Following a two-hour scrimmage / practice with the Solon Comets, the Wildcats gathered around Head Football Coach Chuck Kyle '69. The Hall of Fame coach asked his Saint Ignatius student-athletes, "Did we improve today?"
The answer from the 11-time champion? "Yes, we did, men."
The Wildcats and Comets came together on Wasmer Field on Tuesday morning, taking part in combined drills and 11-on-11 work. No score was kept, but each team showed improvement over the 2-hour timeframe of the scrimmage.
The festivities began with special teams. Saint Ignatius and Solon started with punt team, continued with kickoffs, and concluded the first portion of the morning with extra points.
Connor Cmiel and Dominic DeVengencie saw time as kickoff returners, with Zach LaPorte and Nigel Drummond mixing into the action. Pat Otter stole the special teams show for the Wildcats, booting punts of over 45 yards in the air, sending kickoff returns into the end zone for touchbacks, and converting all of his extra points.
"Pat got his kickoffs in the end zone and his extra points were fine," Kyle said. "He's a very good punter, it's great to see that, they're high and long. We're trying to develop the younger guys so they can give Pat a little more of a break. To do all of the kicking in a long season, Matt Trickett did it last year and there were times when his knee bothered him a little bit because that's a lot of kicking. As a kicking group, we're not going to make Pat do every kick."
Next up came 7-on-7 offense vs. defense and offensive vs. defensive line drills. The Wildcats' secondary started off well, only allowing one significant completion on a deep ball. Jack Welcsh seeing time as a strong safety near the line of scrimmage on several plays and Tommy Eichenberg's outstanding play at linebacker stood out the most on defense.
Senior Patrick Delahunty took first-team reps at quarterback, completing some nice passes. Delahunty showed skillfulness in the short game, including on a ball to Nigel Drummond across the middle. Junior Griffin Hanna also did well at QB, finding Connor Cmiel on a well-run post route. Hanna stepped up in the pocket effectively and found solid checkdowns.
Cmiel, who played both at wideout and cornerback today, enjoyed the scrimmage.
"I had the one touchdown during the skeleton drill on a post route, that was a fun play. I like to play on both sides of the ball, it's fun," Cmiel said. "I think we played pretty well. It was a good first contact day against a different team."
Cmiel was one of several players to see time on both sides of the ball on Tuesday. Drummond (WR/CB), Aidan Wells (DL/TE), and Jack Welcsh (RB/S) all figure to play both ways this year.
"They are talented football players, everyone knows that," said Kyle. "We're judicious, we understand if he's played a lot on offense, he's going to get a break on defense. Certain situations, they're in, for others, they're not in. We try to do it that way. They got their time, there were no mental mistakes with those guys."
The scrimmage continued into full 11-on-11 play. The first-team and second-team offenses from both teams each received a shot at driving down the field, with about 10 plays to work with.
Solon's offense sputtered during its first attempt at a drive, as the Wildcats' first-team defense performed wonderfully. The defensive line, in particular, played quite well, stopping Solon's vaunted ground game. With Solon's offensive line showing feisty competitiveness, the Cats returned with a fiery play.
"The defensive line, with Aidan Wells and Zach McMahan and Seamus Cooney, they know what they're doing," Kyle said. "Against the run, with the first groups, we were very good."
The Wildcats' first-team offense started off well. LaPorte hauled in a nice out route from Delahunty for a first down on one play. Grant Abbott played well at center, as did Xavier Everrett at left tackle, opening space for running back Jahadge "Bo" Floyd.
Floyd and the ground attack provided room for Delahunty and the passing game to work. The Wildcats completed the drive with a touchdown, as Cmiel hauled in a short screen pass and followed the offensive line into the end zone.
"I thought we did a very good job," Kyle said of the offensive line. "When you're running the ball, Solon is always tough, they're slanting and blitzing, that can easily get you disoriented. I thought our kids held true to where they were blocking. Our pass blocking was pretty solid, our quarterbacks had time.
"Overall, good, but we have to improve, but you also consider the graduations. But some [of our linemen] do have some experience, and we even knew last year some of the young guys coming up would be good. We saw that today."
The second-team defense stepped up for the Wildcats, too. Chris Velotta forced plays inside with his strong play at safety, making a couple of tackles today. Anthony Gerace also stood out at nose tackle in the 3-3-5, as did Aidan Hubbard on the outside.
Hanna did well with the second teamers on offense, executing a nice playaction pass on a quick slant. Exhibiting quick feet, Hanna showed an ability to step up and throw or run the ball.
Following some JV play on offense and defense, the Wildcats and Comets completed the day with red zone action.
Eichenberg continued to star for the Wildcats on defense, showcasing his trademark aggressiveness. The Comets struggled to block the star all day. Solon did manage to reach the end zone, though. The Wildcats' first-teamers did not score, but Delahunty did connect with Drummond for a pretty playaction completion.
Solon's second-team offense reached paydirt with a pair of nice calls, to which the Saint Ignatius offense responded. Hanna orchestrated a great drive, including a great pass to Drummond and a solid scramble. Bo Floyd completed the day's festivities with a run up the middle for a touchdown.
"I think we can run the football well. That only helps the passing game," said Kyle. "The safeties have to honor the run, now we get some seams out there. The quarterbacks understand that, and I think we got our reads pretty well today. There were a couple times where you saw a guy open, but there was something there, too. That's fine. As long as we're moving the sticks and executing, that's fine."
Many of the eyes in attendance today were trained on the battle at quarterback between Delahunty and Hanna. At the end of the day, the Wildcats' head ballcoach was pleased with what he saw.
"I think we managed the offenses really well," Kyle said. "There are some passes they would like to have back, a couple times just a little off where it could have been a big play. But this is the first scrimmage. There was no confusion on their part, and they were getting everybody to where they needed to be. That's good, that was good to see."
The Wildcats' next scrimmage will be the annual Jamboree game vs. Canton McKinley on Friday, August 17 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium at 7 pm. Before then, look for feature stories on the Wildcats previewing the 2018 season.