THE 'CATS CLIMBED FROM 17TH PLACE TO THE 15TH SPOT IN THE WEEKLY JOE EITEL FOOTBALL COMPUTER RATINGS. THE TOP EIGHT TEAMS IN EACH OF THE STATE'S 24 REGIONS AT THE END OF THE REGULAR SEASON QUALIFY FOR THE PLAYOFFS.
POSTED ON 10/10/2010 AT 3:18 A.M.
Saint Ignatius, dominating the first half, turned back the Ramblers from Erie Cathedral Prep, 48-19, on Saturday night in a non-league football matchup on Byers Field in Parma's Robert M. Boulton Stadium.
The Wildcats, who snapped a three-game losing streak, turned to a strong ground game in improving to 3-4.
Senior tailback Bobby Grebenc, who committed to Brown University this past week (see the corner's story on 10/6/10), scored two of his three touchdowns in the first 24 minutes. Junior tailback Dan Grace rushed for more than 100 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.
Saint Ignatius, which outscored Cathedral Prep, 35-6, in the first two quarters, also struck early on a 15-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Matt Hoyer to senior wide receiver David Joseph and a 35-yard interception return by senior linebacker Tyler Kette.
Cathedral Prep dropped to 3-3.
The 'Cats will host the St. Francis Red Raiders (2-4) from Athol Springs, New York on Saturday (10/16/10) in Byers Field. The kickoff will be 7 p.m.
A BET IS A BET: Saint Ignatius assistant coach Elvis Grbac was wearing a Michigan State cap at practice on Tuesday. Grbac, a former St. Joseph High School and University of Michigan standout quarterback who went on to an All-Pro career in the NFL, lost a friendly bet with Wildcats junior signal-caller Matt Hoyer on the outcome of last weekend's game between the Wolverines and the Spartans.
Matt's brother, Brian '04, currently the backup to All-Pro quarterback Tom Brady in New England, honed his next-level skills as the starting quarterback for the Spartans. Just to let you know, Elvis was wearing the Michigan State cap with the school logo facing backward. Catcher's style, if you will.
CHRIS BROUSSARD VISITS WITH COACH KYLE: Former Holy Name High School two-sport standout Chris Broussard, currently an award-winning analyst for ESPN and ESPN's NBA Fastbreak, and an award-winning columnist for ESPN Magazine and ESPN .com, was at Saint Ignatius earlier this week interviewing Coach Kyle.
Coach Kyle said Chris, who also was an outstanding writer and reporter for The Plain Dealer and the Akron Beacon Journal, is talking with area coaches about the impact of LeBron James leaving Cleveland and how it has touched the views and opinions of young student/athletes, as far as how they look at professional athletes and professional sports.
This old-timer had the privilege of covering Chris as an athlete and later working with him at The Plain Dealer.