By Mr. Eddie Dwyer, Copyright Credit October 2016
Cleveland, Ohio - Sitting in the Coaches Office after practice on Tuesday, Saint Ignatius' veteran defensive line of seniors Mike Czaja, Joe Gibbons, Mike Chime and Patrick Viancourt took time out to talk about the challenges that await in the trenches Saturday night, when the 8-1 Wildcats take on West Side rival St. Edward (7-1) in the regular season finale at the Cleveland Browns' FirstEnergy Stadium.
The kickoff will be 6 PM for a gridiron series that has seen St. Edward win the last two meetings and cut its all-time deficit in the rivalry to 28-24-1.
It always seems there is more at stake than just pride or bragging rights when these two Catholic School powers get together in late October, and Saturday night will be no different.
According to the latest computer playoff ratings by the OHSAA and playoff guru Joe Eitel, record 11-time Division I State Champion Saint Ignatius stands seventh in Region 1 and "controls its own destiny" in pursuit of what would be a 27th OHSAA playoff appearance since 1988.
The top eight teams in each of the state's regions at the end of the regular season qualify for the annual OHSAA playoffs, which begin for Division I on November 4. The Wildcats are looking to return to their traditional spot in November after not qualifying for the playoffs last season.
A first-round home game is awarded to the top four teams in the regions and the Football Cats could possibly earn that distinction if they defeat St. Edward.
The two-time defending Division I State Champion Eagles of Coach Tom Lombardo enter Saturday's game sitting atop Region 1 and having already clinched a playoff spot.
When you look at the 54th meeting between St. Edward and Saint Ignatius, one thing stands out for this old-timer, who has been privileged to cover and report on this special rivalry since the early 1980s. The Wildcats, who enter Saturday's game as the underdog according to cleveland.com and other .com pigskin "experts," have a significant size advantage up front on both sides of the ball.
"Their offensive line is tough and physical," said Saint Ignatius' versatile defensive end/linebacker Mike Czaja, who has made some exceptional plays for the Wildcats down the stretch, including dropping into pass coverage and giving gifted senior linebacker/tight end James Leyden an occasional breather. "We've seen that physical play from Archbishop Moeller, St. Xavier and Detroit Catholic Central, we've seen it all year. The coaches have put in a great game plan. We go out there and execute it. Just look at the results. So far this season it's been pretty good."
Saint Ignatius will take the field in FirstEnergy Stadium on Saturday night having outscored its nine opponents, 346-73. The Cats' only setback came in Week 4 at Detroit Catholic Central, a 28-21 overtime loss. The Shamrocks of Novi, Michigan are 9-0.
"I would say their run blocking is very good," Czaja continued in reference to the Eagles' O-Line. "They definitely come down and double team and the search guard pulls. They do a bunch of stuff. I think in practice, with what Coach Cicetti (Cats Defensive Line/Linebackers Coach Dave Cicetti) is doing with his drills, he is getting us prepared pretty well for the game."
Senior defensive end/special teams standout Patrick Viancourt said St. Edward's O-Line is "certainly not one of the bigger offensive lines we've gone against this year.
"The thing people overlook at times, however, is that even though their line might be a bit smaller than in the past, they're explosive," Vinacourt continued. "Last week going against St. Xavier, their guys were super tall and it was easier to get underneath them. This week is kind of like a switch in technique, you've got to be a lot lower."
Although Viancourt and Company were able to get a tremendous rush on Eagles quarterback Kevin Kramer on the Junior Varsity level, they have seen the significant development in Kramer's game, who is now a senior.
"I would say he has gotten better and better in escaping the pocket and avoiding the rush," said Viancourt. "He's a much better scrambler, so we're really going to have to watch out for him and be on top of that if he pulls the ball down and runs."
Senior defensive end Mike Chime, who is having an All-District and All-Ohio season, said it is obvious that St. Edward's line is doing something right with the Eagles being No. 1 in Region I. St. Edward and Saint Ignatius are ranked 4th and 5th, respectively, in the Associated Press big-school State Poll and it's the Eagles at No.1 and the Cats at No. 2 in cleveland.com's Northeast Ohio Top 25.
"They definitely look good on film," said Chime, who has been a force up front against the run and the pass. "They seem to know their system well and they run it accordingly. They're system guys and they see the objective of the play and run it very well."
Saint Ignatius' tough and relentless man in the middle up front, senior Joe Gibbons, said it is "all about beating the blocks," when the subject of St. Edward's productive senior tailback Curtis Szelesta came up. Szelesta, who is also a gifted hockey player, has been a big-play, dual-threat all season for Coach Lombardo.
"Defeating the blocks, rather than us just tackling him," Joe continued. "We have to fill our gaps, beat the blocks and then we can tackle him easily.
"His big plays, he has really good blocking," said Joe. "If you noticed in the Moeller game, holes opened up. We've faced some good backs this year, but we've been able to keep our gaps and just corral them, not letting them get space."
The holes that opened up for Szelesta in the Eagles' 24-21 victory over Archbishop Moeller in Cincinnati last weekend enabled him to score on a 55-yard run and a 66-yard catch and run. Curtis finished with 137 yards on 23 carries.
"Gibby," as some of Joe's teammates refer to him, is no stranger to many of the Eagles, as Joe played grade school football with Kramer and St. Edward's standout senior safety Kevin Dever, among others, at Our Lady of Angels in West Park. OLA has always produced a lot of St. Edward students over the years, but now it is almost even in the number of eighth graders from OLA who attend Saint Ignatius.
"I know him real well," said Gibbons of Kramer. "He has a real good arm. We have to get to him, which I think we will."
Chime said that Kramer has improved a lot and is stronger physically. "He also sees who his playmakers are, like Kordell Hoover, who is a good receiver, and Szelesta, and let's them make plays," Mike said. "He knows how to find his playmakers very well."
The Eagles have also pulled off some surprise plays this fall, including having Kramer swing out of the backfield and catch a touchdown pass.
"How you stop that is to be very disciplined, from our line to our linebackers," Gibbons said. "We can't let them dictate to us. If we stop the run and get to the quarterback, that will stop them from even running that stuff."
FROM SAINT IGNATIUS' HALL OF FAME HEAD COACH CHUCK KYLE '69: "You really have to give them a lot of credit, because that was a pretty heavy graduation scenario," Coach Kyle said of the number of mainstays St. Edward graduated from last year's state championship team, including All-Ohio workhorse tailback Cole Gest, now playing for the Hoosiers of Indiana.
"They've done a nice job of retooling and coming out and playing quality football. They are already in the playoffs. Offensively, their running game is still solid. Curtis Szelesta has gotten really good yardage for them. He has good vision, acceleration and makes the good cuts. Kordell Hoover is their primary receiver, but they have a good balance with their offense.
"They are always a good defensive team that runs to the ball. What was really obvious in the film is that they get their reads and they're attacking. That's how they've always played. They want to get a three-and-out and get the offense on the field. It's a defense that has given their offense some good opportunities this year for shorter drives.
"It's a great matchup, we're playing well, they're playing well. To beat this type of team it's about balance on offense, and we've been getting that."
Coach Kyle and his staff have to prepare for being without gifted senior tailback Jimmy Andrews , who was having an outstanding season before suffering a broken left arm in last weekend's victory at St. Xavier. Jimmy combined with junior tailback Mark Bobinski in giving the Wildcats one of the top 1-2 punches in the state.
Saint Ignatius will turn to seniors Dean Stowers and Nicholas Kilbane to help fill the significant void.
AROUND THE CORNER: If I may, just let me say that Jimmy Andrews is not only a special athlete, but the epitome of class as a young man. As this reporter of many years was walking on Wasmer Field Tuesday afternoon, Jimmy, just three days after his Wildcats career came to an end, hustled over to me with his arm in a sling and thanked me for the coverage I gave him throughout his athletic career at Saint Ignatius.
Jimmy, the Thank You comes from this old-timer for the kindness and constant respect you gave me over these four years and all of the wonderful sports conversations we've had on Wasmer Field from the summer heat to November's chill. I know your teammates and coaches at Saint Ignatius, along with your friends Kevin Dever and Kevin Kramer from St. Edward, are pulling for a smooth recovery as they realize, like I have, that you are a great person, a great friend and a great teammate.
ONE LAST TIME: As I have always said and reported again in Monday's Where the Cats Play, the greatest game I ever had the privilege to cover and report on in my 36-plus years at The Plain Dealer was the 1993 Saint Ignatius versus St. Edward triple overtime thriller at Lakewood Stadium, aka "The Madhouse on Madison," won by the Wildcats, 35-34.
Second on my all-time reporting list is the 1989 second-round playoff game between the Wildcats and the Robert Smith-led Euclid Panthers, won by Saint Ignatius, 31-30, at then Baldwin-Wallace College's (now University with no hyphen) Finnie Stadium.
We'll see you at football practice later today and then later this evening for the Soccer Cats versus Rhodes 7 PM District Semifinal on Wasmer Field