Brooklyn, Ohio - Another 4th of July has come and gone. So that can mean only one thing as far as area high school football fanatics are concerned – the 2013 season is that much closer. With Saint Ignatius’ nationally acclaimed head coach Chuck Kyle ’69 having already sent his 2013 Wildcats through four mini camps, the buzz about this season’s team has started to heat up. And many of the ‘Cats’ faithful, locally and throughout the nation, are hanging out on the corner again. After reporting on all four of the mini camps (I attend the camps) and everything that pertains to Saint Ignatius’ schedules, this season and next, the corner is receiving what we love most about Wildcats fans, the passionate and appreciative response.
Margie from the Big Apple’s Manhattan, who grew up off Lorain Avenue in Cleveland, attended legendary West Tech High School and saw her childhood home fall victim to the construction of I-90 (oh my, can I identify with that), asked the corner about the four new faces on Saint Ignatius’ 2013 football slate – Brother Rice from Michigan, Paramus Catholic from New Jersey, Lawrence Central from Indiana and Eastern Christian Academy from Maryland. Although her heart is still owned by those West Tech Warriors teams of the mid-to-late ‘60s, Margie says she has relatives that attended Saint Ignatius and that her father-in-law, another former Cleveland West Sider who now resides in The City That Never Sleeps, has followed the Wildcats since Coach Kyle’s first state championship season of 1988. Of course the corner will take its annual look at the 2013 Wildcats later this summer and will do its weekly game previews throughout the season. However, we are more than happy to provide Margie with an early peek at Saint Ignatius’ new opponents.
BROTHER RICE: As we pointed out in last week’s Mini Camp 4 report, 2013 will mark the final season for Brother Rice's legendary 80-year-old head coach Al Fracassa. In what has been a five-plus decade coaching career, Coach Fracassa, the all-time winningest coach in the history of Michigan high school football, will be entering his 45th season at Brother Rice. He has led Brother Rice to 416 victories and eight state championships.
En route to Michigan’s Division 2 state championship last season, Brother Rice finished 12-2. Last year’s state title marked the first time Brother Rice won back to back titles and the 14th consecutive season that Coach Fracassa’s
team advanced to the playoffs. Brother Rice, which hasn’t had a losing season since 1985, returns a solid nucleus from 2012.
PARAMUS CATHOLIC: When you talk New Jersey high school football, the name that seems to always lead the discussion, at least for the past few seasons, is the Paladins’ gifted cornerback/tailback Jabrill Peppers.
After helping the storied program from Don Bosco Prep to consecutive state titles in 2010 and 2011 and a USA Today national championship in 2011, Peppers transferred to Paramus Catholic and brought his championship pedigree with him.
Rushing for 1,552 yards and 18 touchdowns, hauling in five TD passes, making 70 tackles and intercepting three passes, the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Peppers helped key the Paladins’ run to the 2012 NJSIAA Non-public Group 4 state championship. Paramus Catholic won a 37-34 thriller over Bergen Catholic in the title game and finished 10-2.
Rated among the top 5 to 7 two-way players in the entire nation, Peppers recently gave a verbal to the Michigan Wolverines. Recruited by Michigan as a cornerback, Jabrill chose the Wolverines over his other finalists – LSU, Penn State and Stanford. A five-star recruit and a 2012 USA Today All-American, Peppers is also a standout sprinter in track with a 10.77 time in the 100 meter dash.
LAWRENCE CENTRAL: It was a banner season in 2012 for the Maroon and Gray Bears, as they compiled a program-best 15-0 record and brought home their first state championship – the 5-A IHS title. The Bears were a state runner-up in 2010 and have two regional titles (2010 and 2012), six sectional championships and 16 conference titles on their resume.
Lawrence Central was 9-2 in 2011 and 13-2 in 2010. The school played 6-Man football from 1941 through 1943 and began playing the 11-Man game in 1944.
The good news for the Bears’ 2013 opponents is that Lawrence Central has graduated such standouts as offensive lineman and Ohio State recruit Tim Gardner and quarterback Drake Christen (1,855 passing yards and 19 TD passes last fall). However, the cupboard is far from bare.
Returning are major-college recruits Brandon Lee (linebacker), Kevin Willis (6-4, 280-pound offensive lineman) and wide receiver Kenny Jones. Among the other names to remember are Nikia Averitte (linebacker) and James Jones (defensive lineman/fullback). The 6-3, 215-pound Lee is a Rivals.com Top 30 linebacker prospect who can be dominant in both a hand-down position or in space. He had 81 tackles last season and returned two fumble recoveries for touchdowns and
two interceptions for TDs, including a 55-yard interception return for a touchdown in the 39-14 state-championship game victory over Fort Wayne Snider in Lucas Oil Stadium. Indiana, Iowa, Northwestern, Oregon, California, Louisville, Kentucky, Missouri and Virginia Tech lead Lee’s recruiting list.
Like Saint Ignatius, Lawrence Central takes great pride in its lower-level developmental programs. The Bears’ junior varsity team posted 9-0 records in 2011 and 2012, and was 8-1 in 2010, 9-0 in 2009 and 8-1 in 2008.
It will be a transitional season for the Bears in 2013, at least early on, as Jed Richman from Western Boone has succeeded the highly successful Jayson West as Lawrence Central’s head coach. Coach West has taken the head coaching job at Warren Central.
EASTERN CHRISTIAN ACADEMY: The have all-stars will travel Honey Badgers are a unique program, to say the least. For a look at how Eastern Christian Academy came into existence, check out the stories by the outstanding writer Lee Jenkins (Aug. 23, 2012 on SI.Com) and the gifted Jon Buzby (Mar. 23, 2012 on MaxPreps.com).
For those Wildcats fans who expressed concern about whether or not Saint Ignatius would be facing a non-sanctioned Maryland program, we can tell you that ‘Cats’ outstanding Athletics Director Rory Fitzpatrick ’88 told the corner in a June
25 camp report (see Jack Hyland missionary trip headline) that everything is now official for the Week 7, Oct. 12 match up with Eastern Christian Academy. The contract is in place and the kickoff will be 2 PM from Parma's Byers
Field.
As for the concerns, Rory also shared with the corner in the June 25 report that Eastern Christian Academy is now officially on the approved non-member school list from the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association.
Leading Coach Dwayne Thomas’ name players is David Sills V. A member of the 2015 recruiting class, the highly touted quarterback gave a verbal commitment to USC as a seventh grader and has every intention of honoring his word to the Trojans.
Two of Coach Thomas’ other mainstays – senior cornerback Brandon Watson and senior wide receiver Freddy Canteen - have made oral commitments to Michigan. Stay tuned.
We will have some more football coming up on the corner this week, including a look back at one of the greatest teams, seasons and games in the Wildcats’ rich history. There have been plenty of those, so we’ll keep you guessing.
SEE YOU AT MINI CAMP 5 ON JULY 24.