Derek Hren and Nathan Christian help show the way at the C.T. Branin Natatorium; George DiCamillo wins his 70th consecutive match and his second straight Mentor District championship; Coach Sean O'Toole's varsity basketball team uses an 18-0 run in overcoming a late third quarter 13-point deficit and the hockey team wins a mercy-rule encounter over the EC Panthers in a second-round playoff game.
Yes, just another memorable weekend in Saint Ignatius athletics.
STATE SWIMMING RECAP
Congratulations go out to Coach Jeff Ridler, his staff and the entire 2011-12 Saint Ignatius swimming and diving team, as the Wildcats finished fifth in the OHSAA’s 33rd Division I state meet with 147 points. It was a two-spot improvement over last year’s finish.
During Saturday night’s final events at Canton’s C.T. Branin Natatorium, junior Derek Hren placed second in the breaststroke with a time of 55.56 and he was also second in the 200 yard IM with a time of 1:50.34 (new school record). Josh Brooks of Centerville won the 200 yard IM in 1:50.09 and Jack Pohlmann of Beavercreek took first place in the breaststroke in 55.27. Yes, Derek was right there.
Sophomore Nathan Christian finished second in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 21.15. He was edged out by Dan DiSalle of St. Francis, whose finals time was 20.98.
Saint Ignatius placed sixth in both the 200 freestyle relay and the 400 freestyle relay, and the ‘Cats’ 200 medley relay was fourth in 1:33.24 (new school record).
The Wildcats’ Jesuit brothers from St. Xavier won their fourth consecutive state championship by again utilizing their depth. Behind multiple placers in several individual events, the Bombers totaled 297.5 points.
MENTOR DISTRICT WRESTLING RECAP
Batten down the hatches if Saint Ignatius’ nationally acclaimed senior wrestler George DiCamillo crosses paths with Massillon’s talented 120-pounder Ivan McClay during next weekend’s OHSAA State Wrestling Championships at The Ohio State University.
McClay was expressing a world of confidence after he lost to DiCamillo, 2-1, in overtime on Saturday night in the 120-pound championship match at the tradition-rich Mentor District.
In an interview with The Plain Dealer’s outstanding reporter Tim Warsinskey, McClay said DiCamillo is “not the Jesus of wrestling” and that he is now confident he can defeat George. Hey, that is the way McClay shoud feel when competing in such a demanding 1-against-1 sport.
This corner can tell you first hand that George has never thought of himself in Godly terms, on or off the mats. When it comes to being among the most talented and grounded athletes Ohio high school wrestling has ever produced, DiCamillo is right at the top of the list.
However, I would bet you my Golden Buckeye Card that if Our Lord Jesus Christ was putting together an All-Star High School Wrestling Team, George, at the very least, would be one of His lower weight disciples.
This time of the year it is all about winning and advancing. And George, a three-time district champion, did that again this weekend, as he walked out of Mentor High School Saturday night with his 70th consecutive victory. That mark includes the last two matches of his sophomore season, a 35-0 effort last year that included the state’s 112-pound championship and his 33-0 record this winter.
DiCamillo, who pinned McClay in 5:52 of the 112-pound final at Mentor last year, will take his 120-pound credentials into the state meet, where the Virginia recruit will be joined by teammates and fourth-place district finishers Jim Ferritto at 106 pounds and Tommy Zeigler at 113 pounds.
Also helping Coach Mark Sullivan’s team to a sixth-place finish and 95.5 points at Mentor were Nick Lees (152), Ethan Janesz (160) and Scott Chase (182), who won their fifth-place matches. The Wildcats finished ninth at Mentor last season.
*HERE ARE THE VARSITY BASKETBALL AND JV RECAP STORIES. THE HOCKEY STORY WAS POSTED THIS AFTERNOON (SEE BELOW).
ALEC PAPESCH, JACK TUPA, DEREK SLOAN, FRANCISCO SANTIAGO, ERIC WILLIAMS AND BRIAN JOSEPH AND JACK MAHONEY OFF THE BENCH, ALONG WITH A RELENTLESS FOURTH-QUARTER DEFENSE, LEAD THE WILDCATS TO ONE OF THE MOST IMPRESSIVE COMEBACKS IN SAINT IGNATIUS’ BASKETBALL HISTORY.
THE ‘CATS OUTSCORE A TALENTED BENEDICTINE TEAM, 22-6, OVER THE FINAL 11 MINUTES AND 27 SECONDS OR 22-3, IF YOU DON’T COUNT A MEANINGLESS 3-POINTER AT THE FINAL BUZZER.
SAINT IGNATIUS’ JUNIOR VARSITY CLOSES OUT AN OUTSTANDING 18-2 SEASON BY WINNING ITS 11TH CONSECUTIVE GAME.
BY EDDIE DWYER, COPYRIGHT FEBRUARY 2012.
After they helped their team rally from a 13-point deficit with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter at Benedictine on Saturday night, Saint Ignatius’ gifted junior post Alec Papesch and savvy senior point guard Jack Tupa used the same word when describing the Wildcats’ impressive comeback – communication.
“Communication, definitely,” said the 6-foot-6 Papesch, whose scoring, defense and tireless work off the boards helped fuel an 18-0 run that led to the Wildcats’ 49-46 victory in a regular-season finale at the Bengals’ Trueman Fieldhouse. “They are a tremendous team that knows how to position their bodies in ways to get their teammates wide-open shots. Once we communicated, stuck together as a team and told one another where they were coming from and when they were coming, that’s when we adjusted our bodies to counteract theirs.”
And now you know why coaches always say: “Talk out there!”
Communicating on defense, pushing the ball at every opportunity and pulling it back when the situation dictated that, the Wildcats began to take the roar out of the Bengals after Saint Ignatius head coach Sean O’Toole ’87 called a timeout at 3:27 of the third quarter and his team down the unlucky 13.
On the strength of a jumper by Tupa and two free throws by multi-skilled junior forward/post Derek Sloan, Saint Ignatius cut the deficit to nine points entering the final eight minutes.
Playing half-court defense with a passion and boxing out Benedictine’s wide bodies, the Wildcats closed to 40-38 on a strong move down low by Sloan, a free throw from Sloan, a crafty put back by Papesch and a soft one-hander by junior guard Francisco Santiago with 5 minutes and 33 seconds remaining to be played.
Senior guard Brian Joseph hit 1 of 2 free throws and, moving without the ball in a way that would have made the late William “Red” Holzman proud, Joseph worked his way across the baseline and hit a 12-foot jumper that put Saint Ignatius in front, 41-40, with 3:14 left.
After Saint Ignatius forced another turnover with half-court pressure, it was a picture-perfect Papesch to Santiago basket followed by two more points from Sloan that completed the 18-0 run and had the ‘Cats holding a 45-40 lead with 1:53 to go.
Benedictine guard Winston Grays cut the deficit to 45-43 by burying a 3-pointer with 1:32 remaining, only to watch Saint Ignatius seal the deal on a free throw by Papesch, a layup by “Pappy”off an on-the-money assist from Tupa, a block by Papesch and a free throw by Tupa with 5.6 seconds left.
“This was huge to finish off the regular season on a high note,” said Papesch, who led the ‘Cats with 13 points. “Pappy” pointed out that Benedictine (12-8) is like many of the teams at the talent-laden Solon Division I sectional/district, where the fourth-seeded Wildcats will be competing.
Saint Ignatius (15-5) will begin its postseason this coming Friday in a sectional final at 6 p.m. The Wildcats will face the winner of Tuesday night’s sectional semifinal between Kenston and Euclid. Kenston, the sixth seed, is 19-1.
“We emphasized all week to talk to each other,” said Tupa, who played a solid floor game. “We knew they were going to make some runs, but we executed on the defensive end when we needed to. Movement, we were standing still on offense (until late in the third quarter). We had to make them adjust to us.”
Supporting Papesch in the scoring column were Santiago and Sloan, who each scored 11 points.
“It’s never pretty, said Coach O’Toole, who is 65-25 in his fourth season at his alma mater. “Tonight we had spurts where it was as bad as we’ve played. I give the kids credit, though, 40-27 and they (the Bengals) have all of the momentum. This was a great win on the road.
“Defensively, we really did a good job with their ball screens, creating turnovers, limiting them to one shot and contesting shots,” Coach O’Toole continued. “That’s a very good Division II team and I wish them nothing but the best in the tournament. But I’m very proud of our guys. Playing with some foul trouble, we were able to spread the floor a little bit and we even mixed in a little zone (defense).
“It was as ugly a feeling as I’ve had going into that third quarter. We have to create more movement and I thought we did a better job with that. We also did some things defensively that we haven’t done a lot – traps, run and jumps, things that create turnovers. And that’s important going into the tournament.”
ERIC BLACK TOSSES IN 22 POINTS AS THE WILDCATS’ JAYVEES MAKE THEMSELVES AT HOME IN THE TRUEMAN FIELDHOUSE, 62-38.
Saint Ignatius’ veteran coach John Cooney ’67 said the Wildcats’ junior varsity came out Saturday night at Benedictine and, sparked by sophomore point guard Danny Bova, played hellacious defense in the early going.
The end result was a 14-1 lead that the Bengals were able to cut to 18-8 after the first quarter.
After a smooth jumper off the dribble by 6-4 freshman forward Jaylin McDonald and two free throws by sophomore post/forward Pete Mahoney, Saint Ignatius led, 23-13, at halftime.
In closing their 2011-12 season with an impressive 18-2 record and an 11-game winning streak, the Wildcats turned up the heat again in the third quarter.
After a basket by sophomore wing Kyle Berger and a jumper and two free throws by 6-6 sophomore post Eric Black, Saint Ignatius led, 34-19, with 3:09 remaining in the third quarter.
A layup by sophomore guard Matt Ivancic, a steal and layup by sophomore wing Ogo Okolo, two free throws by McDonald and another basket by Okolo had the ‘Cats purring to the tune of 43-24 heading into the final eight minutes.
It was more of the same in the fourth quarter, as two free throws by Berger, a breakaway layup by Black and two more points from Black off an on-the-money bounce pass from Berger put Saint Ignatius in a 25-point comfort mode.
Benedictine would trim the deficit to 18 points, but a layup by sophomore guard Ryan Napoli, a coast-to-coast driving layup from sophomore forward Isiah Barbra, a layup in transition by sophomore guard Ryan Linker off a no-look pass from sophomore guard John Thomas and a three-point play from sophomore guard Jack Grbac left no doubt.