Ohio City - Saint Ignatius' gifted and gritty freshman tailback Mike Simcak said he and his teammates have been taking a week by week approach to their young 2017 season, knowing that victories like the one the Wildcats' top freshmen team secured on Wasmer Field Friday night were just around the corner.

 With Simcak helping establish the offensive presence in the early going, the defense playing with passion from the get-go and Declan Mangan sending home three clutch field goals, Coach Rodney Gallaway's Gold 'Cats secured their first of what are sure to be more memorable triumphs this fall by defeating the previously unbeaten freshmen team from Euclid, 16-6.

 Saint Ignatius Gold now stands 1-2 heading into a September 16th matchup on the road with the Freshmen Shamrocks from Detroit Catholic Central.    

 "We worked hard tonight, no plays off," said Simcak, whose 2-yard touchdown run, the ensuing extra-point kick by Mangan and a 29-yard field goal by Mangan gave the Wildcats a 10-0 lead by halftime. "We do truly have a special group on defense. Once we get to the Varsity level it will be a nice defense that no one will be able to score on.

 "It feels amazing, the first win as a Wildcat," Simcak continued. "It feels real nice."

 With Aidan Conway, Drake Larson, Aidan Hubbard  and Nick Velotta roaming with passion from their linebacker positions and some aggressive play up front from Chris Adler, Ashauni Suhak and Luca LaSpina, to name a few, Saint Ignatius' Freshmen Defensive Coordinator Pat Hopkins '14 watched his young 'Cats keep Euclid pinned deep in its territory for most of the night. The Panthers are now 2-1.

 After Mangan, the young man with the gold spikes, went through his halftime ritual of kicking from different angles and distances, Saint Ignatius extended its lead to 13-0 off a high and true Mangan field goal from 35 yards out with 5 minutes and 19 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

 Mangan's second of his Friday night trifecta was set up by a shanked punt by the Panthers and sure-handed receptions from tight end/wide receiver Nicholas Lamirand and wide receiver Chris Snyder. Snyder's clutch catch was a diving effort along the home sideline.

Wildcats starting quarterback JP Tijanich gave his Offensive Coordinator Mark Ruddy '90 a solid performance on a perfect early September night that included the traditional blue-gray sky.

 Euclid, behind two highlight-reel receptions by wide receiver Delonte Mark, cut the deficit to 13-6 on a leaping touchdown catch by Mark in the left corner of the scoreboard end zone. The Panthers' two-point conversion attempt failed with 3:02 to go in the third quarter.

 After Mangan closed out the scoring by sending home another 35-yard field goal that kissed the sky in the Lorain Avenue end zone with 24.3 seconds left in the third quarter, Saint Ignatius' secondary came up big down the stretch with an interception by the ever-present Jack Dunstan off a tipped pass, a key pass breakup by Dunstan and some tight and heady coverage by the active Andrew Chime.

 "For me, it all depends on the first kick," Mangan said after the Wildcats sang the Alma Mater in front of St. Mary of the Assumption Chapel on the campus of Saint Ignatius. "It's great to have a nice first kick and then after that it's kind of like a rhythm.

 "Now we have momentum," Mangan said of the Wildcats' first victory. "That's what we've been looking for."

FROM COACH GALLAWAY: "Obviously, they have some good athletes," Coach Gallaway said of the Panthers. "We just played good defense and we shut down the run, something we were not able to do earlier this season. We did some good stuff on offense, but some of it wasn't great. We will clean that up. They were all freshmen-type errors."