By Mr. Eddie Dwyer, Copyright Credit October 2016

From the campus of Saint Xavier High School in Cincinnati.

Trailing the Bombers' Jayvees, 27-18, the JV Cats closed to 27-20 on a safety off a mental error by a St. Xavier defensive back in the end zone with 1:23 remaining to be played.

On the ensuing kickoff, Saint Ignatius got a strong return from running back/defensive back Mitchell Puhalsky and took over at the Bombers' 48-yard line with 1:15 left.

From there, three consecutive second-effort runs by tough and talented tailback Jahadge "Bo" Floyd put the ball on the St. Xavier 24-yard line with 39 seconds remaining and counting.

The Bombers briefly silenced the Cats' momentum by coming up with a sack that pushed Saint Ignatius back to the St. Xavier 34-yard line and forced the Wildcats to call a timeout with 27 seconds to go.

Following the timeout, Wildcats quarterback Patrick Delahunty rolled right from on-coming pressure and found gifted wide receiver Nigel Drummond at the Bombers' 23-yard line.

With 20 seconds left on the next snap, Delahunty had to scramble away from pressure again and Saint Ignatius was faced with a fourth down and a long 4 yards to go from the St. Xavier 19.

Keeping their composure, Coach Paul Yappel's sophomores scored on a perfect pass and catch off the Delahunty to Drummond combination and the Cats trailed, 27-26, with eight seconds remaining on the game clock.

Saint Ignatius called a timeout and decided to go for the win, but a 2-point conversion pass across the middle was batted away and the Bombers sealed the one-point victory by successfully recovering an onside kick.

The Wildcats, who hurt themselves throughout the morning by turning the ball over six times, were able to stay in the game behind touchdown runs of 27, 6 and 17 yards by "Bo" Floyd. Saint Ignatius also showed the ability to move the ball behind the sure hands of Drummond and wide receiver Luke Cooper.

As Coach Yappel and Assistant Coach Dave Cicetti emphasized in the postgame huddle, the young Cats, now 7-2, have to put Saturday morning's loss behind them and focus on the game that carries a special label, Friday night's season finale versus the JV program from St. Edward. The kickoff on Wasmer Field will be 6 PM.