CINCINNATI, Oh - The Saint Ignatius Wildcats (1-7) traveled to Cincinnati to take on the Archbishop Moeller Crusaders (5-3) at Schueler Field for the 13th all-time meeting between the two programs. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, the Crusaders ran away with a 47-7 victory on the heels of a 220-yard performance by their star running back Jordan Marshall.
The Wildcats got the ball to start the game with sophomore quarterback Peyton Frontino. The Cats went three and out and Moeller quarterback Matt Ponatoski went to work for the Crusaders as he hit Roman Love on a corner route to open the scoring with 8:47 remaining in the first quarter.
Once again, the Wildcats punted the ball, but the defense stepped up. As Moeller moved the ball to the Wildcat 35-yard line, senior captain Garrett Butchko punched out the football from Moeller’s Isaac Shade, which Max Woidke recovered.
Saint Ignatius’ offense could not get it going and they were forced to punt once again on a three-and-out. On the second play of Moeller’s next possession, Jordan Marshall had his first big run of the ballgame when he broke away for a 49-yard score with 4:06 left to play in the first quarter. The PAT clanked off the upright as the goalposts were narrower on the college field of Mount St. Joseph University, keeping the score 13-0 in favor of Moeller.
On the ensuing offensive drive for the Wildcats, they faced a third and four from their 37-yard line. Frontino dropped back, looking for Jonathan Merimee, but was picked off by Moeller’s Nick Leonard, the first of three Moeller-forced turnovers, which helped them control the game. Leonard went 43 yards for the score, making it 20-0 with 3:04 to go in the opening quarter.
Finally, the Wildcats got a spark when senior Max Ritt took a kick return from the four-yard line and took it 96 yards to the endzone, putting Saint Ignatius on the board with 2:50 remaining in the first. Ritt broke a return touchdown out twice last season, one a punt return against River Rouge (MI) and the other a kick return to win the game against Cleveland Heights.
The defense slowed down the Moeller’s offense temporarily as on a third down, pressure from junior Adam Bornhorst forced Ponatoski to throw the ball away and the Crusaders sent out their punt unit for the first time.
Senior Joshua Papesh would check in on the next Wildcat offensive drive and immediately connected with junior Grant Washington for an 18-yard connection over the middle of the field to end the first quarter. The drive would stall after a sack by Moeller’s Rudy Reno.
The rest of the second quarter was a stalemate, but Moeller got one more touchdown via Eli Jacon-Duffy; usually a tight end, committed to play at Bowling Green State, running it in for a two-yard score with 5:12 remaining in the first half. Moeller missed the PAT and the score remained 26-7 for the Crusaders.
Papesh came back out at the signal caller position and created a little momentum with passes to Jordon Rodman and Merimee, moving the ball inside the red zone before the break. However, highly recruited junior safety Micah Rice made an exceptional interception on the goal line, tipping the pass and coming down with the pick lying on the turf.
Tommy Kilbane opened the second half with an attempted onside kick, but the Crusaders would recover it. Marshall opened the half with a bang on the first play from scrimmage, running for his second 49-yard score as Moeller extended their lead to 33-7 just nine seconds into the third quarter.
Marshall is ranked as the third-best player in Ohio, the third-highest-rated running back in the nation and the 40th-best player overall Nationally. He finished this contest with 220 rushing yards on 21 carries, eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark for the season in the process.
The Wildcats would turn the ball over on their next offensive possession when Papesh was strip-sacked by Jewett Hayes and recovered by Kyler Paul. Moeller would capitalize with Preston Smith’s six-yard touchdown pass from Ponatoski, making it 40-7 with 10:46 left to play in the third quarter and enforcing the running clock on the Wildcats for a second consecutive week.
Moeller capped off the scoring with 3:15 left to play in the third quarter with a Shade five-yard touchdown run.
Junior running back Trent Latkovic impressed in limited opportunities, going for 38 yards on only six rushing attempts, including a 25-yard scamper near the end of the game.
Moeller has won its third straight in the series against the Wildcats as Saint Ignatius enters uncharted territory in its program history, suffering their sixth straight loss for the first time since the 1947 season.
The Wildcats will now host their Jesuit sister school in the St. Xavier Bombers for the 31st overall meeting at Byers Field on Saturday, October 14, at 3 p.m. This game will mark the inaugural Paul Lammermeier Memorial Cup, where the winner will take home the inaugural trophy. Lammermeier was influential in the Saint Ignatius and St. Xavier communities and his name will be honored in this Jesuit rivalry match.