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10/23/05

<H1 class=red>Wildcats drop finale, jeopardizing playoff streak

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Sunday, October 23, 2005 Eddie Dwyer

Plain Dealer Reporter

St. Ignatius' chances of an 18th consecutive Division I playoff appearance are out of the Wildcats' hands.

The state's top-ranked St. Xavier Bombers saw to that Saturday afternoon.
St. Xavier, behind another solid performance by its defense and the running of sophomore tailback Darius Ashley, defeated the Wildcats, 22-0, in a nonleague football game at Parma's Byers Field. It was the Cincinnati team's fifth consecutive regular-season victory over St. Ignatius and marked the first time since 1991 that the Wildcats were shut out in a regular-season game.

Villa Angela-St. Joseph defeated the Wildcats, 8-0, in 1991 and Mentor blanked St. Ignatius, 31-0, in the 2003 regional-semifinal playoffs.

With the loss, St. Ignatius drops to 5-4 and will now need help from other teams to keep its postseason streak alive. The Wildcats, who do not have a 10th regular-season game, will await the outcomes of three Friday games - Glenville at John F. Kennedy, Mentor at Euclid and Brunswick at Strongsville. Victories by Glenville, Mentor and Brunswick should give the Wildcats either the sixth, seventh or eighth qualifying spots in Region 1.

"We'll practice [this week] with a positive attitude," said St. Ignatius' coach Chuck Kyle. "And as I will tell those kids in the locker room in a few minutes, the next time we play, the records will be 0-0.

"But if we get in, we get in. And whoever we get, we'll come out and give it all we've got. That's all we can do."

What St. Xavier (9-0) gave Saturday was more than enough as the Bombers got touchdown runs of 27 and 39 yards from Ashley and held a 13-0 lead at halftime. Ashley finished with 136 yards rushing on 19 carries, including 111 yards on 10 first-half carries.

"Backs don't make great runs, great lines do," Ashley said. "Anybody watching the game could see that the holes were huge."

St. Xavier's defense, which has allowed just 45 points this season, limited the Wildcats to 21 yards of offense in the first half, including 1 yard passing. St. Ignatius senior quarterback Rudy Kirbus finished 10-of-22 for 92 yards. He was sacked four times and intercepted three times, with senior cornerback Brad Brookbank coming up with two of the picks.

"We've played two amazing defenses right in a row," said Kyle, referring to St. Edward and St. Xavier. The Wildcats also suffered their third major injury of the season when junior defensive back/wideout Ben Jurevicius injured his shoulder while making a diving, 37-yard reception on the first play of the second half.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

edwyer@plaind.com, 216-999-4677.