As a cold and cutting wind was swirling through Tuesday's blue-gray sky and forcing its way in the direction of the Lorain Avenue end zone, Saint Ignatius coach Chuck Kyle was putting his Wildcats through a serious ''work day’’ at Wasmer Field.

It is that time of year Coach Kyle, his staff and the majority of the Wildcats are accustomed to, a time every high school football program in Ohio strives to be part of.

Yes, it is the playoffs, when the top eight teams in each of the state’s 24 regions are awarded a spot in the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s regional quarterfinals.

Although the nine-time state champion Wildcats are making an Ohio-record 21st consecutive appearance in the Division I postseason, the start of these playoffs has, as Kyle emphasized, a whole new feeling to it.

It is a feeling Kyle described as unique and, even a little awkward.

For the first time in its rich football history, Saint Ignatius is facing the same team in back-to-back weeks. And that opponent is none other than the Wildcats’ longtime West Side rival – the Saint Edward Eagles.

Just last weekend, Oct. 25th to be exact, Saint Ignatius defeated Saint Edward, 34-12, in a regular-season finale at Parma’s Byers Field. On Saturday, the Wildcats and the Eagles return to Byers Field for a Division I, Region 1 quarterfinal matchup at 7 p.m.

Like Saint Ignatius, this is the first time Saint Edward is meeting the same football opponent in consecutive weeks. The Eagles are making their 15th playoff appearance and their eighth since 2000.

Although their previous 44 meetings are well-documented, the 45thencounter between the Wildcats (9-1) and the Eagles (6-4) will mark the first time these storied football programs are squaring off in the postseason.

The Wildcats and the Eagles have a playoff history in other sports, such as basketball, baseball, soccer, golf and ice hockey. In 1998, Saint Edward defeated Saint Ignatius in the Division I state-championship basketball game. Just this past spring, the Eagles and the Wildcats met for the big-school state title in baseball, with Saint Edward prevailing, and for the second consecutive season the Wildcats have eliminated the Eagles in the district finals in Division I soccer.

Saturday night, however, is something quite different.

The passion and player familiarity that surround a Saint Edward vs. Saint Ignatius football game have earned these schools the recognition of being one of the top-10 high school rivalries in the nation.

Just how passionate is it? Well, following last week’s game Eagles head football coach Scott Niedzwiecki, in addressing his team and the media, said: ''It’s us versus them. There is nothing more important than us versus them, regardless of the situation.’’

Coach Kyle, whose team leads the series commonly referred to as ''The Holy War,’’ 23-20-1, said he expects to face a very emotional Saint Edward team on Saturday night, one that will go for broke or sell the ship, if you will. It is up to his players, who are trying to capture the program’s first playoff victory since 2004, to match or better that intensity.

Kyle added that he doesn’t see either team making wholesale changes within a week, but does look for some tinkering on both sides of the ball.

The winner of the Saint Ignatius-Saint Edward game moves on to the regional semifinals on Nov. 8 and will face the winner of the Glenville (10-0) vs. Brecksville-Broadview Heights (7-3) quarterfinal. The OHSAA will announce the sites for regional-semifinal play on Sunday.

BY THE NUMBERS: Saturday’s game will mark the 17th time that Saint Ignatius has played the same opponent twice in the same season. Most recently was in 2001, when the Wildcats defeated Massillon in Week 4 and were defeated by Cincinnati Saint Xavier in Week 9. Saint Ignatius wore down Massillon again in a state-semifinal matchup in ’01 and got sweet revenge by dominating Saint Xavier in the 2001 Division I state championship game.

For Saint Edward, it will be the sixth time the Eagles have played an opponent twice in the same season. Again, we emphasize same season, not back-to-back games.

Saint Ignatius will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak in the postseason. After winning regional quarterfinal and semifinal games in 2004, the Wildcats lost to Glenville in the regional finals. The past three seasons, Saint Ignatius was eliminated in the first round, losing to Solon in ’05 and to Glenville in ’06 and ’07.

The last time the Wildcats lost four consecutive post-season games was 50 years ago. From 1955 to 1958, long before the OHSAA playoff format, Saint Ignatius lost four straight Charity Games. The Wildcats were defeated by Benedictine in ’55, ’56 and ’57 and by Cathedral Latin School in ’58.

Speaking of the number 50, Coach Kyle has guided his Wildcats to a 50-11 record in OHSAA playoff games.

And finally, since the OHSAA expanded from four teams qualifying per region to eight in 1999, Saint Edward is 6-1 in regional-quarterfinal play and Saint Ignatius is 5-4.