A misty rain accompanied by ice pellets glowed through the lights at Wasmer Field early Tuesday evening.

What many would look upon as undesirable conditions were, in fact, a pleasant reminder for Coach Chuck Kyle (’69) and his staff of those Thanksgiving Day-week practices of years gone by.

No, there wasn’t any snow to be shoveled off the field, as was the case several times during the Wildcats’ state-championship run of the late 1980s and 1990s.

However, the gales of November were just as cutting Tuesday evening as they were back in 1988 at Lakewood Stadium, where Coach Kyle and his Wildcats practiced for their first state championship game against Cincinnati Princeton.

Now 20 years later, a group of young men who weren’t born in 1988 have Saint Ignatius in position to add to what is already an Ohio-record nine Division I state football championships. And, as was the case in state-title games 1, 2, 4, 5 and 9, another power from the Queen City stands in the way.

Cincinnati Elder (13-1), the fifth-ranked team in the final 2008 Associated Press state poll, will face the fourth-ranked Wildcats (13-1) on Saturday in the big-school state championship game at Canton’s Fawcett Stadium. The kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised live by SportsTime Ohio.

It will be the fourth meeting between Saint Ignatius and Elder in football, with the previous three all coming in regular-season matchups. The Wildcats defeated the Panthers, 21-20, in 1998 and Elder prevailed in 2001, 23-7, and in 2002, 45-35.

Wildcats fans might recall Saint Ignatius brought home its only state championship in basketball by defeating Elder in March 2001.

The Panthers, under the direction of veteran coach Doug Ramsey, are making their first appearance in the state championship game since winning back-to-back titles in ‘02 and ‘03. Saint Ignatius has returned to the title game after winning its ninth crown by defeating Cincinnati Saint Xavier, 37-6, in 2001 at Fawcett Stadium.

That was the past, however, as both teams enter Saturday night’s encounter with balanced offenses and hard-nosed and athletic defenses.

Elder, which averages 36 points per game, features a potent and versatile passing attack led by 6-0, 170-pound junior quarterback Mark Miller. Miller, who shared the state’s Division I Offensive Player of the Year award with Wildcats senior quarterback Andrew Holland and North Canton Hoover’s Mr. Football Erick Howard, has passed for 2,699 yards and 28 touchdowns.

One of Miller’s favorite targets is first-team all-state selection Josh Jones, a 6-3, 210-pound senior. As was the case during their state-championship seasons of ’02 and ’03, the Panthers also attack you with a big and aggressive offensive line anchored by first-team all-state honoree Austen Bujnoch (6-5, 265 pounds).

''The wrinkles they can do with their running game, because you’re sitting there planning all of these coverages for when they lineup,’’ said Coach Kyle of his concerns about Elder’s offense. ''They’ll pull a guard and come through, and the running back finds a seam.’’

As a note of interest, Panthers standout junior running back Adam Brown, who suffered a sprained ankle in last weekend’s state-semifinal victory over Pickerington Central, is expected to be in the starting lineup on Saturday night.

''Really, this is a great test for our defense, it’s a tremendous test,’’ Kyle said. ''We’ve played great defense really all year and have faced some very good offenses. But people take a look, and see that Elder is very confident in what they do.

''They’re a spread offense, but they do it more like a 'West Coast Offense,’ which means there is a lot of short passing. They’ll take their shots deep here and there, but catch it five yards and run it three or four more, and now you’re moving the sticks. It’s precision and (Miller) is hitting over 70 percent of his passes. That’s amazing for a high school kid.’’

Elder’s defense, which takes pride in its speed, will defend you most of the time with a 4-2 look – six in the box, two cornerbacks, two strong safeties and a free safety. The free safety reads the blocking schemes and comes up hard on the run. The Panthers’ secondary scheme is very similar to the one Saint Ignatius employs.

''Their kicking game is also very good,’’ said Kyle of Elder’s first-team All-Ohio selection Tony Miliano. ''What I think you have here is two heavyweights going at it. And maybe the two best teams in the state truly did show up here now.

''We have our work cut out for us, no doubt about it.’’

FOX NEWS: It was great to see all-state senior safety Dan Fox back in the lineup last week. The Notre Dame recruit suffered a concussion in the regional-semifinal victory over Glenville on Nov. 8 and had to sit out the regional-final triumph over Strongsville on Nov. 15. Fox mentioned at practice on Tuesday that he also had to overcome a bout with food poisoning.

''You can’t describe it,’’ said Fox of the emotions he will take with him to Fawcett Stadium on Saturday night. ''You hear of all of the teams playing in the state championship game and you’re just like, ‘Oh, I want to be there.’

''This week, we’re here and it’s our chance to do it. We’re all just really excited.’’

Fox is a mainstay on a defense that is yielding just a fraction over 7 points per game and has four shutouts, including two in the playoffs. Saint Ignatius, which is making its 11th appearance in the Division I state championship game (the ‘Cats were state runners-up in ’96), has outscored its four playoff opponents, 116-14.

MY TWO CENTS: Since my sports mind is still sharp in my “semi-retirement’’ (at least when it comes to high school athletics), I have to express some disappointment with this fall’s Associated Press All-Ohio football team.

While I am very happy for Andrew Holland, Scott McVey, Joey Parris, Dan Fox and Pat Hinkel, and the deserving honors they received (see all-state story below), I have to question what I believe to be two major oversights.

First, let me say I know how difficult it is to select all-county, seven-county, all-district and all-state squads. I took part in the process for more than 23 of my 36-plus years at The Plain Dealer. I also want to express my congratulations to all of the players who garnered All-Ohio recognition.

However, after following high school football in Greater Cleveland since the late 1950s, this proud graduate of Cathedral Latin School can’t understand the rationale that deprived Wildcats senior wideout Connor Ryan and senior nose tackle Ryan Carr from at least being placed on the special-mention list in Division I.

Is it politics? I hope not. In my opinion, Ryan (a Ball State recruit) and Carr were certainly deserving of second-team honors. And to not even get their names listed among the special mentions???

Well, since I’m on the soap box, I’ll close the subject by saying that Strongsville’s gifted senior two-way player and kick-return specialist Alex Kovach, a kid who put the Mustangs on his shoulders all season, should have been a first-team pick on either offense or defense. And no, I’m not related to Ryan, Carr or Kovach. I just respect good football, and good judgement.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of the players, coaches, fans, reporters, trainers, doctors, stats crews, administrators, public address announcers, cheerleaders, marching bands, chain crews, concession workers and officials who help make high school football King in Ohio. And a special Happy Thanksgiving goes out to my beautiful granddaughter, Caitlin Patton.

Now I’ll shut up and look forward to the trip to legendary Fawcett Stadium.