CINCINNATI, OH - The Saint Ignatius Wildcats (1-8) traveled to the Queen City this past Friday to take on their Jesuit rival, the St. Xavier Bombers (6-3). This was the 32nd installment of the match up, and St. Xavier came into the game with a 16-15 advantage. The game also marked the second annual Paul Lammermeier Memorial Game, which honors Paul Lammermeier, a long-time teacher for both schools who lived the mission of a Man For Others.
The game marked the return of Wildcat safety Cody Haddad and quarterback Dane Donovan. Haddad, an Ohio State University commit, has been sidelined since week two against Mentor. Donovan missed one game after suffering an injury against St. Edward. St. Xavier welcomed Chase Herbstreit back to the starting quarterback role this week. Herbstreit, who sustained an upper-body injury a few weeks ago, appeared in the Bomber's week eight match up against La Salle but saw limited playing time, with most of the snaps going to junior Daniel Vollmer.
The Wildcats would start with the football on a perfect night for football at St. Xavier. Grant Washington gained momentum for the Cats by picking up a first down on a third-down conversion. That would be the only first down for the Cats on the drive, as on a third and 14, Donovan was sacked by a swarm of Bomber defenders.
St. Xavier's first drive was methodical. With a fourth-down conversion and continued running dominance, they marched down into the red zone. On second and goal from the five, Herbstreit found Vollmer out of the backfield uncovered for a free walk-in touchdown. With 1:56 left in the first, it was 7-0 Bombers.
On the first play of the second quarter, the Cats were faced with a fourth and one from their 36-yard line, but Head Football Coach Ryan Franzinger '02 elected to keep the offense on the field. The Cats went to the Wildcat formation with Owen Colwell as the quarterback keeper, but he was stopped short, giving the ball back to St. X with a fantastic field position.
However, the Bomber momentum would be short-lived, as on first down, Herbstreit fired one downfield directly to Wildcat safety Tristin Hughes for the young sophomore's first interception in the Blue and Gold. Hughes brought the pick back across midfield, giving the Cats a short field. The Cats couldn't muster anything together and were forced to bring on the punt team. The punt would never take flight, though, as Brayden Reilly blocked the punt. Xavier would capitalize off the turnover with a 38-yard field goal from Owen Davidson, putting the Bomber up 10-0 with 7:19 left to go in the half.
Xavier would cash in again on a Vollmer quarterback keeper for his second score of the day, making the score 17-0 with 2:20 left to go in the half. The Cats would get their go at a two-minute drill to finish the half.
The Cats would find their footing on offense, picking up multiple first downs and getting their way across midfield. Then, on a third down and five, Donovan dropped back to throw and was looking for Luke Simms downfield, but an absurd bounce off of the knee of Simms found the ball in the hands of junior receiver Matt Joyce to set the Cats up inside the 15-yard line. Just two plays later, the Cats would hand it off to Jake Bobinski, and he would flip his way into the endzone for his second score of the year, making the score 17-7 and sending the game to halftime.
Right out of the half, St. Xavier marched down the field, eating time off the clock. The Bombers set up shop in the red zone but would be faced with a fourth and goal after some big stops by the Wildcat defense. Unsurprisingly, the Bombers elected to bring in Vollmer for another QB keeper, where he found the endzone for his third touchdown. The Bombers held a 24-7 lead with 6:48 left in the third.
The Cats answered right back on their next drive, establishing the rushing game. The Cats capped off their drive with a Colwell rushing touchdown from four yards out, where he extended the football over the goal line for his team-leading eighth touchdown of the year. However, Jackson Schaffer's kick was blocked, keeping the score 24-13 with 4:12 left in the third.
Just when St. Xavier looked like they were going to have another scoring drive, on a fourth down inside the red zone, Cody Haddad lowered his shoulder on Jake Britt, jarring the ball loose and forcing an incompletion and turnover on downs.
The Wildcats' next offensive drive got the passing game going, with multiple ten-plus-yard completions on their way across the field. On a third-down play from the twenty-five-yard line, Donovan dropped back to pass but was hit as he threw and consequently intercepted by Jax Hendon. The interception brought the game to the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter saw yet another Vollmer rushing touchdown, giving the Bombers a 17-point lead with 4:58 left in regulation. The Cats answered with a sophomore connection from Donovan to Trey Haddad for a 73-yard touchdown, making the score 31-19 after a failed two-point conversion.
The Cats put up a fight, but it was too late. St. Xavier captured its sixth win of the year, moving to 6-3 on the season. The Cats dropped their sixth straight game, winless since week three, and fell to 1-8 on the year.
Donovan and Trey Haddad had varsity career highs against the Bombers as the sophomore quarterback passed for 304 yards on 19-of-29 passing and a touchdown. Haddad caught seven passes for 165 yards and a score.
Junior Nick Rivera continues to lead the defense in tackles, finishing Friday's game with 11 total tackles and one for loss. Cody Haddad would collect nine tackles and one pass break up in his return.
The Cats wrap up their regular season this Friday against a talented Football North-Clarkson (ONT) team on Senior Night. The SIBN will have audio-only coverage and FanVu will have the video broadcast.
