By Mr. Eddie Dwyer, Copyright Credit October 2016
From Dwight C. Ballenger Feld in Memorial Stadium on the campus of Otterbein University: All week long, the scouting reports singled out how Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller's defense was exceptional when it came to defending the run.
Well, you know what? When it comes to defense, the Saint Ignatius Football Wildcats are awfully good at shutting down the run and the pass.
In fact, what it came down to in the Wildcats' thorough 38-7 victory over Archbishop Moeller on Friday night at "Smokey" Ballenger Field, was Saint Ignatius' ability to do a lot of exceptional things on both sides of the ball.
Under the direction of Hall of Fame Head Coach Chuck Kyle '69, the state's fifth-ranked Division I team jumped on the Fighting Crusaders early and often, and wore down Archbishop Moeller, 38-7.
Eleven-time state champion Saint Ignatius, now 7-1, strengthened its position for what would be the 'Cats' 27th OHSAA playoff appearance since 1988 by limiting the Crusaders to a net 15 yards rushing and a total of 214 yards on 53 plays.
The Wildcats, who were also National Champions in 1989, 1993 and 1995, and a National Runner-Up in 2008, did, in the words of multi-skilled senior quarterback Patrick Ryan and Coach Kyle, play a complete game in the atmosphere-rich facility known as Memorial Stadium.
So complete that it had nine-time state champion Archbishop Moller on its heels in the first half searching for answers.
Saint Ignatius, which experienced a 55-52 loss to the Crusaders last season that went a long way in preventing the Wildcats from qualifying for the playoffs in 2015, is the team that is on a mission this fall.
The victory by Archbishop Moeller last year was the Crusaders' only triumph in what are now seven meetings with Coach Kyle's 'Cats on the gridiron.
"Adam Shibley (Wildcats standout senior linebacker/captain) said we had to play a complete game without turnovers," said Ryan, who is a cousin to former Saint Ignatius All-Ohio linebacker, University of Michigan standout and current Green Bay Packers defensive mainstay Jake Ryan. "We're ready for St. Xavier and St. Eds."
The traditional home-and-home Week 9 matchup with another of the Queen City's best, the St. Xavier Bombers, will take place on October 22 at 2 PM on the Bombers' Tom Ballaban Field in St. Xavier Stadium and the 54th meeting with longtime West Side rival and two-time defending Division I state champion St. Edward is Oct. 29 at 6 PM in the Browns' First Energy Stadium.
A victory in either one of those rivalry games should return to the Wildcats to their familiar place in the OHSAA postseason and a sweep would most likely secure a first-round home game.
As for Friday night, Saint Ignatius took the opening kickoff and, behind the passing and running of Ryan, the receiving and authoritative yards after the catch by tough and talented senior tight end/linebacker James Leyden, and the powerful running of senior tailback Jimmy Andrews, marched 93 yards on 12 plays.
Ryan, displaying the exceptional vision that Coach Kyle commented on after the game, scored on a 10-yard keeper over the left side and, following the extra-point kick by junior Matthew Trickett, the 'Cats led, 7-0, with 6:28 remaining in the first quarter.
With hard-nosed veteran defensive linemen Mike Chime and Joe Gibbons setting the tone for Defensive Coordinator Ryan Franzinger '02 with sacks on Archbishop Moeller's first offensive series, the Crusaders were forced to punt from their end zone.
Taking possession at its 45-yard line, Saint Ignatius covered the 55 yards in 10 plays with Ryan doing the honors again, this time on a 1-yard keeper behind the block of All-Ohio senior center/captain and East Carolina recruit John Spellacy.
Trickett, who is also a mainstay for Coach Mike McLaughlin's seven-time state champion Soccer Program, was money on the PAT and it was a 14-0 game with 8.3 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Experiencing what all of Saint Ignatius' opponents have encountered this season, that field position is hard to come by when going up against an All-Ohio kicker/punter in senior Colin Goodfellow, Archbishop Moller did produce some offense during its first possession of the second quarter.
Moving from its 20-yard line to a first down at the Wildcats' 38, Moeller's drive was stalled when 'Cats savvy cornerback/captain Matt Wiegandt broke up a pass play off a fourth-and-3 from the Saint Ignatius 31. Matt will also serve as a captain this winter for Coach Pat O'Rourke's defending State Champion Ice Hockey Program.
After Moeller forced Saint Ignatius to punt, the Wildcats' defense came to the fore again behind aggressive senior linebacker/captain Johnny Velotta.
Johnny V's pursuit and tackle resulted in a 2-yard loss on first down and two plays later Johnny pounced on a fumble.
In the final minutes of the first half, Ryan helped engineer a 9-play, 66-yard drive that featured the tough-as-nails running of Andrews and was capped by an 18-yard field goal by Trickett. The place kickers from both teams had to deal with the narrower college goal posts.
Early in the second half, Saint Ignatius took full advantage of a shanked punt by the Crusaders that went out of bounds at the "Big Moe" 44.
Seven plays later, Ryan scored again from the 1-yard line and Trickett's PAT was high and true en route to a 24-0 lead with 8:13 to go in the third quarter. Fueling the drive were the sure hands and runs after the catch by Leyden.
Archbishop Moeller, whose playoff aspirations suffered a major blow with a loss that puts them at 3-5, cut the deficit to 17 points on an impressive 11-play, 80-yard drive that was capped by a 4-yard TD pass from senior quarterback Evan Ernst to junior wide receiver Eric Wills and the ensuing extra point by Thomas Capano.
The night belonged to Ohio City's Jesuit Preparatory School, however, as Ryan combined with oh so promising junior wide receiver Connor Kennedy on a 42-yard touchdown pass that Coach Kyle described as a "beautiful pass." Kennedy never had to break his stride on a scoring strike that was set up by an interception by Saint Ignatius' athletic 6-foot-4 senior defensive end Michael Czaja.
A fumble recovery by "Cats senior defensive back Alex Ringfield at the Moeller 27 led to the final points of the night, a 1-yard touchdown run by Andrews and another extra point by Trickett.
With Andrews picking up 91 yards on 17 carries, Saint Ignatius rushed for 195 yards. Ryan completed 8 of his 9 passes for 130 yards with Leyden hauling in five of those throws for 74 yards.
The Wildcats ran 56 plays for 325 total yards and Archbishop Moeller's Ernst was 22-of-34 through the air for 199 yards.