Ohio City - As the Saint Ignatius Wildcats were kneeling in a circle around head coach Chuck Kyle '69 following Monday's final double sessions of the preseason, senior outside linebacker and captain Patrick Hopkins stood and made a very special announcement.
"On behalf of the linebackers and the rest of the defense, we would like to wish a Happy Birthday to Coach Franzinger," yelled Hopkins. Just seconds later, senior linebacker Michael Ferry walked on to Wasmer Field and presented a birthday cake to Saint Ignatius' outstanding varsity linebackers and head junior varsity coach Ryan Franzinger '02, who turned 30 on Monday. Then the entire team and coaching staff gave Ryan a chorus of "Happy Birthday."
Coach Franzinger, who was an outstanding two-way player and captain for Coach Kyle's 2001 state championship football team and a record-setting thrower on Coach Kyle's 2001 state champion track and field team, went on to further his education and football career at The Ohio State University, where he had the opportunity to play for yet another great coach - Mr. Jim Tressel.
"I have a lot of respect for Coach Tressel," Coach Franzinger said, as he was sending his linebackers into drills against the 'Cats' offense. "He was a great coach and I learned a lot from him. I learned a lot on how to coach. He did a very good job of explaining why we did certain things schematically and just the overall picture of the program.
"He just explained things well and if you took good notes you came out of there with a pretty good football background, aside from playing," Coach Franzinger continued. "Coach Tressel made sure you knew why we did what we did."
A 2006 graduate of Ohio State, Coach Franzinger was a letter winner as a walk-on fullback for the Buckeyes and a member of two Big Ten Championship Teams and a National Runner-Up Team under Coach Tressel.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE POSITIVE NOTES FROM THE FINAL TWO-A-DAYS OF 2013
With the junior varsity offensive line doing a solid job, gifted sophomore tailback James Norris was able to unleash his balance, exceptional vision and great speed.
Sophomore junior varsity quarterback Dennis Grosel, who has had a very productive preseason, unleashed a nice scoring pass down the right sideline to multi-skilled sophomore Jack Cook, who gabbed it in stride as he was galloping to the Lorain Avenue end zone.
In a varsity drill that featured the defensive secondary against the receivers in press coverage, senior safety Dan Jamieson, senior cornerback Jack Lavelle and senior safety Evan O'Malley applied some tough and tight coverage. The receivers also had their moments, as senior Hunter Baker made a picture-perfect grab along the left sideline and the talented trio of seniors Mike Siragusa, Jack Hyland and Nick Fabian continued to do their thing.
In the first-team defense versus first-team offense passing drills, Jamieson continued his hard-nosed coverage and senior DBs Scott Arthrell and Nick Malarik were more than equal to the task. Jamieson and Malarik visited Pick City before the evening was over.
During Monday's closing drill, varsity backup junior quarterback Jake Kucia moved the ball with some crisp passes to senior receiver Bennett Kinzel and junior receivers David Shibley and JR Klonk, and hooked up with senior wideout Robert Ricotti on a scoring play.
WHERE THE 'CATS PLAY
Just a reminder that Wildcats football will close out its preseason with the annual "Jamboree" versus the Canton McKinley Bulldogs on Friday at legendary Fawcett Stadium. The respective freshman and junior varsity teams will take part in a split-field scrimmage at 5 PM and the varsity Jamboree, which is played under game conditions, will kick off at 7. *The corner will take a look at the 2013 Bulldogs on Wednesday night.
Coach Mike McLaughlin's nationally acclaimed soccer program, coming off a dramatic 2-0 victory at Solon in the season opener, will take on the always well-schooled Strongsville Mustangs in Tuesday (tomorrow) night's home opener on Wasmer Field. The junior varsity match up is scheduled for 6 PM and the varsity action will follow at 8.
After Tuesday, Coach McLaughlin's Wildcats will gear up for the annual Ohio Jesuit Cup, which is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at Cincinnati St. Xavier.
Coach Mike Gallagher's cross country team is slated for a tune-up race on Saturday, the 11 AM Panther Run at the Sandusky Mill Creek Golf Course, and according to the Wildcats' Athletics Page, Coach Brian Becker's golfers will be swinging in the University School Invitational on Saturday at Windmill Lakes. The tee-off time is listed as 1:30 PM.
Again, Happy Birthday to Coach Franzinger.