"Mooney Week" is underway.
By Eddie Dwyer, Copyright August 2012
As the Saint Ignatius Wildcats took a water break during Monday afternoon's practice, several of the players yelled: "It's Mooney week, run off the field, don't walk or jog!"
Yes, it's Mooney week, a season opener that has drawn area and state-wide interest.
Saint Ignatius, the defending big-school state football champion and winner of an Ohio-record 11 Division I state championships, will face eight-time state champion Youngstown Cardinal Mooney on Saturday night at 7 in Cleveland Browns Stadium. The Mooney Cardinals joined the Wildcats as a 2011 Ohio champion by bringing home the Division III trophy.
*The corner will preview this much-anticipated matchup on Wednesday night.
As he addressed his team after practice, Coach Chuck Kyle '69 reminded the Wildcats that they are far from their peak and that sacrifices, not shortcuts, have to be made when preparing for a team with the tradition that Cardinal Mooney has established.
"Lazy practices make for a lazy game," said Saint Ignatius assistant coach Mark Sullivan, who was not pleased, to say the least, with the effort by the defense in the early going Monday.
Coach Sullivan got his point across and was so pleased with the improved effort that he even gave junior linebacker Patrick Hopkins a high five after "Hoppy" displayed some second-effort pursuit up the middle.
The Wildcats' passing game, which was sharp during Friday night's highly successful scrimmage at Canton McKinley, stayed sharp Monday. Veteran offensive coordinator Nick Restifo and quarterbacks coach Elvis Grbac looked at one another during a sequence and said, "Good, good!" They were reacting to a smooth route that saw senior quarterback Mike LaManna hook up with senior wide receiver Rocky Zingale.
The Good Hands Club was also heard from, as gifted junior wide receiver Mike Siragusa came up with a nice two-handed diving reception on a ball that was behind him.
However, as solid as the passing game was against McKinley, Coach Kyle emphasized that the 'Cats have to run the football much better than they did in Friday's scrimmage, that there were spurts on the ground, but no consistency.
Just before the final offense vs. defense drill, the Wildcats did what are known as "Ben Hurs," 100-yard sprints back and forth three times.
When asked once why he calls them "Ben Hurs" after the 1959 American epic historical drama Ben-Hur, Coach Kyle said: "Watch the movie and you'll know."
And here I thought it was because senior wide receivers Anthony Ertle and Ray O'Brien, during their spots on FOX 8.com's high school football video titled 'Call Me Maybe,' looked so much like Charlton Heston.
With that, I am rounding the corner and wishing a very Happy Birthday to Wildcats junior defensive back Paddy White, who turned 17 on Monday, and reminding you that the Wildcats' state and nationally acclaimed varsity soccer team, fresh off its 3-0 season-opening victory over Solon on Wasmer Field, will travel to Padua tomorrow (Tuesday) night. The junior varsity game is slated for 5, with the varsity to follow at 7.