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.

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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)