By Mr. Eddie Dwyer, Copyright Credit October/November 2016

From FirstEnergy Stadium, the home of the Cleveland Browns.

The Wildcats of Hall of Fame Head Coach Chuck Kyle '69 had too much on both sides of the ball for the Eagles to cope with on Saturday night, as Saint Ignatius stormed to a 20-0 lead by halftime, and brought the OHSAA running clock deficit rule into play with 6 minutes and 27 seconds remaining in the third quarter after the Cats covered 48 yards in just two plays and led, 34-0.

With the victory over their West Side rival, Coach Kyle's Wildcats closed their regular season at 9-1 and wrapped up what will be the storied program's 27th OHSAA Division I playoff appearance since 1988.

Saint Ignatius, winner of a record 11 Division I State Football Championships, will face the Polar Bears from Massillon Jackson (7-3) in a Region 1 first-round matchup on Friday night, November 4th, at Byers Field in Parma's Robert M. Boulton Stadium. Although the official OHSAA final ratings and playoff pairings won't be announced until Sunday, computer playoff guru Joe Eitel has his Region 1 ratings and final playoff status at JoeEitel.com.

The Wildcats, according to Joe Eitel, finished fourth in Region 1 and the Polar Bears of Jackson finished fifth. Under the OHSAA Harbin playoff system, the top eight teams in each of the state's regions qualify for next weekend's playoffs and the top four teams in each region are awarded a first-round home game.

Saturday night's triumph over the Eagles, which was Coach Kyle's 330th career victory in what is his 34th season as the head of his alma mater's football program, extended the Wildcats' lead in the all-time gridiron series with St. Edward to 29-24-1. It also snapped the Eagles' two-game winning streak in the series.

How dominate was Saint Ignatius on the Browns' turf? Well, in building their 20-0 halftime lead, the Wildcats, with big-hearted and gifted junior tailback Mark Bobinski doing most of the damage, outgained St. Edward, 162-18, on the ground.

The Cats, with their offensive line and defense taking control of the game from the get-go, totaled 13 first downs in the first two quarters to St. Edward's 2.

Despite their one-sided setback to Saint Ignatius, the Eagles (7-2) finished second in Region 1 (according to Joe Eitel) and could see the Wildcats again down the road in the playoffs. St. Edward is the two-time defending Division I State Football Champion.

"We knew we had to come out strong," said Saint Ignatius' 6-foot-4, 310-pound senior right tackle Brian Almady, who is part of one of Ohio's biggest, strongest and deepest O-Lines under the direction of veteran coaches Adam Rini '99 and Paul Yappel. "We knew the defense was going to do its job. We had to run the ball. We're a running team, and that's what we had to do."

Although the Wildcats displayed the balance Coach Kyle and veteran Offensive Coordinator Nick Restifo strive for, it was the defense and the running game that set the tempo and had the Eagles on their heels.

Along with the above-mentioned first-half numbers on the ground, Saint Ignatius' final totals showed the Cats with 310 yards rushing to St. Edward's 92 and 120 yards passing off the arm of multi-skilled senior quarterback Patrick Ryan to the Eagles' 72 yards through the air. That's 430 total yards to 164 total yards if you're counting at home.

The first-half, first-down totals of 13-2 grew to 23-5 by game's end.

A good chunk of St. Edward's total offense actually came on the game's first series, when the Eagles, after a booming opening kickoff into the end zone Wildcats by All-Ohio senior punter/kickoff specialist Colin Goodfellow, took possession on their 20-yard line.

Behind the passing of senior quarterback Kevin Kramer, St. Edward marched for a first-and-goal at the10-yard line.

A penalty put the Eagles at the Cats' 1-yard line, but three consecutive runs from the 1 were turned away for no gain, as the Saint Ignatius D-Line and linebackers overpowered St. Edward's offensive line.

The Wildcats' defense came to the fore again when standout senior safety/captain Matt Wiegandt intercepted a pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage and returned the ball to the Eagles' 30-yard line.

After a perfectly executed screen/swing pass from Ryan to Bobinski gave Saint Ignatius a first-and-goal at the 2, the Wildcats, overcoming a false start on first-and-goal, scored on a 7-yard run through a huge hole over the right side by Bobinski. Junior Matthew Trickett kicked the extra point and Saint Ignatius led, 7-0, with two minutes and 4 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

The Cats' defense made its presence felt again when two of the finest linebackers in Ohio, senior captains Adam Shibley and Johnny Velotta, combined on a turnover that saw Shibley soar into the Eagles' backfield for a tackle that jarred the ball loose and Johnny V pounce on the loose ball at the St. Edward 44.

What had the makings of a low-scoring game took on a different complexion in a hurry, as the Wildcats scored 13 points in the final 4:15 of the first half.

After an on-the-money pass and reception from Ryan to senior wide receiver Travis Pot put the ball on the Eagles' 45-yard line for a first-and-10, Bobinski, in almost a blur, soared up the gut of St. Edward's defense and outran almost the entire defensive secondary for a 55-yard touchdown with 2:18 to go in the first half. Another PAT by Trickett made the score 14-0.

With junior safety Justin Sands and senior defensive lineman Joe Gibbons, the man in the middle, making life miserable for the Eagles' offense, Coach Restifo's offense struck on a highlight-reel, 15-yard down touchdown pas from Ryan to the sure hands of junior Sammy Snyder, an effort that saw Sammy make an over-the -shoulder catch while staying in bounds in the left corner of the end zone. It was 20-0 with 4 seconds left in the first half and it stayed that way entering the halftime break.

"It was pretty much what we saw on film, they really didn't do anything new," said Almady of St. Edward's defensive schemes. "They actually stayed away from some of their schemes and didn't blitz as much."

Almady added that it is "so much fun" blocking for Bobinski, who finished with 116 yards on 17 carries to go along with his two touchdowns. "He just gets to the hole and runs for his life. It's easy blocking for him," Almady said.

Saint Ignatius, which from the first day of mini camps to the 95 degree temperatures during two-a-days was determined to erase the bitter taste of not qualifying for the playoffs in 2015, left know doubt on Senior Night in FirstEnergy Stadium by scoring off a 46-yard touchdown gallop by Ryan with 8:26 remaining in the third quarter and a short TD strike from Ryan to senior wide receiver Mike Lehto with 6:27 left in the third quarter.

Senior tailback Dean "The Dream" Stowers, who finished with 62 yards on seven carries, set up the Ryan-to-Lehto touchdown with a 43-yard run to the 5-yard line. The Wildcats also picked up some strong yards from senior tailback Daryl Forrest, who totaled 32 yards on four carries.

The Eagles got on the scoreboard off a late 1-yard touchdown run by Ty Rice and the ensuing extra-point kick by Blaine Stencil.

In what was a scary moment on an otherwise highly successful night, Colin Goodfellow raced after the football off a high snap in the final seconds of the third quarter and, after picking up the ball and getting off a nice running punt, Colin absorbed a hard tackle that resulted in an unsportsmanlike penalty. After being treated by doctors and trainers, Colin was placed on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital. It appeared that Colin had suffered a leg injury, but again there was nothing official on that. We ask that you keep Colin in your prayers.

FROM COACH KYLE: "They're a quick defensive line that gives you slants and twists, and blitzes all over," Coach Kyle said of the Eagles. "It was a hard week, getting everything ready, but I think our kids did a very nice job with it.

"As they (the offensive line) started to get a better feel for it, you saw that Bobinski broke the big run. And the defense, yeah, they're doing some amazing things."

Coach Kyle also singled out how Pat Ryan settled into the game with the adrenaline flowing and went on to do "a great job."

FROM MARK BOBINSKI:  "Unbelievable, I trust those guys with everything we do out there," said Mark of his offensive line. "They just outwork everyone and it shows in the results we have out there. The holes were huge."

Mark added that he and his teammates were and are playing for his running mate, standout senior tailback Jimmy Andrews, whose outstanding 2016 season came to an end last weekend at St. Xavier, when Jimmy suffered a broken arm in the fourth quarter.

JUST FYI, THE CORNER WILL PREVIEW FRIDAY'S FIRST-ROUND PLAYOFF MATCHUP WITH MASSILLON JACKSON ON TUESDAY NIGHT.