By Mr. Eddie Dwyer, with some information documented from an outstanding obituary authored by The Plain Dealer's Grant Segall.
September 2016
From Wasmer Field in The Ohio City - Last season's matchup with Valley Forge on Byers Field was a very special night for Wildcats Hall of Fame Coach Chuck Kyle '69, his wife Pat and their family, as prior to the kickoff the City of Parma Heights and Valley Forge High School paid tribute to Coach Kyle's late father-in-law, Paul William Cassidy.
Mr. Cassidy had a remarkable career as the Mayor of Parma Heights for 43 years. His successor as mayor, Martin Zanotti, described Cassidy as "an outstanding mayor, an incredible family man and an undying patriot.”
Mr. Cassidy, who passed away in July 2013 at the age of 94, won the Distinguished Flying Cross in World War II. He flew 28 missions over Europe and navigated the lead bomber on the first daylight raid of Berlin.
Cassidy practiced law before, during and after his years as mayor. He represented Cox Cable, Parma Community General Hospital and others from offices downtown, in Parma and in Parma Heights, and was an early champion of regional transit, a regional sewer system and strong regional government.
The third of six children, Mr. Cassidy was born in Pittsburgh and sold magazines there when he was just 5 years old. Living in the Glenville area of Cleveland by age 7, he began to deliver newspapers.
Mr. Cassidy graduated from legendary Cathedral Latin School and spent two years at John Carroll University before working at Cleveland Graphite Bronze and attending Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at night.
In 1942, Cassidy married Elise A. Romano and joined the Army Air Corps. He served with the 447th Bomb Group in England.
After the war, Mr. Cassidy represented General Motors to dealers and graduated from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. He joined the Ohio bar in 1947 and moved to Parma Heights a year later. He practiced downtown at first, then in Parma and Parma Heights until retiring in 2009 at age 90.
Mr. Cassidy, said Coach Kyle, loved to read and discuss history, especially topics such as George Washington and the Cival War. In fact, Coach Kyle said his late father-in-law played the major role in the naming of Valley Forge High School, which is appropriately located on Independence Boulevard in Parma Heights and carries the nickname of the Patriots. In 2011, Zanotti told The Plain Dealer, “Paul Cassidy was Parma Heights’ George Washington.”
Coach Kyle grew up in Indiana before his family moved to Parma when he was in the sixth grade. Coach Kyle said he lived near the boarder of Parma and Parma Heights and spent a lot of time in Parma Heights. "I attended a lot of Valley Forge games as a kid," he said.
As part of the recognition for Mr. Cassidy that Friday night of September 11th, 2015, a $1,000 Scholarship was awarded from the Cassidy Family to Valley Forge's outstanding student/athlete and two-way lineman Dustin Nelson from the Class of 2016. Coach Kyle said the Cassidy Family scholarship tradition will continue on Saturday night.
Here is The Corner's preview on what will be the ninth meeting on the gridiron between the Wildcats and the Patriots, and only their second since 1992, when they kick off at 7 PM Saturday on Byers Field in Parma's Robert M. Boulton Stadium.
After a 41-0 victory by the Wildcats last year, the 1,000th game in the history of Saint Ignatius football, the 'Cats lead the series, 7-1. Now senior tailback Jimmy Andrews helped fuel last season's dominant victory by scoring the game's first two touchdowns on runs of 2 and 10 yards.
Coach Kyle, the most successful high school football coach in Great Cleveland and the winningest Division I coach in Northeast Ohio, will be directing his Varsity Football Wildcats for the 408th time on Saturday night.
Saint Ignatius and Valley Forge met in football for the first time in 1986, Coach Kyle's fourth year at the helm of his alma mater. The Patriots came away with a 7-6 victory on a Byers Field that was a muddy quagmire thanks to Mother's Nature's week long rain assault.
After a 35-6 victory over Valley Forge in 1987, the Wildcats, in what was their first state championship season of 1988, rallied to a 14-13 victory over the Patriots when junior quarterback Joe Pickens scrambled away from heavy pressure on a third-and-20 from the Valley Forge 43 and found junior wide receiver Patrick Friend open in the end zone with just over four minutes remaining. The ensuing extra-point kick by Phil Mohr and an interception by senior defensive tackle Dave Vernon helped prevent Valley Forge from pulling off what would have been a major statewide upset.
Coach Kyle's 'Cats would go on to dominate the next four meetings with the Patriots and add another resounding victory in the series last fall.
As for the 2016 Patriots, they stand 0-2, losing to North Olmsted, 39-14, and Revere, 49-33. The Eagles of North Olmsted rushed for nearly 300 yards against the Patriots and limited Valley Forge to 128 yards of total offense.
As per the OHSAA, the Patriots are a Division II, Region 6 program.
FROM COACH KYLE: "Coming in, we thought we matched up well," said Coach Kyle of last weekend's outstanding all-around performance in a 49-7 victory over the always sound program from Mentor. "We spent some time looking at what we needed to work on from last year (a 63-56 loss at Mentor). So we felt good about the game plan and with our lines, we're going to have an effective front, no matter what.
"It was a very nice step," continued Coach Kyle. "Yes, it's early in the year and all of that, but winning that one, it feels like a cloud cleared away (snapping a three-game losing streak to the Cardinals). The kids get a little worried about playoffs all of the time and counting computer points. Well, let's not worry about that right now. Let's focus on becoming a better football team."
Saint Ignatius, now 2-0, will enter Saturday night's game ranked seventh in cleveland.com's Super 25 State Poll. Yes folks, the days of the area-only rankings, when "Cleveland area" teams would get excited if they cracked one of the lower 20 spots in the then Plain Dealer Top 25 poll, are just a fond memory The record 11-time Division I state champion Wildcats entered the Mentor game as the 20th-ranked team in the "Super 25" and as a unanimous pick to lose by the cleveland.com staff.
Hey, everyone's entitled to their opinion. That's what makes polls so contagious and fun.
"Valley Forge has moved to doing a Wing-T offense," said Coach Kyle. "Whether it's high school or it's college, you don't see it that often. It's a bit of a problem, because it is so much misdirection.
"They're getting good at it," Coach Kyle said of the Patriots' new offense. "Last week (versus Revere) they scored plenty of points. We have to be disciplined in what we're reading. If we're looking in the backfield we're going to be in trouble. If you look in the backfield and are going the wrong way, and they have a reverse or counter called, look out. So it's a good week to work on those sort of details.
"It's not enough to just be aggressive, we have to read and react to what people do," Coach Kyle continued. "In an offense like that (the Wing-T), first down is so important. You try to get them in second and long, and get them out of their comfort zone."
Coach Kyle said that defensively, the Patriots are in an eight-man front.
"So after our game last week, when we ran it 45 times, I would think that we would see an eight-man front," said Coach Kyle. "But we're the type of team that okay, is that what you're giving us? Well, we have plan B also. On any level, you try to take what the defense is giving you. We feel we're prepared for anything the defense tries to take away."
SIBN!: The golden tones of junior Matt MacKenzie on the play-by-play and senior Brendan DeVenney on the color commentary will bring you Saturday night's game live over the Saint Ignatius Broadcast Network.
While I'm on the subject of the SIBN, I would like to congratulate Matt MacKenzie, a great Indians fan who had the opportunity to throw out a first pitch during the recent series with Minnesota. He's too humble to tell me, but I heard it crossed the plate in Sandy Koufax-like fashion.
Have a wonderful rest of the week and weekend, and this old Saint Ignatius of Antioch Wing-T destroyer will see you during a three-day stretch of coverage from Thursday through Saturday.