James Norris, Dennis Grosel, Cal Grbac, Owen North, Jack Cook and Ryan Berger help fuel the offense and Quinn Lawless, Nathan Keirn, Nick LaVigna and Alex Maruna are among those laying down the defense in a 38-20 junior varsity victory over Mentor's jayvees at Wasmer Field on Saturday morning.

The triumph by the Wildcats' jayvees comes less than 24 hours after Saint Ignatius defeated the Cardinals, 26-6, in the varsity encounter at Mentor. The 'Cats' freshmen started the sweep by dominating the Cardinals' freshmen, 48-7, on Thursday evening in Mentor.

By Eddie Dwyer, Copyright September 2013

Ohio City - When asked what pleased him about his team's first game of the 2013 season, Saint Ignatius' outstanding head junior varsity coach Ryan Franzinger '02 immediately referred to the "big plays."

And turning in a couple of those big ones was electrifying sophomore tailback James Norris.

"With Norris, anytime he touches it that thing could go," said Coach Franzinger moments after Norris helped key a 38-20 victory over Mentor's jayvees on a sunny Saturday morning at Wasmer Field. "He demonstrated his abilities, he's a heck of a player."

Norris, who also returns kicks for the varsity team, is a backup tailback for the varsity and one of the finest young varsity sprinters Northeast Ohio track has to offer, unleashed his touch and go 10.66 100 meters capability in the first half on Saturday.

After gifted sophomore wide receiver Cal Grbac led the Wildcats to an early lead by making an exceptional catch and keeping one foot in bounds in the right corner of the scoreboard end zone, Norris left his mark on the game.

First it was Norris hauling in a pass in the left flat from sophomore quarterback Dennis Grosel, juking a defender and racing 37 yards into the end zone. Versatile sophomore Ryan Berger kicked his second extra point and Saint Ignatius led, 14-0.

Then it was an effort by Norris that was truly a special treat for the Wildcats' faithful, a treat so sweet that it was also acknowledged by many of Mentor's fans.

Sweeping the right side in a smooth blur, Norris, in what almost appeared as though he was gliding in mid air, cut across the entire field, left a defender only hoping there was a chance and raced into the Lorain Avenue end zone faster than the vendors were hustling green bananas at the neighboring West Side Market.

This old-timer doesn't want to put any extra pressure on a sophomore in high school and will only mention this because I know James is mature enough to handle it. The last time this corner saw a run like the 81-yard TD blaze Norris put together, it came courtesy of Euclid High's two-time Ohio Mr. Football Robert Smith. Robert went on to an outstanding career at The Ohio State University and an All-Pro career as a tailback for the Minnesota Vikings. He is currently a superb analyst for ESPN's NCAA college football coverage and was recently selected by The Plain Dealer as the No. 1 high school football player over the past five decades.

Norris' crowd-pleaser came on the heels of a touchdown run by Mentor quarterback Jake Floriea.

Leading, 21-6, the Wildcats drew Coach Franzinger's praise for putting together a 1-minute drill that all but put Saint Ignatius in the driver's seat after two quarters.

The well executed drive featured a clutch reception by sophomore receiver Jack Cook, a 22-yard gallop over the left side by Norris, a hard-nosed and sure-handed catch and run by sophomore tight end Owen North and an alert good hands club effort by Grbac that came off a fourth-and-10 from the Cardinals' 21-yard line.

In catching the second of his three touchdowns on the day, Cal snagged the ball out of the air in the right corner of the Lorain Avenue end zone after it was deflected twice by the Mentor secondary. Berger's fourth extra point was on the money and the Wildcats took a 28-6 lead into their halftime huddle with Coach Franzinger.

"Defensively, we made some plays," Coach Franzinger said. "I thought we shut down some of their things, although they had a little more success than I would have liked to seen. But Mentor is going to do that, they're a great program."

After Grbac racked up his third TD reception and Berger tacked on his fifth PAT, Saint Ignatius led, 35-6, with 4 minutes and 15 seconds to go in the third quarter.

Mentor (1-1) made it a 35-14 game with 1:02 left in third quarter, as Floriea combined with wide receiver Zach Sparacia on a touchdown strike off a quick post route and Frank Toth ran for a 2-point conversion.

The 'Cats would respond with a 26-yard field goal by Berger, who teams with his twin brother Jim as junior varsity mainstays (yes, they are Kyle Berger's brothers), and Mentor closed out the scoring on a 71-yard TD burst up the middle by DeAngelo Levert with just over two minutes remaining.

"We're just looking to get better," said Coach Franzinger, who will guide his 1-0 jayvees against Walsh Jesuit's junior varsity on Saturday, Sept. 14, at Wasmer Field. The kickoff will be 10 AM. "But overall I'm pretty pleased. We just have to keep working."

FOR THOSE WHO INQUIRED: Prior to Friday night's 26-6 victory by the Wildcats at Mentor (see the corner's game story below), the last time the Cardinals were held to fewer than 10 points at home was on Sept. 18, 2009, when a Mark Myers-led Saint Ignatius team rolled to a 47-7 triumph in Lake County.

Saint Ignatius' state and national champion team of 1989 defeated the Cardinals in Mentor, 43-2. So the six points the Wildcats limited the Cardinals to on Friday night are the second fewest scored by Mentor in the 16-game series, which now stands at 11-5 in favor of Saint Ignatius.

Have a great weekend!