It's the Varsity and JV Mini Camp 2 wrap up from Wasmer Field on the campus of Saint Ignatius High School.

 

 By Eddie Dwyer

 

 Ohio City - Following the end of the 2017 Varsity Football season, Saint Ignatius wide receivers coach Jack Hyland '14 wasted little time in selecting the young men he would be calling on to show the way in 2018.    

 

 "I met with Nigel and Luke in the offseason and told them they were the experienced duo, that we would have pretty much a whole new crew (of receivers) coming back," said Coach Hyland in referring to seniors Nigel Drummond II and Luke Cooper. "Nigel is probably the most experienced of the bunch and Luke filled in when we needed him last year, he stepped up a little bit.

 

 "I'm really looking to them for leadership," continued the man who was a former mainstay at wide receiver for the Wildcats.

 

 Saint Ignatius fans will fondly recall one of Drummond II's big moments last fall, when Nigel out-maneuvered a highly touted St. Edward defensive secondary and hauled in a 43-yard pass that set up the game-winning touchdown in a 17-10 victory over the Eagles at a packed Lakewood Stadium, aka "The Madhouse on Madison."

 

 In discussing some of the other receivers he is expecting to come to the fore in 2018, Coach Hyland said current juniors Erik Daugenti, Dom Fabe and Henry Cook progressed tremendously and by the end of their Junior Varsity season last year were "tearing it up."

 

 There is nothing like depth to help overcome the early season inexperience and the 2018 Wildcats certainly have that. That, and a gifted tight end in 6-foot-5, 227-pound junior Sam Daugstrup, a young man who can stretch the defense.

 

 "Sam will be unique," said Coach Hyland. "We haven't really had a true tight end in our offense for a couple of years. He will be versatile, we can both bring him in and flex him out. He's still a true tight end, but he has nice speed as well. We're counting on him to have a big year."

 

 Coach Hyland emphasized how pleased he is with the work his receivers are putting in and that all reports from Saint Ignatius' outstanding Director of Strength and Conditioning, Mr. Anthony Rubino, are positive.

 

 COOL HAND LUKE: Just moments after Coach Hyland spoke of the leadership role Luke Cooper will be called on to play this season, Luke came up with a highlight-reel diving catch near the Lorain Avenue end zone.

 

 RUNNING TO DAYLIGHT: Turning in some nice burst and vision runs during Monday's 7-on-7 matchups were junior Jack Welcsh, senior Declan Boldy, who is fresh off a State Championship Rugby season, and promising sophomore Mike Simcak.

 

 Helping provide that space was an offensive line anchored by versatile senior co-captain and center Grant Abbott. We will give you a look at how the O-Line is progressing next week.   

 

 A CASE FOR THE DEFENSE: The D-Line had its moments on Monday afternoon and the defense as a whole laid down some nice coverage in the red zone.

 

 TIME PASSAGES: During Monday's Junior Varsity linebacker drills under Coach Ryan Franzinger '02 and Coach Benjamin John Rossi '20, this corner learned that sophomore LB Danny Krebs is the son of former Wildcats outstanding and multitalented tight end Pat Krebs '93. After helping Saint Ignatius to its fourth Division I State Football Championship in 1992, Pat earned a four-year scholarship to Villanova. As I told Danny, I was privileged to cover and report on his Dad for The Plain Dealer.

 

 JUST A CORNER'S VIEW: In this old gridiron grinder's humble opinion, sophomore linebackers Aidan Hubbard and Aidan Conway are going to continue the solid play they displayed as freshmen and fulfill their promise at the next levels.

 

 THE GOOD HANDS CLUB: Along with Luke Cooper, sophomores Alec LaSpina, Michael Morgan and Chris Snyder put their receiving skills on display. Former Wildcats football great and current Assistant Coach Mark Ruddy '90 was very impressed with the athleticism Snyder displayed during the JV drills.

 

 JACK KENNEDY HAS A MEMORABLE VISIT TO NORTHWESTERN: The Wildcats' gifted senior running back/defensive back/wide receiver attended a special one-day camp at Northwestern that took place in the new Ryan Fieldhouse Walter Athletics Center multi-million dollar indoor facility.

 

 Jack, who is coming off a solid track season, emphasized that there were about 300 colleges/universities represented. He said he talked with numerous coaches, including those from Davidson, Yale, Brown, the University of Chicago and of course Holy Cross, where his brother Connor '18 is furthering his education and athletic career. Jack added that he talked with the Yale and Davidson coaches the most.

 

 "It was a great opportunity," Jack said, adding that he would like to make his college decision by the end of the summer.

 

 Jack also shared with this corner that the Duke coaches, who were at Northwestern, were very happy with the news that Saint Ignatius' outstanding senior linebacker Tommy Eichenberg was making a visit to Duke.

 

 Looking ahead, Jack, who competed in the 4x100 this spring, said he will be adding the 100 and 200 to his full-time track duties next year.

 

 Have a great rest of the week and we will see you at the Youth Football Camp today (Tuesday) from 1:30 PM to 4 PM on Wasmer Field. The youth camp includes grades 4 to 8.