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Red Hot Wildcats Get Set for Marquee Matchup with Rival Eagles

By Brendan DeVenney, 01/11/17, 9:30AM EST

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When Saint Ignatius and St. Edward faced off with each other last season three different times, none of the games disappointed. The Wildcats' 2015-16 season was one none of us will ever forget.

The first matchup featured a double overtime affair on Coach Jim Connors Court at St. Edward High School, where the Wildcats let one slip away, falling 83-80 to the Eagles.

Then, in the regular season finale inside Sullivan Gymnasium, Saint Ignatius broke a six-game losing streak to St. Edward, edging the Eagles 52-49 to head into the postseason. In the playoffs, the Wildcats and Eagles renewed their rivalry in the District Final at the Wolstein Center on the campus of Cleveland State University. Saint Ignatius came out on top and advanced to the Regional Semifinal, winning 58-51.

Last season was fun, there is no doubt about that. And so far this season, the Wildcats have slowly been finding what type of team they are. The Basketball Cats started the season with an 0-2 record with two close losses to Cleveland Heights and Philadelphia (PA) Archbishop John Carroll. Yet, ever since then, the Wildcats have won sure handedly, taking down annual playoff teams in Warren G. Harding, Northland, and St. Vincent-St. Mary.

The Wildcats are now 7-3 and are getting ready for their biggest game of the season thus far. On Friday night, Sullivan Gymnasium will be rocking. The Wildcats will be tested against Head Coach Eric Flannery’s 9-2 St. Edward Eagles for the first of a possible three times this season. And with a 9-2 record, the Eagles must be good yet again, right?

The only answer to that is yes. St. Edward this season has seen premier competition in the early part of the schedule. The Eagles took an air trip to sunny San Diego, California after Christmas and before New Year’s. They competed in the 2016 Under Armour Holiday Classic, hosted by Torrey Pines High School. They started the tournament with a resounding 77-56 victory over Baltimore (MD) St. Frances Academy. That win saw point guard and team leader, Tommy Schmock, put up six three-point field goals for the ninth time of his career. He finished with a game-high 22 points.

Next up for the Eagles were the Falcons from San Diego (CA) Torrey Pines. They were no match for St. Edward, who would remain undefeated at 6-0 with a huge 73-44 victory. This time the leading scorer was Jack Sullivan, a returning guard who, along with Schmock, has the capability of getting hot behind the three-point line, something the Wildcats defense will have to pay attention to at all times. He hit two three’s and led the Eagles with 12 points, while Schmock added 10.

St. Edward then experienced their first loss of the season when they were defeated by El Cajon (CA) Foothills Christian. This game was notable for the Knights’ Jaylen Hands, a UCLA commit, who put up 42 points on the Eagles' defense. It was a rough first loss of the season for St. Edward, but they were able to rebound and finish in third place in the tournament with an 83-79 win over Troy (NY) Redemption Christian Academy. Tommy Schmock put up a game-high 27 points with two treys, and Jack Sullivan put up 18 points on six three’s.

Coming out of the tournament, the Eagles had no rest, playing three games in three days this past weekend. They lost to St. Vincent-St. Mary (a team the Wildcats were able to handle on New Year’s Eve, 72-68) on Friday night, beat Benedictine in a close one on Saturday, and held off Brunswick in the Scholastic Play-by-Play Classic at Baldwin Wallace University on Sunday.

St. Edward is a dangerous team with Schmock, who has turned into one of the best point guards in the state and made the All-Tournament Team in San Diego. He had to take a back seat last year with the superb play of graduates Sean Flannery and Danny Chambers, the Eagles’ leading scorers, but now has taken over the leadership role of Eric Flannery’s ballclub. He is headed to Findlay next season to play for the Oilers.

Along with Schmock, the other returning starters for the Eagles are Jack Sullivan and Kelvin Calhoun. The Wildcats controlled the duo in the District Final last year, as Saint Ignatius forced the Eagles to do things they didn’t like doing last year, which included shooting the three ball.

Calhoun is even bigger this year and stronger at 6’7’’, 275 pounds, and going up against Matt Davet and Austen Yarian will be one of the most intriguing matchups of the night. Calhoun was the Player of the Game in the Scholastic Play-by-Play Classic win over Brunswick, scoring 10 points and made a big impact in the first half.

Another player to watch out for is freshman Grant Huffman, who has taken the program by storm. At 6’2’’, 165 pounds, Huffman is one of three freshmen on the Varsity level for the Eagles. He helped St. Edward spark a fourth quarter run to beat Redemption Christian Academy in California with eight fourth quarter points. He competed in national tournaments before he started high school, and will be battle tested in the hostile environment as a freshman against the bigs of the Wildcats.

The matchups you need to watch for is the point guard battle of Devin Jackson vs. Tommy Schmock. Jackson was able to limit Sean Flannery at Sullivan Gym last year. Will Jackson, along with Michael Spear, be able to take out Schmock this time.

The other key to the Wildcats hanging around with St. Edward is the three-point shooting. In the last two games vs. Saint Ignatius, the Eagles weren’t as good from behind the arc as before. The Wildcats have to watch out for Schmock and Sullivan to release from long range. Last season, the Wildcats had Ryan Berger, Kyle Kalish, and Deven Stover lighting it up from behind the arc. This season, you don’t know who will hit a big one. Michael Spear has turned to be the go-to-guy for Coach Becker from behind the arc, yet Jon Barnes, Matt Davet, and Colin Goodfellow have all been able to knock the three ball down this year.

The final matchup to watch out for is the battle in the paint between Kelvin Calhoun and Matt Davet and Austen Yarian. Davet and Yarian have been able to take out big men before, such as Warren G. Harding’s Derek Culver. Bodies will be flying around underneath the basket when those three go against each other. That could be the difference maker in this game.

This will be the 92nd matchup on the hardwood between the Wildcats and Eagles, with Saint Ignatius leading the all-time series 52-39.

To go along with the hype that this game already has, the celebration of the Saint Ignatius Broadcast Network’s 1,000th broadcast will also take place. Brendan DeVenney ‘17, Matt MacKenzie ‘18, and Matt Harsar ‘17 will be on the call for the Varsity matchup. Brendan Gullick ‘09, founder of the SIBN, will be on air at halftime.

Junior Varsity tips off at 5:30 to begin the exciting night of basketball in Ohio City. This is a game you won’t want to miss!