveled 10 minutes down the road to First Federal Lakewood Stadium to take on the 18th-ranked team in the country, the St. Edward Eagles (6-1). Saturday, September 30, marked the 64th edition of this storied rivalry on the gridiron between the Wildcats and Eagles.
Senior Max Ritt opened the game with a bang in his return from injury, taking the kick return down to the Saint Edward 25-yard line on a 73-yard return.
The momentum was immediately nullified as Bradley Eaton jumped a pass from Peyton Frontino on the drive’s first play and returned it near midfield.
St. Edward came out aggressive, throwing deep on the first play and wideout Zach Hackleman hauled it in for the huge gain. Brandon White got the handoff on fourth and inches and scampered past defenders for an 11-yard score as St. Edward struck first with 8:53 left to play in the first.
The Wildcats went three and out on the next drive, with Notre Dame commit Loghan Thomas picking up a huge sack. The Eagles went back to work, pulling out a wing T formation and handing the ball to their linebackers to push it down the field. Jon Slaper capped the smashmouth drive with a goal-line score, putting the Cats down two scores with 2:31 remaining in the opening quarter.
In need of some offensive momentum, junior running back Grant Washington answered the call, breaking off runs of 30 and 26 on consecutive plays and backup Josh Papesh came into the game to punch in a quarterback sneak with 11:15 left to play in the half as the Wildcats cut the Eagles lead to 14-7.
The defense also did their part, forcing a three and out, but the offense couldn’t move the ball after a decent Saint Edward punt.
Casey Bullock got it going through the air while a balanced attack drove the ball to the 20-yard line of the Wildcats. After a nifty playfake, Bullock found White with nothing but open space and walked into the end zone, scoring 21-7 with 5:19 left to play in the second quarter.
It looked to be another three and out, but a fake punt formation drew the Eagles offside, prompting an automatic first down. Ultimately, Ritt was met and dropped on fourth down to force a turnover on downs.
Performing a two-minute drill to perfection, Bullock pushed his offense down the field, connecting another big pass to White, and on the next play, finding Akron commit Kyan Mason wide open down the seam for the home side’s fourth score and making it 28-7 going into the break.
St. Edward kept their foot on the gas pedal, getting the ball first and going deep to Brian Sullivan, who picked up 59 yards. Two plays later, Sullivan struck again, making a leaping catch in the end zone to increase the lead.
Penalties killed the next Wildcat drive, and they had to punt the ball right back. Mason got a touch pass and took off, picking up 35 yards and getting to the one-yard line. Slaper punched in his second one-yard score of the day, initiating the running clock with 4:07 remaining in the third quarter.
Both teams punted twice more as the second and third-string units made their rivalry game appearances. Sophomore Owen Colwell stood out, averaging almost five yards per carry and moving the sticks multiple times before time ultimately ran out.
The Eagles have won their seventh straight in the rivalry and have outscored the Wildcats 118-20 in the previous three meetings.
Washington led the way for the Cats’ ground attack, toting the rock 10 times for 79 yards. The Eagles outgained the Wildcats 384-121 on the night.
Next up for the Wildcats is a trip to Cincinnati to take on Archbishop Moeller (4-3). The Cats will look to avoid the program’s first six-game losing streak since the 1947 season. Kick-off is set for Saturday, October 7, at 2 p.m. from Mount St. Joseph University at Schueler Field.