Saint Ignatius trailed on Judy Kirsch Field, 14-0, before a John Thomas to Jack Hyland touchdown strike and the ensuing extra point by Matt Colella made it a 14-7 game with 1 minute and 15 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Wildcats' defense was dominant over the final 24 minutes, giving its offense excellent field position that resulted in take-charge touchdowns by senior tailback Mike Vitale and senior fullback Stan Elad. Junior defensive end Dre'Mont Jones was more than Hudson could deal with and senior cornerback Scott Arthrell had two huge interceptions and played a lock-down pass defense all night.
Saint Ignatius (8-4) advances to next Saturday night's (Nov. 23) third-round match up with the Mentor Cardinals (11-1). The site for the game will be determined by the OHSAA on Sunday. It will mark the third consecutive season that the Wildcats and the Cardinals will be meeting in a third-round or regional-final game.
Saint Ignatius, en route to its record 11th state championship, defeated the Cardinals, 23-17, in a Division I, Region 1 final at Lakewood Stadium in 2011 and last season Mentor turned back the Wildcats, 57-56, in triple overtime in the Region 1 final at Byers Field. Saint Ignatius handed Mentor its only setback this season, 26-6, at Jerome T. Osborne Sr. Stadium in Week 2.
HERE IS THE COMPLETE WILDCATS-EXPLORERS GAME STORY.
Brunswick Auto Mart Stadium, Brunswick Ohio - As he was being congratulated along the visitors’ sideline of Brunswick Auto Mart Stadium on Saturday night, Saint Ignatius’ Scott Arthrell, in a polite, but right to the point manner said: ‘Thank you, but it’s not over yet."
Arthrell’s remark came with 3 minutes and 29 seconds remaining in an OHSAA Division I, Region 1 second-round football playoff game between the Wildcats and the gritty and bag-full-of-tricks Hudson Explorers.
Scott had just intercepted a pass off a fourth-and-10 play from the Wildcats’ 40, his second huge INT of the night, and 11-time state champion Saint Ignatius, which trailed by 14 points for most of the first half, went on to defeat the Explorers, 28-17, on Judy Kirsch Field.
With the victory, their 65th triumph in what are now 78 OHSAA playoff games, the Wildcats (8-4) advanced to next Saturday’s third-round match up with the 11-1 Mentor Cardinals. The site for the 7 PM kickoff will be determined by the OHSAA on Sunday.
Mentor, behind another outstanding all-around performance by senior quarterback Conner Krizancic, overpowered Stow, 43-0, in Saturday’s Region 1 second-round game at Solon High School’s Stewart Field. Krizancic ran for three touchdowns, passed for one and for good measure added a touchdown reception.
“I want the ball every time it is in the air, I love the challenge,” said Arthrell, who along with his two interceptions made several clutch deflections off passes in his direction. Simply put, the 6-0, 185-pound senior played lock-down coverage all night.
“Things weren’t going our way, obviously,” Arthrell continued, in reference to a first half that saw Saint Ignatius trailing, 14-0, until tough and sure-handed senior wide receiver Jack Hyland hauled in a 7-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone with 1 minute and 15 seconds remaining in the first 24 minutes. “We knew we had the ability to come back, we never doubted that for a second.”
Hudson (10-2), which was making its seventh appearance in the OHSAA football playoffs and its sixth since 2002, took its 14-0 lead on a 65-yard interception return for a touchdown by Jake Brooks, a razzle-dazzle, 49-yard TD reception by Colton Whited that saw the Explorers’ gifted junior quarterback Mitch Guadagni threw a quick screen to John Zuccaro, who then fired the ball down field to Whited, and two extra-point kicks by 2012 All-Ohio selection Pierce Royster. Brooks’ interception was definitely questionable, as the ball might have, and we emphasize might, hit the ground before Brooks scooped it up.
After Hyland’s clutch receiving got Saint Ignatius back in the game, Guadagni and Co. almost burned the Wildcats with another trick play in the final seconds of the first half.
Faced with a second-and-2 from the Saint Ignatius 12, Guadagni took the snap and pitched it to Zuccarro, who threw it in the direction of Guadagni as the savvy signal-caller was breaking to the right corner of the end zone. Reading the flight of the ball all of the way, Arthrell picked it off and rambled 50-plus yards down the home sideline before being tackled. An illegal block was called during Arthrell’s return and the Wildcats went to their locker room at halftime trailing, 14-7.
“He’s the only guy I saw in my area,” said Arthrell of Guadagni’s attempt to swing out of the backfield and catch Saint Ignatius napping by heading to the corner of the end zone. “When I saw him (Guadagni), I peeled off my guy.”
Saint Ignatius, currently in its 25th playoff appearance, an impressive run that began in 1988, played the type of defense in the second half that one associates with a record 11-time state champion.
And, along with Arthrell, no one stepped up bigger than 6-4, 250-pound junior defensive end Dre’Mont Jones.
When Dre’ wasn’t creating havoc with sacks and other tackles behind the line of scrimmage, he was running down the ball carrier from the back side. And oh yeah, he also took the elevator to the next floor, or spike city, if you will, and slammed down a pass at the line of scrimmage so hard it would have made an All-American volleyball player smile.
“When we came into the locker room at halftime, we were all tense and everything,” said Dre’. “We talked about it all week, consistency. That was our main focus. After halftime, we came out and played Wildcat football.”
In giving credit to Wildcats assistant coach Mark Sullivan, a former Lake Catholic and Ohio State standout nose tackle who is also Saint Ignatius’ head wrestling coach, ‘Dre said he used a lot of hand-fighting technique in warding off offensive linemen in the second half.
That fight, both physically and mentally, by the Wildcats’ entire defense in the second half enabled Coach Chuck Kyle’s team to score on touchdown runs of 7 yards by senior tailback Mike Vitale and 2 yards by senior fullback Stan Elad before adding a 9-yard touchdown sealer by multi-skilled senior wideout Nick Fabian off a reverse in the final seconds.
Hudson, which was hampered by an injury to Guadagni in the second half, finished with 219 yards of total offense.
Saint Ignatius racked up 368 yards, including 8 receptions for 101 yards by Hyland and 110 yards rushing on 31 carries by Vitale. Whited was outstanding for the Explorers, as the smooth receiver hauled in 10 passes for 164 yards.
“They’re really athletic and fast,” Dre’ said of the Explorers’ skilled players. “And they’re creative, too. They’re good players. I give them their props.”
Coach Kyle ‘69, who now has 309 career victories in what is his 31st season as his alma mater’s head football coach, including a 65-13 mark in the OHSAA playoffs, emphasized that the first quarter was not good for his Wildcats, either offensively or defensively.
“We got that big interception right before the half, took the wind, went to kind of a hurry up (offense), put two scores on the board and got the lead,” Coach Kyle said. “And then we battled it out in the fourth quarter. I preach to the kids that in the playoffs you can’t have a bad quarter. And we did. So somehow we had to battle back and find a way to win.”