By Mr. Eddie Dwyer, Copyright Credit, September 2016
THE 20TH FOOTBALL ENCOUNTER BETWEEN THE SAINT IGNATIUS WILDCATS AND THE MENTOR CARDINALS, RANKED 20TH AND 9TH, RESPECTIVELY, IN CLEVELAND.COM'S "SUPER 25" STATE POLL, WILL TAKE PLACE ON SATURDAY AT 7 PM ON BYERS FIELD IN PARMA'S ROBERT M. BOULTON STADIUM.
IF YOU CAN'T MAKE IT OUT TO RIDGE ROAD AND DAY DRIVE FOR WHAT IS ALWAYS A SIGNIFICANT GAME IN TERMS OF THE ALL-IMPORTANT OHSAA COMPUTER PLAYOFF POINTS, SAINT IGNATIUS' 1-2 PUNCH OF MATT MACKENZIE (PLAY-BY-PLAY) AND BRENDAN DEVENNEY (COLOR) WILL BRING IT TO YOU LIVE OVER THE SAINT IGNATIUS BROADCAST NETWORK.
Here is a little background on the roller-coaster rivalry between the Wildcats and the Cardinals, which has picked up significant momentum since that memorable 2011, November 19th Saturday night in football-rich Lakewood Stadium.
Cleveland, Ohio - The Saint Ignatius Wildcats and the Mentor Cardinals began their football rivalry in 1989.
After lop-sided victories by the Wildcats in the first four meetings, including a 38-13 triumph in the 1992 OHSAA Regional Playoffs and a 41-7 regular-season victory in 1993, Mentor and Saint Ignatius did not meet again until the second round of the playoffs in 2003.
The Cardinals of Coach Steve Trivisonno came up with their first victory over Saint Ignatius in resounding fashion that night on Parma's Byers Field, 31-0.
Finally, a rivalry?
Well, not yet, as Saint Ignatius went on to win four of the next five meetings with Mentor.
Then came 2010 and yes, what this corner now refers to as one of the finest Public School versus Catholic School football rivalries in the nation started brewing.
Mentor would win its next two matchups with Saint Ignatius, including a 38-24 regular season victory in 2011 at the Cardinals' Jerome T. Osborne Stadium .
However, the Wildcats, on their way to their 11th Division I State Championship under Hall of Fame Head Coach Chuck Kyle, upset the favored Cardinals, 23-17, in a 2011 OHSAA Regional Championship Game at storied Lakewood Stadium.
The next two seasons also brought about both regular season and playoff encounters between the 'Cats and the Cardinals, with Mentor losing both regular season games in 2012 and 2013, but responding with victories in the playoffs.
The 2012, 57-56 triple-overtime victory by the Mitch Trubisky-led Cardinals in the third round of the playoffs goes down as one of the greatest games in the history of the OHSAA football postseason. Mitch is currently the starting quarterback at North Carolina.
Mentor, which now trails its all-time football series with Saint Ignatius, 11-8, comes into Saturday night's matchup with a three-game winning streak over the Wildcats, including the playoff victory in 2013 at Byers Field, a regular-season triumph over the 'Cats at Byers Field in 2014, and last year's 63-56 offensive shootout over Saint Ignatius at Jerome T. Osborne Sr. Stadium.
Trailing, 56-49, with 11:55 remaining to be played in the 2015 thriller, the Cardinals struck with touchdown passes of 52 yards to Jason Blizzard from then sophomore quarterback Tadas Tatarunas and a Tatarunas rope of 10 yards to Malik Porter.
The game winner to Porter saw Tatarunas roll left under heavy pressure in the final 15 seconds, regain his balance and find Porter, who was breaking free across the back of the end zone.
Tatarunas finished with 531 yards passing and Saint Ignatius' first-team All-Ohio quarterback Dennis Grosel threw for 415 yards. Dennis is bound for Boston College this winter as a preferred walk-on.
Mentor and Saint Ignatius combined for an amazing 1,438 yards of total offense, including 823 yards by the Cardinals.
HERE IS HOW COACH KYLE, GRITTY AND GIFTED SENIOR QUARTERBACK PATRICK RYAN AND STANDOUT SENIOR DEFENSIVE END MIKE CHIME LOOK AT SATURDAY NIGHT'S MATCHUP WITH COACH TRIVISONNO'S CARDINALS.
SAINT IGNATIUS IS COMING OFF A 45-0 OPENING NIGHT VICTORY OVER NORMANDY AT BYERS FIELD AND MENTOR STARTED ITS 2016 SEASON WITH A 57-31 VICTORY OVER THE MASSILLON TIGERS AT JEROME T. OSBORNE SR. STADIUM. THE CARDINALS WERE LED BY A FIVE-TOUCHDOWN PERFORMANCE FROM TAILBACK ISAIAH GULLICK, WHO WAS MAKING HIS FIRST START ON THE VARSITY LEVEL.
FROM COACH KYLE: "Offensively, they're very good. They execute very well. In the Mentor program, the young kids are running that offense for years and once they get to high school they have a real good feel for it. And that's impressive and that's what you see on film.
"They spread you all over the field and there has to be some one-on-one plays made to be able to stop them and get your offense on the field. So that's got to happen on Saturday night. You run to the ball and get to the ball, but still there's those moments when it's one-on-one and the athlete has to make the play. So we're working very hard on fundamentals, obviously, but also getting ourselves into good position to make plays.
"Defensively, they're big up front and the matchup of their defensive line versus our offense line is kind of an interesting thing to watch. It will look like college lines, to be honest with you. Then the skilled guys take over. They graduated some skilled guys and we did, too, but I think Mentor would say the same thing, it's the next kid's turn to step up. By senior year you should be executing at a high level.
"We're really going to have to tell the kids don't look at the scoreboard. History tells you this game is just back and forth and back and forth, and the change in momentum is always amazing. You're up by 10 points, well big deal. In this game it doesn't mean that much.
"I think Steve (Coach Trivisonno) would say the same thing, that this is a game in which you find out a lot about yourself. It's going to be a major playoff caliber game the second week of the season, so that's awesome."
FROM PATRICK RYAN: "It's kind of like growing up, because I was the boy ball here and watched Eric Williams win a state title (in 2011), I watched Mike LaManna play great football here (in 2012), I was in the stands for Andrew Holland (Ohio's co-Offensive Player of the Year as the quarterback for the Cats' 2008 State Championship and National Runner-Up Team) and last year I was the backup to Dennis (Grosel). I've seen the lineage and have a lot to live up to, but it's an honor and I'm happy to be here.
"I think we're in a good spot," Patrick continued in reference to Saturday's showdown with Mentor. "We have a big offensive line. I'm going to stay behind them and trust them, and we have to trust the running game. I'm happy where the chemistry is at, and with the long camp and practices we've been able to get the timing down.
"Yeah, it's going to be fun," said Patrick of what awaits on Saturday night.
FROM MIKE CHIME: "I originally lived in Mentor from the time I was five years old. I moved here from Indiana. I know most of those guys (the Cardinals), I've grown up with them. I could probably name each number. I've known Tadas (Tatarunas) since he was a young kid. He impresses me as a person and a player.
"I feel that every game, that should be our mindset. That every game is going to be won or lost up in the trenches, up in the front," Mike continued. "But in the end, it doesn't really matter who we play. Our mindset is that we're going to be a tactical unit, ready for combat.
"We're the leaders of the defense, the front seven (the linemen and linebackers). The offensive line is, too. We go against them every day in practice and we make each other better."