Most of the area and a good portion of the state will focus its high school football interest on Robert M. Boulton Stadium's Byers Field Saturday night, as the 2-0 Mentor Cardinals make the trip to Cuyahoga County to face the 2-0 Saint Ignatius Wildcats in always hospitable Parma. The matchup of the top two teams (Saint Ignatius is #1) in The Plain Dealer's seven-county Top 25 poll will kick off at 7 p.m.
As always, the corner will take an indepth look at what has become one of the premier rivalries in Ohio. The preview, which will give you insight on Mentor's outstanding senior quarterback Mitch Trubisky, gifted wide recevier Connor Krizancic and the rest of the Cardinals' high-powered offense, is slated for Wednesday.
Along with a breakdown on what head coach Chuck Kyle '69 and the Wildcats see as the keys for Saturday night, the corner will also present its Players of the Week from the De La Salle (Warren, Mich.) game.
Although computer playoff guru Joe Eitel has come out with his first rankings of the season, which, as no surprise, have Saint Ignatius rated No. 1 in Region 1, the first official OHSAA computer rankings will not be released until after Week 4 of the regular season.
The intital Associated Press state poll for the 2012 season, which is compiled by a state-wide panel of sports writers and broadcasters, will be released after Week 3.
Under the OHSAA Harbin system, teams are awarded points for each game they win and each game a defeated opponent wins. Simply put, the 'Cats want Cardinal Mooney and De La Salle to go on and have successful seasons, as their success and the success of the other teams Saint Ignatius defeats in the regular season only strengthens the Wildcats' playoff position.
The top eight teams in each of the state's 24 regions at the end of the regular season qualify for the playoffs and the top four in each region are awarded a first-round home game.
****Just a reminder that Coach Mike McLaughlin's varsity soccer team, the top-ranked program in the area coaches poll, will take a 5-0 record into Shaker Heights on Wednesday evening. Because Shaker's field has no lights, the JV game will start at 4 p.m. The varsity is scheduled for 6 bells.
Here's hoping the GREAT student body support that took place at Strongsville last week continues.
WILDCATS GOLFERS THIRD AT THE HOBAN INVITATIONAL: Saint Ignatius compiled a team score of 304 in the 18-team Archbishop Hoban Invitational Tournament at storied Firestone Country Club. Senior Joey Malone tied for third overall with a score of 70.
Here are the 'Cats' scores: Joey Malone- 70, Jack Coyne- 76, PJ Malik- 78, Harrison Vonderau- 80 and Dean Catalano- 83.
WE'RE TALKING BASEBALL: Congratulations go out to former Wildcats Co-Captain Mike Horejsei '11, who walked onto the Ohio State University baseball team this past week as a left-handed pitcher.
"Mike's a great kid," said Saint Ignatius head baseball coach Brad Ganor. "A lot of hard work is paying off for him. He was at Ohio State's Mansfield campus last year, which is why he did not try out."
Although he did pitch for the Wildcats, Mike was best known at Saint Ignatius for his hitting and his solid all-around play at first base.
Rounding the corner, heading to football practice on Tuesday for some insight on the Cardinals and then on Wednesday it's off to one of my favorite stops during my nearly four decades at The Plain Dealer - Aldersyde Drive in Shaker Heights. Ah, the memories are so thick I have to wipe them away from my face.