Ohio City - Saint Ignatius' Hall of Fame Head Coach Chuck Kyle '69 and his savvy staff saw pretty much what they expected from their Varsity and Junior Varsity Football Wildcats on Tuesday afternoon and evening - a little rust.
After completing their first month of preseason mini camps in June, the 'Cats had a three-week layoff before returning to Wasmer Field on Tuesday for the first of the final four camps of the preseason, which wrap up on Friday evening.
Then it is on to the start of the official OHSAA practices on Monday, July 31st.
While Tuesday's rusty execution was understood, the Wildcats' staff will be looking for nothing less than a sharpening of those skills and plays for the remainder of this week.
By Friday evening, Coach Kyle wants to see his Wildcats primed for next week.
GETTING THEIR KICKS: Saint Ignatius' standout senior kicker/punter Matthew Trickett was joined by members of the Wildcats' special teams, including senior kicker Drew Alessandro and junior long snapper/holder/wide receiver Sean Wracher, at last weekend's prestigious Kohl's Kicking Camp in Wales, Wisconsin.
FORMER WILDCAT AND HAWKEYE MAINSTAY VISITS WASMER FIELD: A picture-perfect Tuesday afternoon and evening in Ohio City was made even brighter when former Saint Ignatius standout student athlete Steve Bigach '08 paid a visit to Wasmer Field.
One of the finest athletes and human beings this old-timer ever had the privilege to cover and report on during my nearly four decades at The Plain Dealer, Steve garnered Associated Press All-Ohio honors in 2007 and was The Plain Dealer's Cuyahoga County Defensive Player of the Year that same season as a powerful and athletic linebacker.
Steve went on to further his education and football career at the University of Iowa, where he was a Capital One Academic All-District honoree, lettered twice on the defensive line for the Hawkeyes and started all 12 games of the 2012 campaign. He was a two-time Academic All-District selection and a three-time Academic All-Big Ten performer as an integrative physiology major.
Bigach lettered in football, basketball, track & field and lacrosse at Saint Ignatius and received the Wildcats' prestigious John J. Wirtz Athlete of the Year Award for the 2007-08 school year.
"GIBBY" RETURNS TO HIS ALMA MATER: Joe Gibbons '17, a mainstay on the defensive line for Saint Ignatius in 2015 and 2016, is helping Freshmen Head Coach Rodney Gallaway as an Assistant D-Line Coach for the 'Cats' promising ninth graders this season, all 80-plus of them.
Joe, who was an integral part of a defense that helped Saint Ignatius to a Division I State Runner-Up finish in 2016, is also currently working for the newly renovated Edgewater Park this summer. He plans to serve his country by enlisting in the Army and then the pride of Our Lady of Angels hopes to serve Cleveland by becoming a Fireman or Policeman.
God Bless a young man who is as classy as he is talented and determined.
WILDCATS RECEIVERS IMPRESSED WITH THEIR NEW YOUNG POSITION COACH: Saint Ignatius' gifted senior wide receiver Michael Drobnick said Wildcats' first-year Wide Receivers Coach Jack Hyland '14 had "big shoes to fill" in replacing former Saint Ignatius standout Josiah "Juice" Kedzior '04, aka "The Difference Maker."
Kedzior, who had to relinquish the coaching position this season because of family and work-related obligations, was an outstanding football receiver/kicker for Coach Kyle while hauling in passes from current San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brian Hoyer '04. Like Hoyer, Josiah also knew his way around a baseball diamond, to say the least.
"He's kind of like one of us, because he's younger," said Drobnick of Hyland, who also was a mainstay as a wide receiver for Coach Kyle and Coach Kedzior. "We all watch his highlight films and stuff like that. We look up to him, the way he ran his routes.
"I definitely think he is going to have a lot of different ideas to throw at us, different formations and routes," Drobnick continued in reference to Coach Hyland. "Right now he is really stressing our quick out cuts. We do this route where we pound our feet and our hands, making sure our hands are moving. I like the new ideas he has brought to the table, they are going to help us as a whole."
Along with his prowess as one of the area's top receivers, Drobnick is a mainstay for the Wildcats' wrestling program under outstanding Head Coach Mark Sullivan.
TIME TO GET OUT THOSE RUNNING SHOES: Among the Wildcats turning in good 40 times during Tuesday's camp were junior tailback Jahadge "Bo" Floyd, senior tailback/defensive back Matt Viancourt and multi-skilled senior linebacker Logan Joyce.
The running continues on Wednesday, as Coach Kyle continues to emphasize how important those 10- to 20-yard burst times are when it comes to football.