By Mr. Eddie Dwyer, Copyright Credit September 2016
Parma, Ohio - As Saint Ignatius' outstanding senior linebacker and captain Adam Shibley said more than once late Saturday night, "This is a different Saint Ignatius defense."
And unlike last season, when the Mentor Cardinals racked up 823 yards of offense in a 63-56 shootout victory over the Wildcats in Mentor, that "different" defense was more than Coach Steve Trivisonno's Cardinals could deal with.
Saint Ignatius, with its Hall of Fame Head Football Coach Chuck Kyle '69 describing his team's performance as a true team victory, with the highest mark going to the defense, dominated Mentor in the second half and went on to a resounding 49-7 victory on Byers Field in Parma's Robert M. Boulton Stadium.
In outscoring Mentor, 35-0, in the second half, the Wildcats snapped a three-game losing streak to the Cardinals and improved to 2-0 on the young season.
Mentor, which was coming off a 57-point performance in a one-sided victory over the Massillon Tigers, now stands 1-1.
Coach Trivisonno's Cardinals entered Saturday night's headliner as the ninth-ranked team in cleveland. com's "Super 25" state poll, 11 spots higher than Saint Ignatius. What is it they say about polls?
"This has been the goal since freshman year, to come out here and beat these guys," said Shibley, referring to the three-game losing streak to Mentor. "All offseason this was in our minds, this is the one we had to win. Our defense brought it, just like we always do. Last year, wasn't us. Look out for a new defense, we're here."
That new defense, combined with an offense that featured the leadership and athleticism of senior quarterback Patrick Ryan, an authoritative ground game led by the 1-2 punch of junior tailback Mark Bobinski and senior tailback Jimmy Andrews, a deep receiving corps, and one of the top offensive lines in all of Ohio, sent a large chunk of the Mentor faithful heading for the highway after the third quarter.
"Just hard work in the offseason, getting stronger," said Shibley of a 2016 front seven on defense that made things miserable for Mentor's talented junior quarterback Tadas Tatarunas for almost the entire game. Yes, the same young man who passed for 531 yards and four touchdowns versus Saint Ignatius last season.
Tatarunas was 7-for-16 for just 97 yards on Saturday night.
"We play with pride and passion, I just love these guys," added Shibley.
After Saint Ignatius moved to a 14-0 lead on a pair of 2-yard touchdown runs by Bobinski and two extra-point kick by multi-skilled junior Matthew Trickett, who also excels for the Wildcats' state and nationally acclaimed soccer program, Mentor got back in the game on a 47-yard touchdown pass from Tatarunas to junior wide receiver Derek Kleinhenz with 52 seconds left in the first half.
Following a fumble recovery at the Wildcats' 29-yard line with 35.7 seconds on the first-half clock, the Cardinals were threatening again.
But up stepped 'Cats' senior defensive back Matt Wiegandt, who intercepted a pass in the left corner of the jumbo screen scoreboard end zone. Matt's clutch effort came after Tatarunas was flushed from the pocket and had to throw on the run. Matt is a rare two-sport captain for this school year - football and hockey.
Coach Kyle was very pleased not only with his defense, but the balance the Wildcats displayed on offense in the second half.
Clinging to that seven-point halftime lead, Saint Ignatius came out for the third quarter and began to play as flawless as the perfect thumbnail moon that made itself comfortable over the visiting side of Byers Field.
With Andrews picking up tough, second-effort yards and Ryan, a first-year starter, running the offense like a savvy veteran, the Wildcats outscored the Cardinals, 21-0, in the third quarter. Saint Ignatius' take-charge attitude in the third quarter featured touchdown runs of 2 and 30 yards by Andrews and sandwiched in between Andrews' TDs was a 21-yard touchdown sweep over the left side by Ryan off a keeper that displayed Patrick's speed and vision.
It was Katy Bar the Door after Bobinski powered his way into the jumbo scoreboard end zone from 7 yards out and, following the PAT by Trickett, the OHSAA deficit rule of a running clock came into play with 6 minutes and 23 seconds remaining in the game.
As for Saint Ignatius' final touchdown, it was only fitting that it came from the defense - a 43-yard pick six by senior linebacker Justin Perpar. The Wildcats also had an interception in the first half, a leaping effort by senior corner Alex Ringfield.
"We're motivated every week, but I think this week we were excited about this game," said Bobinski, who rushed for 138 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries. Bobinski is from St. Mary's of Mentor Parish. "Our offensive line did an excellent job, all credit to them and the receivers blocking down field. The defense did a great job shutting them down. It was hard-nosed, good football out there.
"There was some motivation coming in, with everybody from The Plain Dealer (cleveland.com) picking us to lose," Mark continued. "It's truly special to come out here and do what we did tonight and with the way we prepare, I'm confident we can keep this going."
GETTING THEIR KICKS: Along with Matt Trickett's place kicking, senior Colin Goodfellow, an All-Ohio punter in 2015, was constantly forcing Mentor to start drives at its 20-yard line with booming kickoffs out of the end zone. A couple of Colin's kiss the sky efforts flirted with Saint Ignatius' outstanding Marching Band, which was sitting in the Day Drive end zone.
SOME NUMBERS TO CHEW ON: Saint Ignatius rushed the football 45 times for 263 yards. Patrick Ryan passed for 165 yards and rushed for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Mentor was limited to 50 yards rushing on 23 carries.
The Wildcats totaled 428 yards of offense on 69 plays and the Cardinals ran 41 plays for 147 yards.
Jimmy Andrews rushed for 79 yards and two TDs on 14 carries and leading the 'Cats' receivers were Travis Pot with 3 receptions for 38 yards, tight end/linebacker James Leyden with 2 catches for 44 yards, and Connor Kennedy and Ryan Cook, who each had two receptions for 30 and 26 yards, respectively.
Saint Ignatius was 10 of 13 on third-down conversions and Mentor was 1 for 8 on third down. The 'Cats led in first downs, 26-7, and in time of possession, 29:49 to 18:11 for the Cardinals.
Saturday night's encounter was the 20th game in the Saint Ignatius versus Mentor gridiron rivalry, with the 'Cats now leading the all-time series, 12-8.
LOOKING BACK: Saint Ignatius' 49-7 triumph over Mentor on Saturday night was the largest margin of victory in the series since 2009, when the 'Cats defeated the Cardinals, 47-7. Leading the defense in 2009 was All-Seven County area, All-District and All-Ohio linebacker Jake Ryan, who went on to a great career as a Captain for the Michigan Wolverines and is currently a starting linebacker for the Green Bay Packers. Patrick Ryan is Jake's cousin.
The Wildcats opened their state and national championship season of 1989 with a 43-2 victory at Mentor.
UP NEXT: Saint Ignatius returns to Byers Field on September 10th to face the Valley Forge Patriots at 7 PM.