Led by a defense that we referred to in Wednesday's corner preview as being immensely improved compared to the one Saint Ignatius faced earlier in the season, and the savvy and skilled play of its outstanding senior quarterback Conner Krizancic, Mentor improves to 12-1 and advances to next Saturday night's state semifinal matchup with St. Edward (12-1) at a site to be determined by the Ohio High School Athletic Association on Sunday. Coach Steve Trivisonno's team is making its 14th OHSAA playoff appearance and was the Division I state runner-up in 2006 and 2007 and a state semifinalist last season.

The Cardinals' defense recorded a safety, came with two key interceptions and, winning the battle up front, limited the Wildcats to less than 130 yards of offense.

Mentor, with Krizancic rushing for 174 yards and passing for 88 yards, including a game-sealing 28-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Brandon Fritts, totaled 375 yards of offense.

The weather experts were right on the money, as Saturday night's game at Byers Field featured temperatures in the low 20s, strong wind gusts and blowing and swirling snow showers that were heavy at times.

Coach Chuck Kyle's Wildcats end their 2013 season with an 8-5 record against a demanding schedule and a rash of injuries, and finish among the top eight Division I teams in the OHSAA playoffs after advancing to the postseason for the 25th time. All of those 25 appearances have arrived under Coach Kyle, with the first coming in 1988 and resulting in the first of what are a record 11 state championships. Chuck will enter next season, which will be his 32nd as the head coach at his alma mater, with a career mark of 309-74-1.

Here is a look at Saturday night's game, which marked the third consecutive season that Mentor and Saint Ignatius have met in a third-round OHSAA playoff game. En route to their record 11th state title, the Wildcats defeated Mentor, 23-17, in a Region 1 final at Lakewood Stadium (now First Federal Lakewood Stadium) in 2011 and last season the Cardinals, behind two-time All-Ohio quarterback Mitch Trubisky (now at North Carolina), defeated Saint Ignatius, 57-56, in triple overtime on Byers Field.

Parma, Ohio - No excuses offered and none accepted.

Saturday night on Byers Field in Robert M. Boulton Stadium, the Mentor Cardinals of Coach Steve Trivisonno were the better team.

Yes, the conditions were less than desirable as Mother Nature made her first serious guest appearance of the late fall season.

Adjustments had to be made by both teams.

Maybe Saint Ignatius' outstanding Hall of Fame head football coach Chuck Kyle '69 said it best when he emphasized that his Wildcats just couldn't get anything going. Coach Kyle was quick to point out that Mentor's defensive charge, fueled by 6-foot-4, 250-pound two-way senior lineman Kent Berger, had a lot to do with his team's offensive frustrations.

No folks, this wasn't the same Cardinals defense that Saint Ignatius totaled nearly 400 yards of offense against in a 20-point Week 2 victory at Mentor.

Strong and active up front and opportunistic in the secondary, the Cardinals' D made just about every big play it had to. Mentor's defensive secondary is coached by another Hall of Famer - former Mayfield, Solon and Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin head coach Byron Morgan.

Coach Kyle also gave well-deserved praise to one of the top athletes in Ohio - Cardinals standout senior quarterback Conner Kirzancic. Conner, a mainstay for Mentor's defending Division I state champion basketball team and a football recruit by the University of Cincinnati as a wide receiver, accounted for 262 of the Cardinals' 375 yards of offense.

"He would just find a seam," Coach Kyle said of Krizancic's ability to negotiate the icy surface on Byers Field. Conner entered Saturday night's game having rushed for more than 1,900 yards and 18 touchdowns and having passed for 2,400 yards and 27 touchdowns.

With the gales of November biting their way through the storied stadium on Ridge Road and Day Drive, Saint Ignatius, on the strength of a 21-yard field goal by 2012 All-Ohio pick Matt Colella, held a 3-0 lead with 18 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Colella's three points came after Mentor was forced to punt from deep its territory and the Wildcats got excellent field position. Mentor's punt was the result of a possession that saw Saint Ignatius senior wide receiver Jake Helton and sophomore long snapper Jim Berger down a Wildcats punt inside the Cardinals' 1-yard line.

Actually, Saint Ignatius was hoping to get more than three points out of its possession, but a pass from senior quarterback John Thomas to junior defensive end/tight end Dre'Mont Jones off a third-and-goal from the 4 sailed high in the right corner of the Day Drive end zone.

Mentor's special teams and defense came to the fore in the final 7 minutes of the first half and the offense followed suite.

After downing a punt at the Saint Ignatius 2, Coach Trivisonno's defense came up big on the very next play and recorded a safety off a Wildcats running play with 6:58 left in the first half.

A 29-yard gallop by Krizancic led to the first of three field goals by senior Mike Muzic and the Cardinals' first lead of the night at 5-3 with 2:57 to go in the first half.

What could easily described as the key play in the game, Mentor, just as it did in last year's regional-final thriller against Saint Ignatius at Byers Field, burned the Wildcats on an option pass.

This time it was a 41-yard TD toss from tailback Eddie Daugherty to underrated senior receiver Corey Plavcan that was followed by a two-point conversion pass from Krizancic to senior wide receiver and North Carolina recruit Brandon Fritts with 1:57 remaining in the first half.

The Daugherty-to-Plavcan stunner was set up by an interception by Cardinals' active senior linebacker Justin McMahon.

Leading, 13-3, Mentor took a 16-3 into its locker room at halftime after Muzic's 34-yard field goal was high and true with just one second left in the first 24 minutes.

The Cardinals, who despite trailing their all-time series with Saint Ignatius, 11-6, have now won four of the last seven games in a series that is one of the finest Public School versus Catholic School rivalries in the nation.

And that 4-3 lead in the past seven encounters was locked up in the second half on a 25-yard field goal Muzic that was the result of an interception by Mentor senior defensive back Austin Hankins and a 28-yard TD strike from Krizancic to Fritts.

As has been the story all season, Saint Ignatius suffered key injuries during Saturday night's game, the most significant being senior defensive end Chris Keane, senior middle linebacker John Gibbons and senior safety/corner Dameon Willis Jr., who suffered a late leg injury.

On a personal note, I would like to thank Coach Kyle and his entire staff, Wildcats Athletics Administrator Rory Fitzpatrick '88 and the Administration at Cleveland's Jesuit Preparatory School for having the privilege to cover and report on another group of outstanding young men, the 2013 Varsity Football Wildcats.