It's early, but Ryan Franzinger '02, Saint Ignatius' varsity linebackers coach and head junior varsity coach, said he is very excited about the Wildcats' first group on defense.

Throughout Thursday's double sessions, the Wildcats' offense and defense put forth efforts that stood out.

However, it is the athleticism of Saint Ignatius' defense - the ability to make plays on the ball - that has Coach Franzinger excited.

Senior Tommy Fanning, who was a mainstay in the secondary during last season's 11th state-championship run, was one of those defenders who played lock-down coverage on the ball from the get-go on Thursday, as he racked up another interception. Junior Scott Arthrell continues to play a solid corner and junior defensive back Evan O'Malley came up with what would have been a pick-6 (in a regular game) after the offense moved deep into scoring territory.

Saint Ignatius' linebackers played hard-nosed football from the first session on and the defensive front, headed by senior standouts Kevin Kavalec, Dave Katusha and Matt Gawlik, was as ornery as usual.

As for the offense, the 'Cats' receivers (you should know their names as well as your own by now) were creating more action heading in the direction of Lorain Avenue than the No. 22 bus.

It started in the afternoon-session drills, when junior quarterback Pete Mahoney hit senior Conor Hennessey and junior Jack Hyland on a couple of nice long tosses into the Lorain Avenue end zone.

Senior wideouts Rocky Zingale, Randy Buffington and Matt Schafer each made exceptional-effort leaping catches in the right corner of the Lorain Avenue end zone during the early stages of the evening session.

The 6-foot-4 Buffington had the Good Hands Club catch of the day on his corner effort, as he went fully extended into the air, controlled the ball with his left hand, flipped it over to his right hand and secured the ball with both hands as he was about to hit the turf.

Junior quarterback John Thomas fired two more impressive deep passes on Thursday and senior southpaw Mike LaManna did a solid job running the no-huddle offense and capping the evening with a perfectly executed long scoring pass down the left sideline to Hennessey and into? You guessed it, the Lorain Avenue end zone.

As for the running game, senior tailback Dan Way, junior tailback Mike Vitale and All-Ohio senior tailback/safety Tim McVey were slicing and dicing, as Way had his way with his speed and sharp cuts inside.

The Wildcats will come out in full equipment for Friday's two-a-days, which begin at 2 p.m., and Saturday marks the first official day of hitting.

"We'll play football on Saturday," said Saint Ignatius head coach Chuck Kyle of Saturday's two-a-days, which begin at high noon.

Rounding the corner and appreciating every moment on Wasmer Field.