Ohio City - Saint Ignatius Freshman Anthony Camino packs a lot of hard-nosed determination into his 5-foot-7, 135-pound frame.

That was never more evident than during the early going of Tuesday night's game versus Cleveland Heights, when Camino somehow came up with a loose football deep in Wildcats' territory, juked a would-be tackler and raced 80-plus yards down the visitor's sideline of Wasmer Field and into the Lorain Avenue end zone.

After the extra-point kick failed, Camino's opening night effort staked Saint Ignatius' Freshmen Blue Team to a 6-0 lead over the talented ninth grade Tigers with 7 minutes and 24 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

On the strength of Camino's heads-up scoop and score, and some timely defense, Coach Rodney Gallaway's young 'Cats held that 6-0 lead entering the second quarter.

Unfortunately for the Blue and Gold, the Tigers' talent eventually came to the fore.

First it was a 5-yard touchdown run by tailback Tavon Williams that knotted the score at 6 and then it was cornerback Chris Wilson, reading the play from the get-go, stepping in front of a pass in the right flat and making the short trip into the Lorain Avenue end zone for a 12-6 Cleveland Heights lead with 6:30 left in the first half. It stayed that way entering the third quarter.

The Tigers, forcing Saint Ignatius to punt from its end zone, took possession at the Wildcats' 33-yard line and two players later, tailback/receiver Adonias Williams scored on a 33-yard run over left side. Adonias Williams added a 2-point conversion run to his TD gallop and the team from Cedar and Lee was up, 20-6, with 1:39 remaining in the third quarter.

Tavon Williams left no doubt by scoring on an 18-yard run and also powering his way across the goal line for the ensuing 2-point conversion. Those eight points increased Cleveland Heights' advantage to 28-6 with 6:44 left to play, and that is how it ended after the Tigers ran out the clock deep in the Wildcats' territory.

From Coach Gallaway: "For adversity sake, I think John Becker played well at quarterback. He had some nice throws. Cole Smith and Nick Lamirand had some nice receptions.

"On the defensive side of things, I think our linebackers in general played pretty well," said Coach Gallaway. "Cole Greenway, Sam Clark and Casey McChrystal were coming up and making some big hits. This was our first game from scrimmage and we played fairly well. But we have a lot to clean up on the offensive line. In my mind it's (the offensive line) the toughest position for a freshman to learn.

"Our defense, in general, played pretty well," Coach Gallaway continued. "They were just on the field too long and got tired. But even there, we have to do a better job securing tackles."

Time Passages: Nick Lamirand is the son of former Wildcat Football great Dean Lamirand, a game-changing impact player who this old gridiron grinder had the pleasure and privilege to cover and report on during my nearly 37 years at The Plain Dealer.