Canton, Ohio - Saint Ignatius' veteran Running Backs Coach Terry Fergus '72 was all smiles on the sideline as the seconds were ticking off the clock in the third and final quarter of Thursday night's Football Jamboree versus the McKinley Bulldogs at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium (formerly Fawcett Stadium).

The Wildcats completed their productive preseason with a 28-0 triumph.

Coach Fergus' running backs produced more than 220 yards on the ground in the annual game-conditions encounter between the Wildcats and the Bulldogs, and set the tone with 120 yards rushing in the first quarter by senior tailback James Norris. Saint Ignatius had 190 yards rushing by halftime.

Norris carried the load 14 times in the first quarter and scored the Cats' first touchdown on an 8-yard gallop over the right side with 9 minutes and 1 second remaining in the opening quarter.

Senior tailback Elijah Wahib rushed for 39 yards on seven carries, including a 1-yard touchdown run, senior tailback Ian Forkapa ran for 31 yards on five carries, junior tailback Dean Stowers had four carries for 32 yards, and senior tailback Nick Berlin, who unleashed a shake and bake spin move, picked up 23 yards on four carries.

Coach Adam Rini's and Coach Paul Yappel's offensive linemen have to love those numbers as much as Coach Fergus does.

The Cats' passing game wasn't as sharp as it has been all summer, but the air attack did provide some clutch plays, including a perfectly executed 7-yard swing pass from senior quarterback/captain Dennis Grosel to Norris in the left flat that, along with junior Colin Goodfellow's second extra-point kick, made it a 14-0 game with just two seconds gone in the second quarter.

On what was a picture-perfect throw and catch, Grosel hooked up with sure-handed junior wide receiver Travis Pot on a deep sideline route that gave St. Ignatius a first and goal at the 4. The Grosel to Pot combo set up the hard-nosed TD run by Wahib with 2:34 remaining in the first half.

Staying with the passing game, junior quarterback Patrick Ryan and senior wide receiver Mike Huber had the Wildcats' faithful buzzing in the closing moments after they combined on a kiss-the-sky, in stride deep route that would have drawn a wide grin from Hall of Famer Broadway Joe Namath. It covered 66 yards.

"That's what we wanted to do," said Saint Ignatius' outstanding head coach Chuck Kyle '69 of the Wildcats' ground game. Coach Kyle will now begin preparing his Wildcats for the Aug. 29th season opener versus Normandy when the Cats return to Wasmer Field on Saturday for a 10 AM practice.

"We weren't super throwing the ball, but we did hit some big ones that helped move the sticks," Coach Kyle continued. "At times we were a little off, but that's okay. But we ran the ball very hard and that is what we've worked on for a long time, for months. So that's good to see. If you run the ball well against a Canton McKinley team, that says something."

Coach Kyle was also impressed with the effort by his defense, especially up front. Saint Ignatius' quick, aggressive and deep defensive linemen and linebackers were a bit too much for the Bulldogs.

WHAT THE COACHES SAID ABOUT THE FRESHMEN AND JUNIOR VARSITY SPLIT-FIELD SCRIMMAGES VERSUS MCKINLEY'S FRESHMEN AND JV SQUADS

Wildcats Junior Varsity Coach Paul Yappel: "It gives us an opportunity to come out and compete. I think that's always important, especially as we continue along this development process with these guys. I think that's what it is really all about at this level, to see guys progress from day one, until now and then going forward. We're looking forward to next Thursday, when we do it for real."

The JV Cats open their season on Aug. 27 at Cleveland Central Catholic. The kickoff from Stefanski Stadium is scheduled for 4:30 PM.

Coach Yappel pointed out that what is impressive about sophomore tailback Mark Bobinski is not just his running ability, but his pass blocking. "He's hard-nosed and he's a complete football player," Coach Yappel said.

Sophomore quarterbacks Daniel Alexander and Kyle Hall are, said Coach Yappel, both playing well . "And the credit for that goes to Coach Grbac," he said of Wildcats Varsity and JV Quarterbacks Coach Elvis Grbac. "You can't ask for a much better coach. And I think both guys (Alexander and Hall) know what they have there and they're soaking it all in."

Saint Ignatius Freshmen Coach Rodney Gallaway: "They were very athletic," Coach Gallaway said of the Bulldogs' ninth graders. "They'll have a nice squad this year. They have some big guys that obviously can move. For us, I thought we played well at times. We ran the ball pretty well. I think that's going to be a strength for us.

"The passing game came along as we got going. I think there were a few of those quick jitters. Defensively, I thought we did fine. We have to keep improving with the defensive back position, but everywhere else we seemed fine. We don't get to hit a lot (in practice), so live competition is great."

The Freshmen Cats open their season on Aug. 26 at Youngstown Cardinal Mooney. It is a 6 PM kickoff.