Tim McVey's three first-quarter touchdowns and an opportunistic defense set the table, as quarterbacks Pete Mahoney and John Thomas do solid jobs in their first extensive varsity action.
Wildcats score 28 first-quarter points en route to improving to 7-0 on a night when the senior football players, senior band members and senior members of the Flag Corp were recognized along with their parents. Saint Ignatius remains No. 1 in Joe Eitel's computer ratings and a reminder on Monday's and Friday's junior varsity games.
*See the corner's varsity soccer recap following the football story.
By Eddie Dwyer, Copyright October 2012
Parma, Ohio – You could see it in their every expression and hear it in their words.
Saint Ignatius junior quarterbacks Pete Mahoney and John Thomas, getting an opportunity to lead their team while senior starter Mike LaManna rested a sprained ankle, relished every second of action that came their way on Saturday night in Byers Field.
Playing with confidence and having loads of fun in the process, Mahoney and Thomas, two of the best backup signal-callers in Northeast Ohio, if not the entire state, combined with All-Ohio tailback Tim McVey and a defense that produced two touchdowns in leading the Wildcats to a 49-0 victory over the John Adams Rebels.
Saint Ignatius, which entered the game as the top-ranked Division I program in the Associated Press state poll and the No. 1 team in the all-important OHSAA Region 1 computer ratings, improved to 7-0. The Rebels, who had their three-game winning streak snapped, are now 3-4.
“It was a little nerve racking, the first varsity start and everything,” said the 6-foot-4 Mahoney. “But ultimately, I was excited about it. I’ve been fortunate to play in every game so far. It was fun to be out there with the first-team guys and get some work in with them. I was doing what I love, and that’s playing football.”
John Adams, one of the few area teams that is willing to play the record 11-time state champion Wildcats on the varsity level, had a rough start that it was never able to recover from.
A third-down fumble by the Rebels on the game’s opening possession was recovered in the end zone for a touchdown by Saint Ignatius All-Ohio senior defensive end Kevin Kavalec. After junior Matt Colella’s extra-point kick the Wildcats led, 7-0, with the game less than a minute old. Standout senior nose tackle Dave Katusha caused the fumble by ripping the ball loose.
From there, it was a game of field position that Saint Ignatius dominated.
Following a shanked punt by John Adams, the Wildcats took possession at the Rebels’ 33-yard line and needed just one play to score again – a smooth run by McVey that saw the gifted senior sweep the right side, cut back to the middle of the field and go untouched into the Day Drive end zone. Colella’s extra point made it 14-0 with 9 minutes and 2 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
It was the first of three first-quarter TDs by McVey, who now has 19 touchdowns on the season and has moved up to second place behind Eric Haddad ’94 with 41 career touchdowns. Haddad leads the all-time “Cats Stats” with 51.
After Katusha disrupted what had the appearance of some offensive momentum for the Rebels, Saint Ignatius took possession at midfield.
A 25-yard power burst over the left side by McVey and an 18-yard completion from Mahoney to junior wide receiver Jack Hyland gave the Wildcats a first-and-goal at the 7. From there, McVey carried for 6 yards and then powered his way into the end zone from a yard out with 3:36 left in the opening quarter.
Purring at the Rebels’ 45 after again forcing John Adams to punt from deep in its territory, the Wildcats rode another Mahoney-to-Hyland completion, a Mahoney keeper and a reception by senior wide receiver Randy Buffington to McVey's closing act of the night – a 5-yard scoring gallop over the left side with 46 seconds to go in the first quarter.
The first-half scoring wasn’t over, however, as another bad snap by the Rebels was recovered for a touchdown by senior defensive lineman Jeremy Pellegrino in the scoreboard end zone of Byers Field.
Saint Ignatius head coach Chuck Kyle ’69, who now has 297 career victories, started going to his reserves in the second quarter and turned to Thomas to direct the offense in the second half.
Nicknamed “The Gunslinger” in preseason for his passion to throw deep passes and authoritative intermediate routes, John rifled a 29-yard TD rope to senior wideout Matt Schafer, a play that saw Matt make a nice catch and spin away from a would-be tackler with 8:40 remaining in the third quarter.
Thomas, the brother of former Saint Ignatius All-Ohio tight end Blake Thomas ’12 (now on scholarship at The Ohio State University), scored the game’s final touchdown on a 2-yard keeper, a score that was set up by some tough inside running by junior tailback Enzo Cannata.
The Wildcats, who along with Coach Kyle had nothing but respectful words for the Rebels and their coaching staff, turned to the hard-nosed running of junior Kyle Daugenti and senior Jacob Anderson in running out the clock inside the Rebels’ 20.
“It was pretty special to throw my first touchdown on varsity, that’s always good,” said the good-natured Thomas. “I was impressed with Enzo, he got in there and was running the ball really hard. I slung it pretty hard (the TD pass to Schafer). Yeah, I throw him a good one.”
And all was good for Coach Kyle and his staff as they were able to get every player a taste of the victory.
As senior offensive lineman Bill Wolf said after Thomas scored on the keeper: “That’s the first touchdown I have ever been part of!”
In his Saturday night ratings, computer football playoff guru Joe Eitel has 7-0 Saint Ignatius remaining in the top spot in Region 1. The Wildcats are followed in Eitel's top eight by Willoughby South (7-0), North Royalton (7-0), St. Edward (7-0), Mentor (6-1), Austintown Fitch (6-1), Warren G. Harding (6-1) and Cleveland Heights (6-1). The OHSAA will release its Harbin computer ratings on Tuesday.
And just a reminder that Coach Ryan Franzinger's junior varsity football team (4-2) will travel to St. Bridget's field on Monday evening to face the JV team from Holy Name. The corner will be on hand for the 5 p.m. kickoff. The JV 'Cats will host the Glenville Tarblooders' jayvees on Friday night at 6 (another must-see for the corner).
****Congratulations to Coach Mike McLaughlin '85 and his varsity soccer Wildcats, who traveled to Milwaukee and defeated Jesuit power Marquette University High School, 4-3, on Saturday. The Wildcats rallied from a 2-0 deficit.
Providing the goals for the 'Cats were Alec Nagucki, Jacob Roth, Nate Fahey and Chris Pietrow.
Saint Ignatius, which now stands 11-0-3 on the season, will attempt to give Coach McLaughlin his 299th and 300th career victories this coming week when it hosts Uinversity School on Thursday and North Royalton on Saturday.
In what was a see-saw match involving the nation's 12th and 17th-ranked (Saint Ignatius) programs by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, the Wildcats snapped Marquette University's 52-game unbeaten streak.
Saint Ignatius is now unbeaten in 31 consecutive matches (28-0-3). The Wildcats entered the match as the second-ranked team in Ohio and the Hilltoppers took the field as the top-ranked team in Wisconsin.
*For a look at how the cross country team did this weekend, see the corner's post below from Saturday afternoon.