The grit and technique of the offensive line, the immeasurable heart of Tim McVey (217 yards rushing and three touchdowns), the gifted left arm of Mike LaManna (18 of 27 for 292 yards and three TDs), the best overall receiving corps in the area, a passionate defense - both up front and in the secondary - huge interceptions by Bryan Fisher and Scott Arthrell, a key blocked punt by Mike Gibbons and the reliable leg of Matt Colella.
It all added up to a 48-21 victory over the Mentor Cardinals in Saturday night's matchup of the area's top two football teams at Byers Field.
By Eddie Dwyer, Copyright September 2012
Tim McVey, the young man with a heart bigger than Byers Field’s Robert M. Boulton Stadium, said he and his Saint Ignatius teammates wanted to come out and put the Mentor Cardinals on their heels early.
Mission accomplished, and then some.
The Wildcats, the top-ranked football program in The Plain Dealer’s seven-county Top 25 poll, shook off an early turnover, staggered the second-ranked Cardinals with a 21-point first quarter and answered every challenge the rest of the way en route to a 48-21 triumph at a packed Boulton Stadium.
Saint Ignatius, which was the top-rated team in this past week's all-important Region 1 computer ratings by playoff guru Joe Eitel, improved to 3-0. Mentor, which now trails its all-time series with the Wildcats, 10-4, lost for the first time in three games.
“I thought his kids played really hard,” said Saint Ignatius head coach Chuck Kyle of the conversation he had with Cardinals head coach Steve Trivisonno after the game. “Steve said, ‘Hey coach, you guys are pretty good.’ It’s a mutual respect. Nine weeks or 10 weeks from now, we might have to rev it up again.”
Saint Ignatius, which rebounded from a 14-point, regular-season loss to Mentor in 2011 by defeating the Cardinals in the regional-final rematch, 23-17, got revved up on a picture-perfect interception by junior cornerback Scott Arthrell at the Wildcats’ 16-yard line.
Five plays later, McVey had that offensive engine purring as he rode his balance, vision and powerful legs to a 73-yard touchdown gallop up the middle. The extra-point kick by junior Matt Colella was good, and the Wildcats led, 7-0, with 8 minutes and 19 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Junior safety/fullback Dameon Willis Jr. laid down a devastating block that helped spring McVey up the gut.
Saint Ignatius’ special teams, which have played a huge role during the Wildcats’ record run to 11 Division I state championships, came to the fore in a hurry on Saturday night.
Senior Mike Gibbons, who played a solid all-around game from his safety position, broke through the line of protection and blocked a punt. The ball sailed straight up into the air and All-Ohio senior defensive end Kevin Kavalec jumped up, grabbed the ball and returned it to the Mentor 34.
From there, Saint Ignatius overcame a holding penalty and struck again, this time a 54-yard catch and run by the reliable combination of senior quarterback Mike LaManna to senior wideout Conor Hennessey.
LaManna hit Hennessey in stride and Conor did the rest as he outran the pursuit down the right sideline. Colella’s extra point was high and true, and the ‘Cats led, 14-0, with 6:24 left in the opening quarter. The LaManna-to-Hennessey strike came off a second down and 22 yards to go for a first down.
With Kavalec, fellow senior end Matt Gawlik, senior nose tackles Dave Katusha and Max Baughman, junior outside linebacker Kyle Berger, senior outside linebacker C.J. Haag and senior middle linebacker Nick Chapek applying the pressure up front and the secondary of Arthrell, senior corner Tommy Fanning, Gibbons, Willis Jr., senior safety Alex Staffileno and senior free safety Bryan Fisher displaying solid coverage and pursuit, Saint Ignatius was able to contain Mentor’s outstanding All-Ohio senior quarterback Mitch Trubisky for most of the first half.
The Wildcats, who travel to Erie, Pennsylvania on Saturday for an afternoon game against Strong Vincent, pushed their lead to 21-0 on a seven-play, 66-yard drive that was capped by McVey’s 6-yard touchdown run and Colella’s third extra point. A leaping reception by standout junior wide receiver Mike Siragusa helped fuel the drive.
After a touchdown run by Haag off a fumble recovery was wiped out by a face-mask penalty, Trubisky started to heat up and got his Cardinals off the ground by scoring on a 6-yard run with just under nine minutes to go in the first half.
However, as they did all night, Coach Kyle’s Wildcats responded again by scoring 10 more points before the first half came to an end.
Senior linebacker/safety/fullback Zak Baker, who also made his presence felt defensively, did a nice job fielding a pooched kick by Mentor and Saint Ignatius turned excellent field position into a 25-yard field by Colella.
With Kavalec, Berger and Haag making things uncomfortable for Trubisky, the Wildcats closed out the first half scoring with an impressive nine-play, 94-yard march. A TD toss of 2 yards from LaManna to Willis Jr. and another sure extra point by Colella enabled Saint Ignatius to take a 31-7 lead into its locker room at halftime.
“We talked to the kids at halftime and said, ‘Don’t even look at that scoreboard, that thing lies to you so keep playing,’” Coach Kyle said. "And I think we did.”
Despite the 24-point deficit, Mentor, which has the ability to score in a hurry, got back in the game on a 94-yard drive of its own that featured a 12-yard touchdown strike from Trubisky to multi-skilled junior wide receiver Conner Krizancic. The key play in the drive was a pass in stride from Trubisky to junior wideout Brandon Fritts that gave the Cardinals a first down at the Wildcats’ 32. It came off a third-and-22 from the Mentor 23.
Undaunted, Saint Ignatius drove 65 yards by sandwiching two key receptions by junior wideout Jack Hyland around another hard-nosed run by McVey, coming up with a tough catch by senior wide receiver Rocky Zingale off a precise route and scoring on an 11-yard touchdown pass from LaManna to the sure-handed and strong Siragusa, a play that featured a text-book throw and catch in the right corner of the end zone with 4:17 left in the third quarter.
The Cardinals closed to 17 points on a 2-yard run by Trubisky and the ensuing extra point by junior Mike Muzic with 43 seconds to go in the third quarter and were threatening again just a few seconds later after senior defensive back Terrance Walton II recovered a pooched kick at the Wildcats’ 40.
However, after Mentor moved deep into the red zone, Fisher, who played a marvelous game, picked off a pass inside the Saint Ignatius 10 and returned the ball to the Cardinals’ 48.
“We switched it up to man coverage all the way and I just read his eyes from the get-go,” Fisher said of his momentum-swinging interception. “I just kind of cut right in on it and caught the ball. I have to give credit to the D-Line and linebackers for always getting pressure on him (Trubisky). We only have a few seconds in the secondary when we’re manned up, so we have to do our job and we know the D-Line will do theirs.”
The Wildcats converted what Coach Kyle described as a huge effort by “Fish” into a 1-yard touchdown run by McVey and, after a 33-yard field goal by Colella and another athletic interception by Fisher, Saint Ignatius ran out the clock by kneeling down inside the Mentor 4-yard line. Trubisky finished with 198 yards through the air.
McVey was quick to point to the work of his offensive line, which features senior guards Mike Cray and Ian McDonald, senior center Steve Franko, senior tackle Mike Bigach and junior tackles Jim Byrne and Ryan Dadich. The steady play of the O-Line has allowed the Wildcats to outscore their first three opponents by a combined 128-41.
As you can see, McVey is not only extremely talented, but very smart as well.
VARSITY AND JV SOCCER CONTINUE THEIR WINNING WAYS: The Wildcats' varsity soccer team, ranked No. 1 in the area and the state, and 10th nationally, improved to 7-0 with a 2-0 victory over the Celtics from Dublin Jerome on Saturday afternoon. The match was played in Dublin. That's Ohio, not Ireland.
Coach Mike McLaughlin's 'Cats have now won 24 consecutive matches and 52 of their past 53 outings. They will travel to Cleveland Heights on Wednesday night.
Coach Jim Brennan's jayvee team now stands 6-1 after Saturday's 3-0 triumph over the Celtics.