Ohio City - In what will be their final major tune-up for the 2013 football season, Coach Chuck Kyle's Wildcats will make the familiar trip to Canton's legendary and atmosphere rich Fawcett Stadium on Friday for the annual "Jamboree" preview against the Canton McKinley Bulldogs.
As any veteran Saint Ignatius football fan knows, Fawcett Stadium, as they say, has been good to Coach Kyle's program.
Six of Saint Ignatius' record 11 Division I state championships were won in the storied Stark County facility that is currently celebrating 75 years of memories.
Fawcett Stadium is named in honor of John A. Fawcett, a former member of the Canton Board of Education and a well-known athlete. Mr. Fawcett died of pneumonia at the age of 44, a few years before the stadium was built.
As for Friday, the Wildcats and the Bulldogs will continue their "Jamboree" tradition of competing in split-field freshman and junior varsity scrimmages at 5PM and the varsity preview, which will be played under game conditions, is scheduled to kick off at 7.
Canton McKinley is under the direction of Todd Filtz, who did an outstanding job as the head coach at Maple Heights before accepting the McKinley position. Coach Filtz, currently in his second season with the Bulldogs, guided Maple Heights to a Division II state runner-up finish in 2009 and the Division II state championship in 2010. The Maple Heights Mustangs finished 15-0 in 2010.
In his first season at McKinley last fall, Coach Filtz led the Bulldogs to an 8-3 record and a Federal League championship. However, two of those setbacks came against staunch rival Massillon, including a season-ending loss in the regional semifinals.
As was the case in 2012, Coach Filtz and his staff will be led by gifted quarterback/running back/defensive back/wide receiver Eric Glover-Williams, or EGW, as many of the Bulldogs' faithful like to refer to the multi-skilled junior.
As Coach Filtz has told reporters throughout Ohio, Glover-Williams is "electric" with the ball in his hands. And Coach Filtz knows a gifted quarterback when he sees one, as Todd helped hone the skills of one of Cuyahoga County's all-time best - former Maple Heights All-Ohioan Shaq Washington.
Last season, the 5-foot-11, 165-pound Glover-Williams, en route to first-team All-Inland District honors and Special Mention All-Ohio recognition from the Associated Press, rushed for 1,574 yards and 22 touchdowns. Through the air, he accounted for 1,114 yards and 12 TDs and threw seven interceptions.
Near the top of Glover-Williams' college offer list are The Ohio State University, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Michigan State, Nebraska, Tennessee, West Virginia, Illinois and Kentucky.
Although a relatively young team this season, McKinley does return 15 lettermen, including two-year letter-winner Glover-Williams. Among some of the other Bulldogs to look for are two-year letter-winning senior running back/defensive back Jarrod Smith, who was an Honorable Mention on the 2012 All-Inland District team, two-year letter-winning senior tight end/linebacker Jamal Davis II, two-year letter-winning senior wide receiver/defensive back Tavontae' Norwood and two-year letter-winning offensive lineman/defensive lineman Jeff Harding.
*Note: If you can't make it down to Canton on Friday, the Saint Ignatius Student Broadcasting Network will provide live coverage on the varsity Jamboree.
BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY WISHES: Go out to Wildcats senior defensive back Paddy White, who turned 18 on Tuesday. Paddy is a two-year member of Saint Ignatius' varsity football team and a member of the Wildcats' Student Broadcasting Network, where he specializes in basketball.
AIR CATS: Juniors Christian Klink and Jake Kucia, who are the backups to senior quarterback John Thomas, looked sharp during Wednesday's drills on Wasmer Field.
"Nice ball, nice catch," yelled veteran Offensive Coordinator Nick Restifo after Thomas combined with gifted senior wide receiver Jack Hyland on a crossing pattern. Earlier in the day, "The Gunslinger" Thomas rifled a throw to Hyland that saw Jack go up and grab the ball in the Lorain Avenue end zone as three defenders were closing in on him.
THE MEN FOR OTHERS BEHIND THE SCENES - SAINT IGNATIUS' MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
You see them carrying water and ice buckets from inside Saint Ignatius to Wasmer Field or from the bus to Byers Field and the various other facilities the Wildcats play at.
Or maybe you've seen them loading the van or the buses with every essential need, no matter what the sport is.
Once on the field, they are taking care of every athlete's request, whether it is water, ice or the all-important air in the football helmets, which stabilize the fit and help prevent concussions.
If they aren't assisting Saint Ignatius Athletics Director Rory Fitzpatrick '88 with passing out uniforms and equipment, they are washing and drying uniforms and putting the tradition-rich Cat Paw on the helmets.
They are, Saint Ignatius Student Managers!
The Magnificent Seven, if you will, are seniors Sam Alai, Chris Bunder and Nick Nowak, juniors Kyle Kostura and Josh Jaroz, sophomore Nick "Ace" Ventura and freshman Brendan Stefancin.
These young men have the privilege to work along side and learn from Saint Ignatius' outstanding head Athletic Trainer Hank Gaughan, ATC.
"Hank's our commander and chief, next to Mr. Fitzpatrick," said Kyle Kostura. who, like the other Student Managers, past and present, refers to Hank as "Mr. G."
There is a bit of a family tradition among the Magnificent Seven, as Nick Nowak, a talented and knowledgeable young man in many areas beyond Saint Ignatius athletics, and Brendan Stefancin have followed older brothers as Wildcats Student Managers.
Although just a freshman, Brendan Stefancin, as he displayed in a conversion with Kyle Kostura and this corner at practice last Saturday, has a keen and refreshing handle on the Indians and sports in general.
"These guys are always working," said the humble Kostura of his fellow Student Managers. "They are always here after school, they work at camps in the summer and they do so much during the games that people don't even know about. The team wouldn't run without them, I don't think."
That last statement certainly applies to Kostura, whose tireless work ethic is on display from the first summer mini camp in early June until the last piece of equipment is returned in early winter.
Kyle, whose brother Korey is a member of the Wildcats' freshman football team, said he would like to study Sports Management or Environmental Science in college. He credits friend and classmate Josh Jaroz for getting him involved in Saint Ignatius' Student Manager program.
"The time," said Kyle Kostura, when asked what is the most challenging part of being a Student Manager for the Wildcats. "It's a hands-on job."
And that time in the fall is consumed by a freshman football team that is 120 strong, 85 junior varsity players and 98 athletes on the varsity team.
"Yeah, you have to know your numbers," said a smiling Kyle Kostura.
Yes, they are, Saint Ignatius' Student Managers.