Cleveland St. Ignatius Wildcats

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ST. IGNATIUS
"Wildcats"
Cleveland



10/19/05

Kirbus was 10 of 22 passing for 141 yards and a touchdown in a 10-7 loss this past weekend.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

link

10/20/05



Cincinnati St. Xavier vs. St. Ignatius

What, when, where: Nonleague game, 1:30 p.m., Parma's Byers Field. Byers is located at the intersection of Ridge Road and Day Drive, adjacent to Parmatown Mall. Call 216-651-0222.

Records: St. Ignatius 5-3; St. Xavier 8-0.

What to watch: The Bombers of St. Xavier enter this game as the top-ranked Division I program in Ohio. St. Xavier is ranked among the top 20 teams in the country in some national polls. Led by senior defensive end and Boston College recruit Alex Albright, the Bombers have yielded just 45 points this season. Keying St. Xavier's offense is sophomore running back Darius Ashley, a player Bombers coach Steve Specht describes as "special."

St. Ignatius, which is a little banged up from last weekend's 10-7 loss to St. Edward, can secure its 18th consecutive Division I playoff appearance by upsetting St. Xavier. A loss to the Bombers will not automatically eliminate the Wildcats from the postseason, but it will put them in a situation where they will need some help from other teams, such as Mentor.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Courtesy of jjhuddle.com......


Quote:
"Holy War" Photo Gallery
by Gary Housteau




In a defensive struggle, St. Edward was able to hold their arch-rival to 123 total yards on 42 offensive plays in the game. At the same time, the Eagles only gained 236 yards on 63 offensive plays. It wasn't the prolific renewal that the fans of the Holy War have become accustomed to in recent years but it was good enough for the St. Edward faithful. The Wildcats are now 0-18 in the series when they score 13 points or less.


Nate Oliver, a top junior prospect, is a leader on the St. Edward defense.

Rudy Kirbus leads the Ignatius offense.

Brandon Frohnapple about to throw one of his two first-half interceptions on this play.

Junior linebacker Pat Mascia was the recipient of one of the errant tosses on this play.





Frank Edmonds rushed for 120 yards on 34 carries but had 75 of them in the fourth quarter.



Edmonds had a 29-yard TD run in the game.

Joe Thomas helped pave the way for Edmonds on the ground.

John Ryan has worn Robby Parris number since he went down with a season-ending injury two weeks ago.

Parris will miss basketball season but should be 100 percent by the summer.

Ironically, Ryan was injured in the game and may be lost for the season if the Wildcats don't make the playoffs.

Thomas plays left tackle for the Eagles.

Kirbus completed 10 of 22 passes for 141 yards and one TD.

Junior Kyle Hubbard hauled in this long pass and advanced it to the five yard line...

...to set up this 21-yard field goal which proved to be the difference in the game.

Hubbard is an imposing prospect at 6-3 and 225 pounds.

Thomas blocked against Ryan much of the game.

Oliver plays some offense as a wideout or in the slot.

Junior Ben Jurevicius has had to step it up at wideout in the absence of Parris.

On this play, Kirbus throws a 2-yard touchdown pass to...

...Ryan to take a 7-3 lead in the third period.

Ryan grabs at his jersey to honor his good friend after making the catch.

Thomas and Ryan battled throughout the game.

Ryan went down with a leg injury in the fourth quarter and didn't return to action.

Thomas had to block Reilly Lauer as well.



Junior tackle Mike DeSantis was no day at the beach for Thomas either.

DeSantis is a legitimate playmaker at defensive tackle.

It's the Holy War.

In the end a 29-yard run by Edmonds won it for St. Edward.

A tremendous defensive effort was responsible for the win as well.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

link

10/23/05

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

</H1>

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.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

scout.com (free)

10/24/05


Quote:
Photo Gallery - St. Ignatius vs. St. Xavier


Darius Ashley is an emerging star.

By Gary Housteau

Date: Oct 23, 2005

Led by the rushing of sophomore Darius Ashley, who recorded 136 yards in the game and scored on two long touchdown runs of 27 and 39 yards, St. Xavier went up early on the home St. Ignatius Wildcats and never looked back. The Bombers defense shut out the Wildcats for the first time during the regular season since the 1991 campaign. St. Xavier, who lost to St. Ignatius in the state title game in 2001, has beaten the Wildcats five straight times in the regular season now. The Bombers won 22-0.

Photo Gallery - St. Ignatius vs. St. Xavier

Sophomore running back Darius Ashley ran for 136 yards on 19 carries including first-half touchdown runs of 27 and 39 yards.

Rudy Kirbus was 10 of 22 for 92 yards with three interceptions in the game. If you look closely on Kirbus' wristband, the number 85 is there for his injured teammate John Ryan.

After a big first half, Ashley was held to just 25 yards in the second half.

Ashley was tackled by Reilly Lauer, #65, on this play.

Senior quarterback Brad Scherer gives the Bombers another running threat in the backfield.







Defensive tackle Marty Kern makes the tackle on Scherer on this play.

Brian Neff, #92, the other defensive tackle, takes down Scherer on this play.



Sophomore linebacker, Nick Schneider, trips up Kirbus on this play.



Ashley breaks open on his 39-yard touchdown run...

...and his gone!

Schneider is destined to be a top prospect in Ohio in two years.

Nick Secue was held in check for the game by a good St. Xavier defense.

Linebacker Alex Albright is one of the leaders of the defense.



Kyle Meyer makes the play on Secue on this play.

The Ignatius offense minus John Ryan and Rob Parris.

Louis Miller, #53, and sophomore Fred Craig, #7, converge on this sack of Kirbus.

Craig celebrates on the sack, one of four on the day for the Bomber defense.







Joe Ries brings down Secue on this play.





Neff stops Ashley on this play.

St. Xavier did throw the ball some later in the game.

Schneider tackles Secue in the end zone for a safety.

Seth Robinson makes a nice gain after a catch on this play.



Matthew McFarland had a touchdown catch for the third offensive score for the Bombers.

It's nearly become a nightmare of a season for John Ryan (on crutches) Rob Parris and Kirbus.
The longterm prognosis is good for both guys who will likely resume their careers at Notre Dame in good health.
The Bombers advance to 9-0 while the Wildcats end their regular season at 5-4.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Here is the playoff pairing for St. Ignatius....Saturday at 7:00pm.

(7) Cle. St. Ignatius (5-4) at (2) Solon (10-0)

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

LINK

11/6/05

<H1 class=red>Comets capitalize against Wildcats

</H1>

Sunday, November 06, 2005 Bob Fortuna


Plain Dealer Reporter
Solon football coach Jim McQuaide felt he needed a close-to-perfect effort from his team to beat tradition-rich St. Ignatius.

He got his wish Saturday night in front of a sold-out Stewart Field crowd.
The Comets, behind senior quarterback/safety Steve Valentino, senior tailback Brandon Shimits and a stingy defense, defeated the visiting Wildcats, 24-14, in a Division I, Region 1 quarterfinal game.

The victory advanced Solon (11-0) to Saturday's regional semifinal showdown against Glenville (11-0), The Plain Dealer's No. 1-ranked team, at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

"We just turned the ball over too much," Wildcats coach Chuck Kyle said. "We were trying to rev-up the running game; we're trying to get field position. It's a tie game, and we turn the ball over."

Solon senior two-way lineman Zach Stolarsky recovered a Wildcats fumble at the 50-yard line with 4:53 left in the third quarter and the score tied, 14-14.

It was one of five turnovers committed by St. Ignatius, and the Comets responded, going the distance in 10 plays and eating up close to 4½ minutes with Valentino finding Shimits for a 2-yard scoring toss. Pat Jacob's extra-point kick put Solon ahead, 21-14.

It was Solon's second touchdown off a St. Ignatius turnover. The Comets' first scoring drive came on a Valentino interception, which led to a 49-yard touchdown by Shimits that tied the game, 7-7, early in the first half.

The No. 3-ranked Comets added some breathing room with 2:30 left to play when Jacob kicked a 30-yard field goal to cap a 15-play, eight-minute march that started on Solon's 20-yard line.

"That last drive was huge to get the three points," McQuaide said. "But the key was when we got the fumble at midfield, drove it down the field and scored to take the lead for good."

The final march was kept alive by a pair of Charles Matthews receptions, one for 12 yards on third-and-5 and the other going for 26 yards.
Matthews, who grabbed a 34-yard pass from Valentino to key Solon's second touchdown that knotted the game at 14-14 at intermission, finished with three receptions for 72 yards.

"Before the game, our coach told us we really haven't established our passing game," Matthews said. "We saw some holes in the [St. Ignatius] defense, and we just executed."

Valentino completed 7 of 12 passes for 114 yards, while Shimits headed Solon's running attack with 140 yards. Senior Nick Secue was the Wildcats' top rusher with 137 yards. He was, however, held to only 23 yards in the second half.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
bfortuna@plaind.com, 216-999-4479

[osugrad21]

Link

Plenty of questions surround youthful St. Ignatius
By CHRIS EASTERLING

In the end, it is a testament to what the St. Ignatius Wildcats have been over the last two decades that a 5-4 record and a first-round playoff exit would bring on such consternation among the Wildcat faithful and Cleveland-area pundits. Not that veteran Wildcat mentor Chuck Kyle is paying attention to such hand-wringing.
“I leave those sorts of things to other people or the news media to discuss,” said Kyle, who is 234-49-1 with nine state championships in his career at the school. “Of the four semifinalists (in the Division I playoffs in 2005), we played three of them (Massillon, St. Edward and Cincinnati St. Xavier). That’s not counting St. Joseph’s Prep out of Philadelphia, which only lost one game last year, or Mishawaka, which won its regional in Indiana. We had a significantly difficult schedule, but in the end, when the dust settled, we still made our 18th straight playoff appearance.
“We lost some close games that could have gone either way. It’s high school football. You’re playing some great teams who made some plays.”
One of those late losses came on Oct. 1, 2005, when the Massillon Tigers gained their first win in nine games against the Wildcats with a thrilling 29-26 victory at Parma’s Byers Field. The two teams will renew what has become an annual meeting this season on Friday, Sept. 29 when St. Ignatius pays a visit to Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
In past years, the Wildcats would bring a team loaded with experience into their showdowns with the Tigers. Not this year, as Ignatius returns just three players who started in last year’s game against Massillon, and only a handful of players who started at all in 2005.
“There’s been years where we’ve had less returning starters,” Kyle said. “We’re fairly green, though. The thing is we have some key areas like quarterback and defensive line where it is still up in the air.”
For years the quarterback at St. Ignatius has been as high-profile a player as there was in Ohio high school football. Players such as Scott Mutryn, Tom Arth, Dave Ragone and the most recent holder of the position, the departed Rudy Kirbus.
However, when the Wildcats tee it up in the Aug. 25 opener against Boardman, chances are the player at the controls of the Ignatius offense won’t have much – if any – varsity experience. Kyle said the competition for the spot is still up in the air between senior Jared Roberts, juniors Pat Ryan and Matt Rosinski and sophomore Andrew Holland, although Roberts appears to have an edge.
“It’s still kind of a coin flip,” Kyle said. “But, in the end, I think you have to go with the senior because of his experience in the program.”
Whoever does land the quarterback spot will have an offensive line anchored by Division I recruit Kevin Koncelik. Koncelik stands 6-foot-4 and weighs almost 285 pounds.
“I think our offensive line is going to be good,” Kyle said. “Kevin is a good ballplayer. He’s very experienced from last year.”
Carrying the ball for the Wildcats will be a couple of speedy players in Ryan Mendelsohn and Matt Merletti. Both players were on the Ignatius track team, something Kyle said a number of players on the roster have in common.
“I think our overall team speed is going to be very good,” Kyle said. “I’m also the track coach, and I know we had a lot of football players on our track team as well. Our sprint group was young, and all of them are on the football team. That’s really encouraging.”
Ignatius’ receiving corps suffered a blow during the offseason when Ben Jurevicius – cousin of Browns receiver Joe Jurevicius – elected to focus more on his baseball career. The unit was already suffering from a number of graduation losses, including Notre Dame-bound Robby Parris.
“We did graduate a number of guys at that spot,” Kyle said. “But we have a committee of kids who have speed. It wouldn’t shock me if we rotated a lot of kids through there. All of them can run and catch pretty well. Right now, to say there’s one name that’s going to be a superstar, I don’t know if I can.”
Defensively, Ignatius returns a trio of starters in linebacker Patrick Hennessey, safety Bryan Sylvester and Merletti at cornerback. However, the rest of the defense is very young.
“We graduated all four of our defensive linemen, and I’m not sure at this moment who is going to step in there and fill those spots,” Kyle said. “I don’t know if we’ll be real big there. We’ll be quick, because I like our athleticism, but nothing huge. But we have to find out who those guys are going to be this year.”
As usual, St. Ignatius finds itself locked into a grueling schedule, albeit a nine-game slate. The Wildcats have home games against Cleveland John F. Kennedy, Mentor, Mishawaka (Ind.), Warren Harding and St. Edward, along with road games at Boardman, Buffalo (N.Y.) Canisius, Massillon and St. Xavier.
“We’re just going to play them and see what happens,” Kyle said. “That’s all you can do.”

[Worm02]

Coach Kyle has done an excellent job with the the Iggy program. They play one of the toughest schedules anywhere every year, and this season will be no exception. I believe that they've made the playoffs 18 years in a row! The crazy thing is that they've won the state title 9 times! That's an amazing accomplishment. I hear that things will be difficult for them this year, but I'll believe it when I see it. I know that they'll be young this year, but everytime I hear the name "Ignatius," I think of a tough playoff contender. We'll see what happens. Best of luck to Iggy this season.

[OhioState49]

When did they start playing St. Xavier? I remember they played in the 2000 state championship. will they play them this year?

[Worm02]

Originally Posted by OhioState8496

When did they start playing St. Xavier?

They've been playing each other every year for at least a few years now. I believe they'll play this year to.

[osugrad21]

CPD

8/9

St. Ignatius tries to get better than even


Tuesday, August 08, 2006 From staff reports
St. Ignatius finished 5-5 last year, including a first-round playoff loss to Solon. It was the program's toughest season since a 4-6 mark in 1982.
However, as he stood near midfield after the first day of practice last week, Wildcats coach Chuck Kyle was as enthusiastic and determined as he has ever been.
"We're going to do it the way we've always done it, as far as kids coming into this school and working with them," said Kyle, who has begun his 23rd season as football coach of his alma mater. "Well take our freshmen, and we'll work with them, and they'll pay their tuition. That's it, that's what we do."
After some key injuries that started during Week 6 of last season, and a schedule that was possibly the most demanding in the school's history (five of St. Ignatius' 2005 opponents lost one game and one went undefeated), the Wildcats heard the criticism, even from some of their fans.
"We're going to have our peaks and valleys, and our valleys aren't bad," said Kyle, who since 1988 has guided the Wildcats to 18 consecutive playoff appearances, nine Division I state championships and three national titles. "That's my point, we'll be OK."
While Kyle's senior class is unsung, it is a hard-nosed bunch with a leave-it-all-on-the-field attitude. Kyle will combine that work ethic with some talented juniors and sophomores. The sophomore class went undefeated as freshmen.
The hype:
"I hope they can [handle it], we'll find out," said St. Edward coach John Gibbons, referring to preseason polls that have the Eagles ranked as high as 12th in the nation. "Everybody's undefeated right now. Obviously, there's a lot of attention being paid to it. Plus the schedule we're playing is probably unprecedented [in Eagles history]."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Among St. Edward's 2006 opponents are Arkansas power Springdale, 2005 Ohio big-school state champion Cincinnati St. Xavier and Chaminade, a state champion from Hollywood (Fla.) that runs a Wing-T offense, has a highly touted offensive line and speed to burn. Chaminade is making the trip to Lakewood Stadium for a Sept. 23 matchup with the Eagles.
-- Eddie Dwyer

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CPD

<H1 class=red>Big plays, Merletti key Wildcats' win

</H1>

Saturday, September 30, 2006 Tim Rogers

Plain Dealer Reporter

Massillon- Two key defensive stands.
Two big turnovers.
And a whole lot of Matthew Merletti.
Add it up and it totals out to St. Ignatius 30, Massillon 16, in front of 12,458 fans in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium on Friday.
Is it time to print the playoff tickets?
Making a strong bid to join the long list of talented St. Ignatius tailbacks, Merletti led the Wildcats to their sixth straight victory - and their ninth win in 10 tries against the Tigers - with a sparkling performance on offense, defense and special teams.
In a game where the Wildcats needed him to shine, the 5-11, 190-pound senior rushed for 221 yards on 31 carries and scored three touchdowns. He caught one pass for a 43-yard gain. He returned two kickoffs for 55 yards. He also found time to intercept a pass - one of three Massillon turnovers - and return it 79 yards for the fourth-quarter touchdown that put the game out of reach.
"He is just a tremendous player," St. Ignatius coach Chuck Kyle said of Merletti, who raised his season total to 909 rushing yards on 130 carries. "He is just one of those kids who comes up with big plays. His vision is very good. If there is a little seam, all of a sudden he is 10 to 15 yards downfield."
While Merletti was easily the offensive player of the game, the St. Ignatius' defense did more than its part, stopping the Ti gers short of the end zone four times inside the 27 and making them settle for field goals or nothing.
The special teams contributed as well. Early in the fourth quarter, with the Wildcats leading, 21-9, senior Brendan Divis recovered a fumbled punt caused when Massillon's Bryan Sheegog and Kevin Massey collided as both tried to catch the ball. That set up a 27-yard field goal by Nicholas Yako.
The turnover that might have hurt the Tigers (3-3) the most came in the third quarter when senior Bryan Gamble, who otherwise was superb with 114 yards rushing, 41 yards receiving and multiple tackles, fumbled at the Ignatius 32. The ball was recovered by junior Emmett Lydon and halted an eight-play drive that had consumed 48 yards.
Although Massey got the ball back by intercepting a Jared Roberts pass three plays later and returning it 26 yards to the St. Ignatius 10, Massillon failed to capitalize. It reached the Wildcats' 7, but junior Chase Steyns and Lydon came up with big stops and the drive died when a fourth-down pass fell incomplete.
"I have to give my guys on the other side of the ball credit," said Kyle, whose team leads its region's computer poll and is ranked sixth in the state and second in The Plain Dealer Top 25. "I am proud of our defense."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
trogers@plaind.com, 800-683-7348

[Buckskin86]

PD Iggy Preseason preview video

cleveland.com: Everything Cleveland

[wadc45]

cleveland.com: Everything Cleveland

Top-ranked St. Ignatius in top form

Sunday, August 26, 2007
Mike Peticca

Plain Dealer Reporter

Expectations aren't relevant, and two-a-day practices are ancient history once the football season begins.

Yet, St. Ignatius lived up to the hype and made its preseason preparations seem worthwhile Saturday night, when it rolled to a 37-7 victory over Boardman.

"The game started off about as well as we could ask," St. Ignatius coach Chuck Kyle said. "All of the nervousness was then gone.

Continued...