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SAINT IGNATIUS AND ST. XAVIER PLAY FOR POSTSEASON SPOTS AND JESUIT SCHOOL PRIDE

By Eddie Dwyer, 10/19/11, 12:00AM EDT

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COACH KYLE AND HIS STAFF ARE TREATING SATURDAY’S MATCH UP AS THOUGH IT WAS A REGIONAL FINAL.

*THE WILDCATS’ 1991 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP FOOTBALL TEAM WILL BE HONORED BEFORE SATURDAY’S KICKOFF.

THE CORNER SELECTS ITS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK FROM THE ST. FRANCIS GAME AND JUST A REMINDER THAT SAINT IGNATIUS' STUDENT BROADCASTING NETWORK WILL PROVIDE LIVE AUDIO AND VIDEO COVERAGE OF SATURDAY'S GAME. JOHN FANTA AND GREG ZITON WILL BE AS SMOOTH AS NORM VAN BROCKLIN TO TOMMY MCDONALD. AND THE GAME WILL AIR OVER WHK-AM 1420 ON A TAPE-DELAYED BASIS AT 9 P.M. MIKE GIBBONS AND RON JANTZ WILL CALL IT AS THEY SEE IT.

BY EDDIE DWYER, COPYRIGHT OCTOBER 2011


In discussing a program that, in many ways, is very similar to the one he guides, Saint Ignatius head football coach Chuck Kyle ’69 put a strong emphasis on one area.


“St. Xavier is always known for a great defense,” said Coach Kyle of the perennial Division I power from Cincinnati. “Defensively, they’ll be prepared to take away your best stuff. You’ll take any point you can get against Xavier, trust me.”


Saint Ignatius (7-1) and St. Xavier (6-2), ranked sixth and eighth, respectively, in this week’s Associated Press big-school state poll, will continue their Jesuit-school gridiron rivalry on Saturday afternoon at John Carroll University’s Don Shula Stadium. The kickoff will be at 2 P.M.


The Wildcats and the Bombers will be meeting for the 18th time, with St. Xavier holding a 9-8 edge in the all-time series. There have been two state-championship game match ups between the schools, with Saint Ignatius winning both of them – 24-14 in 1992 and 37-6 in 2001.


Two of the last four meetings between St. Xavier and St. Ignatius have been decided in overtime. In 2007, the Bombers prevailed, 17-14, in triple overtime at Byers Field and in 2008, the Wildcats, behind a hard-nosed, short-yardage touchdown blast by current Miami of Ohio defensive mainstay Pat Hinkel ‘09, defeated St. X, 19-16, in the Queen City. It took one extra session for that one to be settled.


The 2008 triumph over the Bombers was significant in two ways. First, it was Saint Ignatius’ first regular-season victory over St. Xavier since 2000 and secondly, it was the first loss at Ballaban Stadium for Bombers highly successful coach Steve Specht.


St. Xavier and St. Ignatius will enter Saturday’s game having split their last two encounters, with the Bombers walking away with a 19-9 victory in Cincinnati last season.


“You look at the two teams they’ve lost to (this season) – Moeller by a field goal and Louisville (KY) Trinity, which is a very good team,” Coach Kyle said of St. Xavier’s talent-laden schedule. “They’ve played who’s who.


“So we have a major challenge. We’re not reading the recent press clippings or anything like that. Who the heck were we how many weeks ago?”


Kyle was referring to the current Plain Dealer Top 25 area poll, which now has the Wildcats in the second spot, and this week’s AP state rankings, which moved the ‘Cats up four spots to sixth.


“We’re just some guys who like to play football and work hard,” said the man who has guided Saint Ignatius to an Ohio-best 10 Division I state championships. “This (the St. X game) is like a regional final, with the quality of football being played.


“Offensively, they have Conor Hundley, a strong and quick running back. It seems every game, there’s a breakaway run from him and he’s a tough runner. And with the quarterback (Griffin Dolle), they’re blending in a little option this year. They’re a complete team and we feel we’re a complete team.”


Hundley, who also excels in baseball, suffered a late-game leg injury during last weekend’s 17-10 home victory over nationally ranked St. Edward, but is expected to be in the lineup at Don Shula Stadium. Against St. Edward, he rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. In the fourth quarter, he scored on a 48-yard run and averaged 7.3 yards per carry.


“Every play is important when you play Xavier, every play,” Coach Kyle said. “You look back after you play them, win or lose, and there always seems to be two or three plays where you go, ‘Oh, right there was huge!’ Talk about a big momentum thing, every year that goes on. Sometimes it’s in the specialty teams that a big play is made.


“These are two teams that should be in the playoffs and I think are going to be in the playoffs. This game will let both teams know where they’re at.”

In the latest OHSAA Harbin computer playoff ratings, Saint Ignatius was second in Divison I, Region 1 and St. Xavier was fourth in Division 1, Region 4. The top eight teams in each of the state's 24 regions after Week 10 qualify for the regional quarterfinals.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Bombers have speed and, as they showed in the St. Edward game, can put the heat on with a four-man front. And they play the game of field position extremely well.


“Their idea, and we do it, too, is to make sure that if you’re getting the ball, you’re getting it back on the 20 (yard line) or the 10. And then you have to drive 80 or 90 yards. Trying to do that against their defense is kind of hard and trying to do that against our defense is kind of hard. We’re very similar in that way.”


FOR THE BOMBERS’ DEFENSE: Keep an eye on safety Spencer Stroube, lineman Bryson Albright, linebacker Nate Gerbus and nose tackle Brian Douglas, among others.


THE COACHES


COACH SPECHT, WHO IS CURRENTLY 77-19 OVERALL IN WHAT IS HIS EIGHTH SEASON AS THE HEAD MAN AT HIS ALMA MATER, HAS GUIDED THE BOMBERS TO STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS IN 2005 AND 2007. HE SERVED AS COACH KYLE’S DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR IN THE SUMMER OF 2009, WHEN KYLE LED TEAM USA TO THE GOLD MEDAL IN THE JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AT CANTON’S FAWCETT STADIUM.


COACH KYLE, NOW IN HIS 29TH SEASON WITH WILDCATS’ VARSITY, WILL TAKE A CAREER MARK OF 284-66-1 INTO SATURDAY’S GAME. ALONG WITH THE OHIO-BEST 10 STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS, HE HAS LED HIS PROGRAM TO THREE NATIONAL TITLES (1989, ’93 AND ’95) AND A NATIONAL RUNNER-UP IN 2008.


FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS: FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THEIR STORIED REGULAR-SEASON RIVALRY, SAINT IGNATIUS AND ST. XAVIER WILL BE PLAYING FOR A “TRAVELING TROPHY” – A BELL (SEE THE STORY BELOW).


THE ALL-PURPOSE PONIES ARE GALLOPING BACK INTO TOWN: Saint Ignatius’ 1991 state championship team will be on campus this weekend to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their fall to recall.


Led by All-Ohio linebacker Marty Kilbane, All-Ohio offensive lineman Juan Porter, All-Ohio defensive back/wide receiver Joe Lewandowski, All-Ohio and Lou Groza Award winning quarterback Kevin Mayer, All-Scholastic defensive lineman John Day, All-Scholastic linebacker John Anghilante and All-Scholastic safety David Streeter, and the legendary “All-Purpose Ponies” backfield of seniors Mike Sako and Jack Mulloy, junior Dean Lamirand and sophomore Eric Haddad, the ’91 Wildcats overcame the preseason naysayers, injuries and two late-season defeats to become the third state championship team in Saint Ignatius’ rich football history. They defeated Centerville, 24-21, in the heart-pounding title game at Canton’s Fawcett Stadium. Can anyone say Haddad to Sako?


That 1991 team, which this corner had the PRIVILEGE to cover during my thirty seven years at The Plain Dealer, will be honored before Saturday’s kickoff at Don Shula Stadium.


THE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK FROM THE ST. FRANCIS GAME


DEFENSE


SENIOR LINEBACKER JAMES SHEEHAN: 14 TACKLES, INCLUDING EIGHT SOLOS AND FOUR BEHIND THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE, AND A FUMBLE RECOVERY.


SENIOR SAFETY AND CAPTAIN MIKE SVETINA: 13 TACKLES, INCLUDING EIGHT SOLOS AND FIVE FOR A LOSS, AND A BLOCKED PUNT.


SENIOR SAFETY DAN JONES: SEVEN TACKLES, INCLUDING THREE SOLOS AND ONE FOR A LOSS, A FORCED FUMBLE AND A FUMBLE RECOVERY.


OFFENSE


A CORNER SALUTE TO TIM MCVEY FOR HIS RUN-LIKE-THE-WIND STYLE AND GAME-TYING TOUCHDOWN, TIM SHENK FOR HIS THREE EXTRA POINTS, INCLUDING A GAME-WINNER AGAINST THE GALES OF LAKE ERIE, JAKE MOONEY AND CONOR HENNESSEY FOR THEIR TD RECEPTIONS THAT DEFIED THE ODDS AND MOTHER NATURE’S UGLY SIDE, ERIC WILLIAMS, WHOSE FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH NATURAL GRASS AND OCTOBER MUD INCLUDED A HOUDINI-ACT LAUNCH OF THE PIGSKIN AND THE OFFENSIVE LINE, WHICH MADE THE ADJUSTMENTS AND SOMEHOW SOLVED THE TOUGH FOOTING EN ROUTE TO MAKING THE 21-20 OVERTIME VICTORY POSSIBLE.