BOBBY GREBENC RETURNS IN STYLE AS HE FOLLOWS THE LEAD OF A SAINT IGNATIUS OFFENSIVE LINE WHOSE COLLECTIVE HEART IS AS BIG AS ITS TALENT.
MATT HOYER IS A MODEL OF COMPOSURE AND CONSISTENCY DOWN THE STRETCH, AND TYLER KETTE AND JAMES SHEEHAN SLAM THE DOOR AFTER THE WILDCATS MARCH 70 YARDS TO VICTORY.
By Eddie Dwyer
Saint Ignatius Athletics
LANCASTER, OHIO – Standing almost as tall as the ceiling in the visitors' locker room, Saint Ignatius' gritty, gifted and good-natured offensive tackle Mason Halter patted the left side of his chest.
“We went to it, we went right here,” said the 6-foot-7, 260-pound senior after he and his O-Line teammates showed the way during a dramatic and efficient game-winning 70-yard drive at Lancaster's Fulton Field on Friday night. “It's all about the heart.
“We work together so well, it's unbelievable. Pass protection and the running. We wanted to prove ourselves tonight with the running game. And we did it in that last drive.”
Oh my, did they ever.
Providing the seams for All-Ohio senior tailback Bobby Grebenc and giving junior quarterback Matt Hoyer the time to put his powerful right arm on display, Saint Ignatius' young men up front were near flawless during an 11-play march that resulted in a 28-21 victory.
Grebenc, who sat out last week's victory at Bedford with a sprained ankle he suffered in the first half of the opening-night game against Lake Catholic, busted through a comfortable hole over the right side for a 3-yard touchdown with 45.8 seconds remaining to be played. It was Grebenc's third touchdown on the night, as he finished with 88 yards on 21 carries against a Golden Gales defense that prides itself on stopping the run.
“First of all, it's great to be back,” Grebenc said. “It killed me to be on the sidelines for the first one and a half games. On that last drive, I knew we could do it. Our offense was confident all night. They never really stopped us, we stopped ourselves with stupid mistakes and penalties.
“That last hole (on the game-winning touchdown) was huge, it was like 15 yards wide.”
In what was the marquee game under Fairfield County's Friday night lights, Lancaster wasted little time in unleashing its highly touted misdirection offense, an attack that is almost identical to the one the Midshipmen of Navy employ on the college level.
Taking the opening kickoff, the Golden Gales (2-1) put together an 80-yard drive that ate up more than six minutes and was highlighted by a 32-yard touchdown gallop by versatile senior wing back Connor Smith.
Saint Ignatius senior wideout/kick returner David Joseph gave the 'Cats excellent field position by returning the ensuing kickoff into Lancaster territory. On a fourth-and-4 from the Golden Gales' 38, senior wide receiver Nick D'Amico made a nice diving catch at the 26, an effort that saw him reach back for the ball. After junior tight end Blake Thomas hooked up with Hoyer on a 14-yard completion, Grebenc powered his way for 8 yards to the 4. Two plays later, Grebenc fought his way up the gut from 2 yards out and, after the first of four extra-point kicks by junior Tim Shenk, the score was tied with 2 minutes, 34 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Following a scoreless second quarter that saw both teams hurt themselves with turnovers, Saint Ignatius appeared to grab the momentum when Hoyer and Thomas combined on a 29-yard touchdown with 6:39 to go in the third quarter. However, the touchdown was wiped out by an illegal-block penalty.
Undaunted, Hoyer and Thomas would keep the drive alive by hooking up on a pass that gave the Wildcats a first down at the Lancaster 11. The clutch throw and catch came off a third-and-16 from the Golden Gales' 37 and led the way for Grebenc's second touchdown – another 2-yard effort with 4:23 left in the third quarter.
The final two minutes of the third quarter were a roller coaster of emotions, as Lancaster senior quarterback Nolan Flowers found the elusive Smith wide open down the middle of the field for a 79-yard touchdown pass.
Saint Ignatius (2-1) would come right back and silence the Golden Gales' faithful with a 65-yard TD strike from Hoyer to senior wide receiver Fred Davis with 54.6 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Davis ran a perfect crossing route and Hoyer, a brother of New England Patriots backup quarterback Brian Hoyer '04, put the ball right on the money. Matt finished with 14 completions in 18 attempts for 190 yards.
With junior fullback Xavier West doing most of the damage inside, Lancaster would respond with another clock-eating drive and tie the score on a 1-yard keeper by Flowers and the third extra point by sophomore Zach Daughterty with 4:54 left.
Displaying the composure that is a trademark of a Chuck Kyle-coached team, the Wildcats, behind a clutch reception by senior tight end Zach Strippy, a big-time catch and run by Joseph and the strength, balance and vision that epitomize Grebenc's running style, answered with their memorable and authoritative winning drive.
From there, senior outside linebacker Tyler Kette and junior outside linebacker James Sheehan sealed the deal with a hustle sack by Kette, a combo sack by Kette and Sheehan, and a pad-rattling sack by Sheehan on the game's final play.
“They had to pass and we blitzed them,” said Kette. “They didn't have the blocking. I think they thought we were all going to drop into coverage and we surprised them by coming off the edge, me and Sheehan. They didn't have the blockers or they were confused, and we got to the quarterback.”
The road to victory doesn't get any shorter for the 'Cats and Coach Kyle '69, as next Saturday Saint Ignatius will board the buses again and make the 218-mile trip to Centerville. The kickoff will be 7 p.m.
Wildcats faithful might recall that the only previous meeting between Saint Ignatius and the Centerville Elks came in the 1991 Division I state championship game at Canton's Fawcett Stadium – a 24-21 triumph by the 'Cats.