Tim McVey, Mike LaManna, the guys up front and the 'Cats' gifted receivers fuel the offense, Kevin Kavalec turns in an MVP performance on defense, the special teams make their mark and Matt Colella get his kicks as Saint Ignatius stuns the Cardinals, 31-7, in Cleveland Browns Stadium. The battle of defending state champions was all blue and gold, early and often.
By Eddie Dwyer, Copyright August 2012
With most of the fans having already made their way out of Cleveland Browns Stadium on Saturday night, Saint Ignatius’ gifted senior tailback/safety Tim McVey talked with reporters in the same calm and confident manner he and his teammates brought with them in the short bus ride from Ohio City.
“The first play, you get that out of the way and it’s just another football field,” said McVey after he and his teammates struck early and never looked back en route to an impressive 31-7 victory over Youngstown Cardinal Mooney in the second game of the annual Charity Game doubleheader.
Saint Ignatius made itself right at home in the Browns’ beautiful NFL facility as it controlled the matchup of 2011 state champions from the get-go.
The Wildcats, who won an unprecedented 11th Division I state championship last fall, scored on their first possession and added two more touchdowns in the second quarter in putting 2011 Division III state champ Cardinal Mooney on its heels. The Cardinals have won eight state titles.
“They were fantastic tonight,” said McVey of Saint Ignatius’ offensive line, a group of blue-collar, football-savvy players who understand what their roles are in the trenches. “All I had to do was make a couple of cuts. They (the O-Line) did their jobs, exactly what I wanted them to do.”
Saint Ignatius did exactly what Coach Chuck Kyle ’69 was looking for by taking an early lead against a Cardinal Mooney program that definitely leans on its running game.
After forcing the Cardinals to punt, the Wildcats rode the left arm of senior quarterback Mike LaManna, nice route-running receptions by senior wide receiver Rocky Zingale and promising junior receiver Mike Siragusa, and McVey’s catch and run to a scoring drive that required just three plays.
On first-and-10 from the Cardinal Mooney 11-yard line, McVey caught a swing pass from LaManna in stride in the right flat and powered his way into the end zone. The extra-point kick by junior Matt Colella was high and true, and Saint Ignatius led, 7-0, with 9 minutes and 13 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
With senior defensive end Kevin Kavalec, a first-team All-Ohio selection in 2011, junior outside linebacker Kyle Berger and senior linebackers C.J. Haag and Nick Chapek leading the early defensive charge, the Wildcats bent a little against the Cardinals’ running game, but didn’t break down.
Taking possession with 7:46 left in the first half, Saint Ignatius put together an impressive six-play, 68-yard drive that was capped by an excellent throw and catch by the combination of LaManna to Zingale and another extra point by Colella. Zingale hauled in the 22-yard toss from LaManna with a nice concentrated effort in the right corner of the end zone and the ‘Cats led, 14-0, with 5:47 left in the first 24 minutes.
Zingale’s TD was set up by a 20-yard reception by Siragusa.
With 2:11 to go in the first half, Saint Ignatius displayed the poise one associates with an 11-time Ohio champion and three-time national champ.
Behind another swing pass to McVey, yet another sure-handed grab by Siragusa, a text-book 11-yard sideline reception by junior wide receiver Jack Hyland off a third-and-8 and a tough catch and move by Zingale that put the ball on the Cardinals’ 3, Coach Kyle’s Wildcats took a three-touchdown lead on a 3-yard run by McVey around the right side that saw his O-Line seal off Cardinal Mooney. The second of McVey’s three touchdowns on the night and Colella’s sure third kick came off a seven-play, 62-yard march that ended with just 47 seconds left in the first half.
“It was great to come out, score points and see what we could do against such a good team,” said McVey, who, like Kavalec, garnered All-Northeast Lakes District and All-Ohio honors last season. “Mike LaManna did a great job. And he’s only going to improve. I’m very happy.”
McVey was smiling again early in the second half after he scored his third TD off a display of power, speed and balance from 42 yards out. An outstanding catch and run of 34 yards by talented senior wide receiver Conor Hennessey set up McVey’s gallop and the fourth extra point by Colella. The three-play, 76-yard drive appeared to take the enthusiasm out of Cardinal Mooney’s faithful.
“We have such great faith in him that he’ll make a play,” said Coach Kyle of McVey, who is a University at Buffalo recruit. “We were throwing the ball well and you could see that their linebackers were moving out (into pass coverage). So at that point you say, OK, let’s hit him (McVey) with a little pass and let him find a seam. And he sure did.”
Coach Kyle also pointed to the cool, calm composure of LaManna (225 yards passing), who performed so well and kept his focus against an eight-time state champion in Browns Stadium.
After Colella closed out the Wildcats’ scoring with a 21-yard field goal through the narrower NFL goal posts with 5:44 remaining in the third quarter, Saint Ignatius’ first-team defense continued to lay down the law. Kavalec, who spent a lot of time in the Cardinals’ backfield, was selected as the game’s Most Valuable Player after his display of relentless penetration, pursuit and authoritative hits.
“We had our game plan and we just stuck to it. Coach Dan Corrigan drew it up throughout the course of the week,” said Kavalec, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound Boston College recruit. “We got the kinks out and started executing.
“I thought our entire defense was pretty solid,” Kavalec continued. “The linebackers came up and filled and the D-Line controlled the front. They (the Cardinals) didn’t do any talking or anything. They were just good, hard-nosed football players.”
Along with the efforts by McVey, LaManna, the receivers and the defense, Saint Ignatius got excellent punt and kick coverage from its special teams, including two efforts by senior safety Jack Nelson that saw him down punts at the Cardinal Mooney 5- and 2-yard lines.
Colella had a number of booming kickoffs that went deep into the end zone, senior safety Bryan Fisher made a key stop off a quick display of closing pursuit, junior middle linebacker John Gibbons had a big pad-rattling sack off a blitz, junior defensive lineman Chris Keane came up with a fumble recovery and combined with senior defensive lineman Max Baughman on a tackle that resulted in a 2-yard loss off a third-and-2, senior defensive back Josh Baker did a solid job returning punts, and senior tailback Dan Way and junior tailback Mike Vitale helped eat up the clock with their tough inside and outside running.
*For those alums who inquired, De La Salle (Warren, Mich.), Saint Ignatius' Week 2 opponent, won its season opener on Friday night, defeating host Pioneer High School fron Ann Arbor, 35-7. Five-star senior quarterback and Michigan recruit Shane Morris showed the way for De La Salle by completing 14 of 26 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw an interception.
Just a small sidebar, Morris is a southpaw who punts with his right foot.
As always, the corner will breakdown De La Salle and Morris the middle of this coming week, as the Wildcats prepare for Saturday's encounter with the Pilots on Parma's Byers Field at 3 p.m.
JUNIOR VARSITY FOOTBALL: St. Vincent-St. Mary 19, Saint Ignatius 14: The Wildcats led, 7-0, at halftime on the road, but numerous turnovers led to the season-opening loss.
On the strength of a touchdown reception by Bennett Kinzel, the Wildcats were able to close to 19-14 late in the game. However, while attempting an onside kick, Saint Ignatius was called for an illegal touch of the ball.
The JV 'Cats also failed to cash in on several scoring opportunities throughout the game, both offensively and defensively.