Quarterback Dennis Grosel, tailback James Norris and wide receiver Cal Grbac fuel the JV offense, the 'Cats' defense, sparked by early fumble recoveries by linebacker Ben Cray and defensive end Tito Vazquez, is opportunistic and resilient, and gifted defensive back Quinn Lawless answers the Trojans' second-quarter charge by returning the kickoff 80-plus yards for a touchdown to start the second half.
Gus Anderson Field, Erie, Pa. - No, it wasn't a perfect performance by Saint Ignatius' junior varsity team and the JV 'Cats will be the first ones to tell you that.
However, all things considered, the 35-9 victory over host Erie (Pa.) McDowell on Monday evening will do just fine thank you.
"We were delayed a half hour, it was almost a two-hour bus ride on a school day and night and they're(McDowell) a tough prep for a jayvee team, because the jayvees don't get two hours of practice a day," said Wildcats head JV coach Ryan Franzinger '02 after his team improved to 3-0.
"You see it once, maybe twice a year," Coach Franzinger said of a McDowell offense that is similar to the ones employed by Air Force, Navy and Georgia Tech in recent years. "It's just different, because if you think of how we prep all summer, it's against our offense, which is a pro-style with a lot of passing. And these guys (the McDowell Trojans) are pass by surprise."
McDowell, whose varsity team was defeated by Saint Ignatius, 49-10, on Saturday night at Parma's Byers Field, helped set the table for the Wildcats on the game's first series as tough and talented sophomore linebacker Ben Cray pounced on a fumble at the Trojans' 21-yard line.
Two plays later, standout sophomore tailback James Norris swept the left side for a 13-yard touchdown. Ryan Berger's extra-point kick pushed the 'Cats' lead to 7-0 with the game not two minutes old.
After multi-skilled sophomore defensive back Quinn Lawless made an authoritative tackle on the ensuing kickoff, Saint Ignatius forced a punt and took possession at its 49.
From there, it took assistant coach Elvis Grbac and his offense just one play to find the end zone again, as savvy sophomore quarterback Dennis Grosel fired a picture-perfect pass down the left sideline and into the sure hands of fluid sophomore wide receiver Cal Grbac, Elvis' son. Another extra point off Berger's sophomore foot followed the 51-yard TD strike and the Wildcats held a 14-0 lead with 5:54 to go in the first quarter.
Before the first quarter was history, Saint Ignatius' opportunistic defense made its presence felt again.
The first of two fumble recoveries by promising sophomore end Tito Vazquez led to a crowd-pleasing touchdown catch and run by Norris off a perfectly timed swing pass from Grosel. James caught the pass on the run in the left flat, pulled off one of his God-given vision cuts across the middle and turned on the jets. Mr. PAT Berger was true for the third time and the Wildcats appeared to be in total control at 21-0 entering the second quarter.
But hold on a minute.
McDowell, known for its strap-it-on, hard-nosed approach, got back in the game by outscoring Saint Ignatius, 9-0, in the second quarter. The Trojans' offense came to life on a second-effort catch and run of 46 yards by gritty halfback Jake McAndrew. McAndrew, who runs with passion, left everything he had on the field Monday night.
The Trojans were knocking on the door again after recovering a fumble at the Wildcats' 20. Saint Ignatius' defense was able to hold off a fourth-and-goal from the 4 running play by McDowell and the 'Cats' offense took possession at its 1-yard line.
Saint Ignatius tried to get some breathing room by running the ball on first down, but the Trojans' defense was a wall that fell on the Wildcats for a safety.
The 'Cats, thanks to an interception by sophomore defensive back David Pavlik off a tipped pass and a key sack by sophomore linebacker/end Nick LaVigna took the 21-9 lead into their huddle with Coach Franzinger at halftime.
"The takeaways saved us and I don't think we forced all of them," said Coach Franzinger, whose team returns to Erie next Monday night for a game against the Strong Vincent Colonels at Veterans Memorial Stadium. "So we kind of got lucky on some of that. But overall, we had a nice kick return, some nice long plays on offense and some nice stands by the defense."
It didn't take Saint Ignatius long to regain the momentum as the versatile Lawless took the second half kickoff and rambled 80-plus yards down the right sideline for a touchdown. "Great blocking guys, great blocking," yelled Lawless as he was receiving congratulations from his teammates and coaches.
The Wildcats sent their faithful home smiling as Vazquez's second fumble recovery led to a 42-yard touchdown pass from Grosel to Grbac, a play that saw Cal haul in the crossing-pattern throw, spin away from a defender and outrun the pursuit into the end zone.
Berger, who teams with his twin brother Jim on the junior varsity, closed out the scoring with his fifth PAT and Coach Franzinger's defense made its case one last time by turning the Trojans away on a fourth-and-1 from the Saint Ignatius 6. Sophomore nose tackle Gabriel Mielke, sophomore lineman Nathan Keirn and LaVigna were among those leading the charge.
NOTE: There was another effort on Monday night that didn't go unnoticed by Coach Franzinger and that was the tireless work put in by junior Student Manager Kyle Kostura. Kyle was a one-man gang as he saw to all of the needs of the players and the coaches. Simply put, Kyle was a true man for others, and then some.
*Coach Chuck Kyle's varsity Wildcats (3-1) will enter Saturday afternoon's match up with New Jersey national power Paramus Catholic (3-0) at Byers Field as the sixth-ranked team in the Associated Press Division I state poll, the same spot the 'Cats held last week.
On Tuesday night, the corner will post an in-depth preview on Saturday's 2:30 kickoff with the Paladins.