A team defense that was anchored by Dave Katusha, Matt Gawlik, Nick Chapek, Kyle Berger and Kevin Kavalec and an offense that featured a second-half surge by Tim McVey and quick strikes by Rocky Zingale, Mike Siragusa and Jack Hyland push the Wildcats past Erie McDowell, 34-10, on Friday night.
Saint Ignatius, which clung to a three-point lead at halftime, improves to 5-0 and now focuses its attention on next Saturday night's game versus the Glenville Tarblooders (4-1) at Byers Field.
By Eddie Dwyer, Copyright September 2012
Erie, Pennsylvania – The Trojans from McDowell High School entered last night’s home game against Saint Ignatius averaging well over 430 yards rushing.
Almost all of that gaudy average came courtesy of running backs James Conner, Khyre Drayer and Tyree Spearman.
Friday night on the Trojans’ Gus Anderson Field, McDowell’s vaunted running game was introduced to what is another in a long line of formidable defenses from 11-time Ohio big-school state champion Saint Ignatius.
While the Trojans made things interesting throughout the first half and Conner, Drayer and Spearman had a few significant moments, a rushing attack that Conner hinted to as possibly being the best in Pennsylvania never really got off the ground consistently.
Saint Ignatius, with its defense making all of the key adjustments and its offense scoring five touchdowns – three via the air and two on the ground from standout senior tailback Tim McVey, wore down McDowell in the second half and left the Keystone State’s fourth-largest city sporting a 5-0 record.
McDowell, which managed 145 total rushing yards, slipped to 2-2. Spearman's 41 yards led the Trojans' ground production.
“They got lucky on a couple of passes in the first half that our defensive backs weren’t ready for, but once we got the idea of their offense down, we did just what we did in practice all week and kept after them all night,” said Wildcats hard-nosed senior middle linebacker Nick Chapek, referring to Saint Ignatius’ ability to contain the Trojans’ highly touted backs and their triple-option offense. “We had to stay physical and stay on the same level. Our speed kept them contained on the outside and then we filled on the inside.”
McDowell, the ninth-ranked team in Pennsylvania’s AAAA state poll, hung with Ohio’s top-ranked Division I team in the first 24 minutes by completing 4-of-5 passes, including a 9-yard scoring reception by Conner that saw the University of Pittsburgh recruit catch the ball in the left flat and fight his way into the end zone. Conner’s effort and the ensuing extra point by Ethan Stark put the Trojans in front, 10-7, with 8 minutes and 47 seconds remaining in the first half.
Wildcats senior quarterback Mike LaManna, who threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to sure-handed senior wide receiver Rocky Zingale on the Wildcats’ first offensive series, brought his team back again by hooking up with gifted junior wideout Mike Siragusa on a 54-yard scoring play, an effort that saw Siragusa go high in the air to bring down the ball, keep his balance, spin away from a would-be-tackle and outrace the pursuit into the scoreboard end zone of Gus Anderson Field. LaManna is heading for Toledo (today) to attend the Rockets’ game, as Toledo has shown significant interest in the savvy southpaw.
Trailing, 13-10, McDowell was attempting to tie the score just before halftime. The Trojans were out of timeouts, however, and could not get off a field goal attempt before time expired.
With its defense continuing to keep McDowell’s running game under control, Saint Ignatius rode a fumble recovery by steady senior outside linebacker C.J. Haag at the Trojans’ 37 to an 8-yard touchdown run by McVey. The ensuing extra-point kick by junior Matt Colella was high and true, and the Wildcats led, 20-10, with 6:11 left in the third quarter.
After a second-effort fumble recovery by Chapek was followed by a lost fumble by the Wildcats, Saint Ignatius’ tough and talented junior outside linebacker Kyle Berger disrupted another third-down play with a perfectly timed hit and, after a punt, the ‘Cats took possession at their 27.
Facing a first down-and-16 from its 21 after being whistled for a block-in-the-back penalty, Saint Ignatius silenced the Trojans' faithful with a 79-yard touchdown pass from LaManna to promising junior wide receiver Jack Hyland. Hyland’s catch and run resulted in LaManna’s third TD pass of the night and his 14th on the season. LaManna hit on 13 of 20 passes for 246 yards and Hyland had three receptions for 106 yards.
“I saw the corner and the safety both roll up,” said Hyland, whose touchdown and the extra point by Colella pushed the Wildcats’ lead to 27-10 with 35.6 seconds to go in the third quarter. “They bit on Rocky’s (Zingale) 10-yard out, so that left the post wide open over the top. And Mike threw a perfect pass. We were throwing the ball a lot in the first half and then the O-Line said we could pound them up front for Timmy (McVey) in the second half.”
Along with his first-quarter diving touchdown reception, Zingale’s night included five receptions for 60 yards.
Saint Ignatius, which is also ranked No. 1 in The Plain Dealer’s Top 25 seven-county poll, settled the issue when it converted a strong punt return by senior Josh Baker into a 14-yard TD gallop by McVey with 8:56 remaining in the fourth quarter. An All-Ohio selection in 2011, McVey now has 12 touchdowns on the season. He averaged better than five yards a carry on Friday night.
From there, Wildcats veteran head coach Chuck Kyle ’69 was able to work in his second units, both offensively and defensively.
“We really hadn’t played a team like this,” said Saint Ignatius’ outstanding senior nose tackle Dave Katusha, in reference to McDowell’s highly regarded option attack. “So they started to run on us (in the early going). We had a short week of practice, which actually turned out to be one of the best practice weeks so far. We just did what we do best. We made adjustments and shut them down.”
As the teams were shaking hands following the game, Trojans head coach Mark Soboleski approached Katusha and told him McDowell was preparing for him all week, that Dave was a very good player.
“They run that offense really well,” said Coach Kyle of the Trojans’ option approach. “The kids adjusted and the offense responded. We thought we could throw on them and we went with the hurry up (offense) because they have guys going both ways and I thought we could slow them down a little bit. Siragusa and Hyland made big plays and I have to give credit to the defensive kids for staying focused.”