Trailing, 27-6, late in the third quarter, the Wildcats close to 27-20 with 2:05 remaining. The day belonged to the Alex Malzone-led Warriors, however, as special teams and defense seal the deal for Brother Rice in the season opener for both programs at Wayne State University. Wide receivers Corey Lacanaria and Grant Perry combined for 19 of Malzone's 24 completions.
NOTE: Coach Mike Gallagher's cross country team has another solid day at the Avon Lake Early Bird. See Coach Gallagher's comments and the final results after the football story.
Detroit, Michigan - The Saint Ignatius Wildcats dug themselves a deep hole on Saturday afternoon and then almost clawed their way out of it.
However, a tough, strong-armed and heady junior quarterback from Brother Rice named Alex Malzone and his more than capable supporting cast refused to let that happen.
The Warriors, behind Malzone's pin-point passing, the soft hands of gritty senior wide receiver Corey Lacanaria and the multiple skills of senior safety/place kicker/punt returner Jason Alessi, turned back the Wildcats, 29-20, in what was the first match up between the storied football programs.
Played on Wayne State University's Tom Adams Field, the game was part of the Detroit Sports Commission Prep Kickoff Classic.
"We did not play well in the first half at all," said Saint Ignatius head coach Chuck Kyle '69 after he watched Brother Rice lock up the victory on a punt by the Warriors' Jonathon Forster that was downed at the Wildcats' 6, and the ensuing sack of senior quarterback John Thomas in the end zone by senior defensive end/tackle Alberto Sandoval and junior defensive tackle Jack Dunaway with 45.3 seconds remaining.
"Their quarterback (Malzone) is very good," Coach Kyle continued. "He played last year in half of their state championship game. He was pretty accurate last year, so we knew it was going to be a challenge. And he lived up to it."
Brother Rice, a nine-time state champion that won back-to-back Michigan Division II state titles in 2011 and 2012, rode Malzone's pocket savvy, the receiving of Lacanaria, junior Grant Perry and seniors Joshua Flye and Damaris Woods, and the productive when needed to be running of seniors Shon Powell and Brian Walker to a 14-0 lead with 1 minute and 58 seconds left in the first half.
Malzone hooked up with Woods on an 18-yard scoring pass for the game's first points and Walker fought his way into the end zone from 1-yard out. The gifted Alessi was true on both extra-point kicks. Walker's touchdown highlighted a 21-play drive.
Saint Ignatius, which has brought home an Ohio-best 11 big-school state championships and three national crowns, got back in the game on an 80-yard touchdown pass from Thomas to Wildcats standout senior receiver Mike Siragusa. The extra-point attempt was no good and Saint Ignatius trailed, 14-6, with 1:46 to go in the first half.
Siragusa and Malzone were selected as the game's outstanding players.
Brother Rice wasn't content to run out the first-half clock, however, as one of the many big-time connections between Malzone and Lacanaria led to a 31-yard field goal by Alessi and a 17-6 Warriors lead at halftime. Lacanaria totaled 157 yards on his 10 receptions.
"There were times when our coverage wasn't bad, but the ball was right there," said Coach Kyle of the crisp throws into seams by the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Malzone. "He had a great game and we struggled getting a pass rush on him. He got into a flow and when a quarterback gets into the flow, look out."
The Warriors, who are dedicating this fall to their legendary 80-year-old head coach Al Fracassa, who is retiring after this season, pushed their advantage to 24-6 on a highlight-reel 70-yard punt return for a TD by Alessi and his ensuing extra point kick with the second half not a minute old.
Two more receptions by Lacanaria, including one of the two-handed diving variety, helped set up another field goal by Alessi. The no-doubter from 41 yards out pushed Brother Rice's lead to 27-6 with 1:30 remaining in the third quarter and had the Warriors' faithful shouting with confidence.
The Wildcats did their best to shake that confidence as Thomas threw his second 80-yard touchdown pass of the game - a quick toss to senior receiver Nick Fabian that saw Nick secure the ball on his hip, elude a defender and outrun the pursuit down the left sideline. Matt Colella's extra point was high and true, and the 'Cats trailed by 14 points entering the fourth quarter.
Displaying the heart one associates with Saint Ignatius football, the Wildcats marched 74 yards and, behind a clutch third-and-10 scramble to the Warriors' 6 by Thomas, closed to 27-20 on a 5-yard sweep over the left side by senior tailback Mike Vitale and another extra point by Colella with 2:05 left on the clock.
Overtime was not in the cards, however, as the clutch punt and the downing of it deep in Wildcats territory set the stage for the explosion off the line by Sandoval and Dunaway that cleared a path to Thomas for the safety and the nine-point victory.
"It wasn't the best first half offensively, but we settled down a bit in the second half." Coach Kyle said. "We kind of put ourselves in a hole and you have to learn from that. Credit to them, they executed really well especially in the passing game. They hit key passes, third-and-long with perfect timing."
The Wildcats have to put this one behind them in a hurry, as they travel to Mentor on Friday night. The Cardinals, ranked No. 1 in cleveland.com's preseason Top 25 poll, opened their season by rallying to an impressive victory over Erie (Pa.) McDowell.
CROSS COUNTRY
The Saint Ignatius cross country team ran to first-place finishes in the Maroon 5K, the junior varsity race and the open competition during Saturday's annual Avon Lake Early Bird Invitational at Lorain County Community College.
Led by Luke Wagner, the Wildcats' finish totaled 75 points in the 5K with an average time of 17:29.0 and a spread of 1:42.1.
Amherst Steele was second with 90 points, Avon totaled 91 and Avon Lake was fourth at 111 points. Here is a look at Saint Ignatius' 5K efforts, followed by Coach Mike Gallagher's comments on all three races.
1 Luke Wagner 16:32.0, 5:20
5 Elliot Thorkelson 17:01.2, 5:29
14 Tim Trentel 17:37.0, 5:41
24 John Nemes 18:00.8, 5:49
31 Jeff Foerg 18:14.1, 5:53
42 C J. Ambosio 18:34.2, 5:59
69 Jim Rogers 19:40.4, 6:21
Total Time = 1:27:25.0 Total Places = 75.
From Coach Gallagher: Just before 9am on Saturday at the Early Bird Invite, the Wildcats waited anxiously on the starting line as I felt the heat of the morning sun beating down on my neck. The runner's jerseys were already soaked with sweat before the race even began. The Wildcats came through the 800 meter mark in a solid pack before heading up the first hill. By the 2 mile mark, Luke Wagner was closing in on the lead runner. Tim Trentel was a few steps back with Elliot Thorkelson, Jeff Foerg and John Nemes close behind. Coming off the second hill, the heat and humidity had set in like a sauna. Luke Wagner drove hard to the finish past the lead runner to win the race in 16:32. Elliot Thorkelson surged in the final meters to finish fifth in 17:01. Tim Trentel battled a leg cramp, yet finished 14th in 17:37. John Nemes followed in 24th place in 18:00 earning his varsity letter in his first 5K race. Jeff Foerg finished 31st in 18:14. CJ Ambrosio (18:34) and Jim Rogers (19:40) rounded out the team.
In the JV race, the heat index had risen higher still. Sophomore Tom Sullivan led the race from the opening gun until just a few strides from the finish when his legs buckled from the effort. He still managed to get to his feet and cross the finish line in 12th place in 18:53. Andrew Szendrey and Greg Miller ran stride for stride, finishing in a dead heat for 1st place in 18:31. After reviewing the tape, the judge awarded first place to Andrew Szendrey. Kevin Keaton (18:36), Alex Falkenberg (18:37), Brennan Leitch (18:40) and Pat Nolan (18:40) followed close behind. The Wildcats totaled a nearly perfect 16 points to claim the title. Congrats to all.
By the time the open race went off, it was so hot the concession stand had run out of ice, and even the spectators were struggling to move around the course. Connor Riley ran a great tactical race and closed fast catching the leader to finish second on 18:15. He was followed by Sean Sovacool (18:44), David Meler (18:52), Michael Kraft (19:06), Will Maier (19:11) Brian Drellishak (19:14) and Pat McGuire (19:30). The team totaled 22 points to win the Open Division title.