"CHERISHING EVERY PLAY"
By Eddie Dwyer, Copyright December 2011
After a rally in Sullivan Gymnasium at 2:20 p.m. on Friday, an event that will also include a welcoming of the winter sports season, the Saint Ignatius Wildcats will practice for the final time in 2011.
Head coach Chuck Kyle '69 and his staff will put the Wildcats through the fine-tuning preparations for Saturday night's Division I state championship football game against Pickerington High School Central at Canton's legendary Fawcett Stadium. The kickoff will be 7 p.m. For a preview on the game, check out the corner's story below that was published just after midnight on Nov. 30.
As Coach Kyle addressed his team early Thursday night, he urged them again to cherish every second and every play of the season's final 48 minutes.
The Wildcats have already kept one promise they made to themselves when, following a presason Jamboree against the Canton McKinley Bulldogs on Aug.19, they looked around Fawcett Stadium and vowed to return to the football-rich facility on Dec. 3. That promise came just a few days after a national blogger reminded them they were 4-6 in 2010 and failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 1987. The blogger more than hinted that he felt Saint Ignatius' playoff run was over.
Saturday night in Stark County, their second promise, or battle cry, if you will, is on the line as the 'Cats play for "Eleven in '11."
Saint Ignatius, already the holder of an Ohio-record 10 Division I state football championhips, will look to give its 29-year head coach his 11th triumph in what will be the Wildcats' 12th state-championship game appearance. Coach Kyle, who enters Saturday night's game with a career postseason record of 60-12 and a 289-67-1 overall mark, has also guided his program to a state-best five consecutive big-school titles (1991-95). The 'Cats were state runners-up to Lima Senior in 1996.
"This is all about these kids," Coach Kyke said to this corner after Thursday's practice. "One way or the other, I'll be back in class on Monday morning."
AND YOU THINK IT'S A GLAMOUR JOB: As he was about to shut off the lights in Wasmer Field Thursday night, Coach Kyle was surveying around the entire facility and under the stands to make sure all of the footballs were retrieved after practice.
SOLD OUT: Saint Ignatius has sold all of its allotted tickets for Saturday night's game. Tickets will be available at Fawcett Stadium for $10.
TOUCH OF IVY IN THE WIRTZ PAVILION: Coaches and representatives from Harvard were at Saint Ignatius on Thursday to visit with Coach Kyle and his outstanding senior quarterback Eric Williams. Eric said after practice that it looks like it could be an all-Ivy League decision for him - Harvard or Yale. He plans to visit both schools.
AND THE CARDINAL WAS IN THE HOUSE: A coach from Stanford was at practice on Thursday, checking out the Wildcats' long snappers. As we started reporting on the corner two years ago, Stanford All-America quarterback Andrew Luck is the son of Wildcats Hall of Fame QB Oliver Luck '78. Oliver is currently the Athletics Director for his college alma mater - the Mountaineers of West Virginia.
A BIG THANK YOU: Goes out to the golden voices of Saint Ignatius football - John Fanta '13 and Greg Ziton '13 - and their moderator, Jeff McCormick '83, for inviting this old-timer to take part in this week's Across The Table preview on the Wildcats-Pickerington Central showdown. It was a privilege and a lot of fun to chew the pigskin about Saturday's game and the Wildcats' magical-ride season.
*THE CORNER WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE 2011 GRADUATE AND FORMER WILDCATS TENNIS STANDOUT JAMES OLIVER: James was recently named Sportsman of the Year by the USTA Midwest Northeastern Ohio Tennis Association.
A Lafayette recruit, James was a four-time District qualifier and a State qualifier in 2011 while competing for Saint Ignatius.