Dameon Willis Jr. makes a fashion statement as most of the Wildcats arrive at Mini Camp 5 with shorter locks.

By Eddie Dwyer, Copyright July 2013

Ohio City - Five weeks from this coming Saturday the Saint Ignatius Wildcats will open their 2013 football season in Michigan against the Warriors from Brother Rice.

While there is a lot of work to be done between now and that Aug. 31, 1:30 PM kickoff at Wayne State University, there were more than a few moments during Wednesday evening's fifth mini camp of the summer that left those not easily impressed smiling with approval.

Senior cornerback/receiver Jack Lavelle turned in a performance on defense that saw him make a leaping deflection of a deep throw, come up with a diving interception off another long route and, in an excellent display of tight coverage and reaction, break quickly on the ball and come away with a text-book pick.

And when Jack was finished roaming the secondary, he traded in his blue mesh jersey for a white one and continued his 7-on-7 drills as a wide receiver.

Wildcats defense secondary coach Brian Strauchon '96 summed up the impressive sequence by his cornerback as the "Jack Lavelle Show."

Saint Ignatius' passing offense, under the tutelage of veteran offensive coordinator Nick Restifo, quarterbacks coach Elvis Grbac and receivers coach Josiah "Juice" Kedzior '04, wasn't about to call it a night without making its presence felt.

Senior wide receivers Mike Siragusa, Jake Helton and Jack Hyland ran crisp routes and displayed sure hands in hauling in passes from senior quarterbacks Pete Mahoney and John "The Gunslinger" Thomas. Siragusa came up with one of his trademark diving catches, Helton made a nice cut and catch off a quick release from Mahoney and Jake also hauled in deep seam routes from both Mahoney and Thomas.

Junior quarterback Simon Vadas combined with senior wideout Nick Fabian on a nice gain down the middle and Fabian, junior wideout David Shibley and junior tight end Dre' Mont Jones showed the ability to come back to the ball in traffic.

"I am definitely excited, definitely excited," said senior Mike Vitale, who is projected to be the 'Cats' starting tailback this fall. While the quarterbacks and receivers were doing their thing, Vitale and fellow senior tailbacks Kyle Daugenti and Enzo Cannata were at the Lorain Avenue end of Wasmer Field taking part in drills that saw the running backs and the offensive line matched up against a seven-player defense of linemen and linebackers.

Yes, there were encouraging signs on both sides of the ball as an almost late September-like cool breeze accompanied a blue-gray and partly sunny sky on West 30th and Lorain Avenue.

However, Saint Ignatius' storied head coach Chuck Kyle '69 tempered the enthusiasm just a bit when, during his post-practice message to his players, he said: "Tomorrow, we'll be a better team."

Tomorrow (Thursday) will be Mini Camp 6, with the junior varsity reporting to Wasmer Field at 3 PM and the varsity at 4:30.

GET READY: Coach Kyle reminded the Wildcats that a major part of next week's final three mini camps, July 29-31, will feature the traditional conditioning runs and sprints.

CAPTAINS 3 & 4: Saint Ignatius will announce its third captain for the 2013 season next week and the fourth captain will be selected during two-a-days, which begin on Aug. 5. Those young men will be joining senior wide receiver Jack Hyland and senior offensive tackle and Notre Dame recruit Jim Byrne in the leadership roles.

TOM ARTH IN THE HOUSE: Taking in Wednesday's mini camp was John Carroll University head football coach Tom Arth '99. Tom said his Blue Streaks are looking solid and that John Carroll was gearing up for Wednesday night's 7-on-7 match up at the University of Akron.

STYLIN': Saint Ignatius' standout senior defensive back/linebacker Dameon Willis Jr. camp to Wednesday's mini camp with a new look, to say the least.

Dameon decided to beat the heat and humidity of last week by getting a Mohawk hair cut.

Coach Kyle, when seeing Damon's cut, removed his coaching cap, rubbed his hand through his gray hair and said: "Hey, maybe I'll get one of those."

FALL IS RAPIDLY APPROACHING: Keeping the Wildcats' football program company on Wednesday evening was Coach Mike Gallagher's promising 2013 cross country team. The big-school state runners-up to St. Xavier last year, Coach Gallagher's harriers were conditioning on the track in Wasmer Field.

See you at Wasmer Field tomorrow.