The Saint Ignatius Wildcats (1-3) traveled to Cuyahoga Falls to take on the undefeated Walsh Jesuit Warriors (4-0). After a week three victory over the Dublin Coffman Shamrocks, the Cats had an opportunity to get their record to .500 on the season. It would not be a cakewalk, though, as the Warriors came into the game ranked #7 in the Cleveland.com top 25.
Looking at the Walsh Jesuit roster was also challenging, as they carry an elite-level offense led by senior quarterback Keller Moten and junior receiver Milan Parris. The two standout players led their offense to over 1,000 yards in the first three weeks, outsourcing opponents 136-56. In Moten's junior season, he threw for over 1,900 yards, registering 20 touchdown passes and over 750 yards with his legs, marching into the end zone 13 times.
Parris spent most of his sophomore season on JV, but his 6'5" 200 archetype and 4.47 40-yard dash have distinguished him as a primary receiver for the Warriors, landing him a three-star rating and 10 Division I offers.
During the coin toss, Walsh Jesuit captains were accompanied by Mike Vrabel, Walsh Jesuit class of 1993, a three-time Super Bowl Champion and current Personnel Consultant on the Cleveland Browns. The Warriors won the toss and elected to defer to the second half, meaning the Cats would start with the ball for the fourth consecutive game.
In their first drive, the Wildcats were able to move the ball to near midfield with the legs of senior
Grant Washington but were forced to punt after an incompletion on third and eight. Walsh Jesuit's first drive would be dull as on third down and seven, sophomore
James Conrad and junior
Nick Rivera combined to tackle Lucas Weaver, forcing a punt.
The Cats' second drive would start with exceptional field position at the Warrior's 44-yard line. On short first and second down, carries from Washington and
Tristin Hughes, the Cats looked to extend their drive on third down. Quarterback
Daniel Chalhoub would have trouble with the snap but would make a heads-up play to pick it up, scramble for 14 yards, and move the sticks.
Then, on the next set of downs, the Wildcats faced yet another long third down and long. As the maroon and gold faithful got pumping, junior wide receiver
Marcus Tekancic silenced them. He made a spectacular diving catch on a ball delivered by Chalhoub, collecting his first varsity touchdown. The Cats jumped out to an early 7-0 lead with 7:04 remaining in the first quarter. Just four plays later, Walsh would respond as Moten found Parris wide open for a marathon of a touchdown, taking it 63 yards to pay dirt, tying the game at seven with 5:28 left in the first quarter.
On yet another third down, the next drive for the Cats, Washington was swallowed up for a loss-making in fourth down and a yard. Head Coach Ryan Franzinger kept the offense out on the field and put the ball in the hands of Chalhoub on a QB sneak. The chain crew came out to measure, and the Cats picked up the first down by a hair. On the next play, Washington picked up a hefty yardage, moving the Cats into the Warriors' territory. After little offensive movement on the following two downs, Chalhoub delivered a strike to junior
Luke Simms to keep the Cats moving.
Just a few plays later, Chalhoub delivered yet another great pass, this time to sophomore
Trey Haddad, to get the Cats down to the one-yard line. On the last play of the quarter, the Cats went QB sneak, but it was stuffed for no gain.
As the field flipped in the second quarter, the Cats made a crucial mistake: They committed a false start, moving them back five yards. Walsh then made two straight stops, forcing the Cats to send out the field goal unit. Senior
Jackson Schaffer would have a go at a go-ahead 23-yard field goal from the right hash, but it was blocked by Walsh Jesuit's Aiden Henry, keeping the score at 7-7.
From that point forward, it was all Walsh in the first half as they added 21 more points off of a Moten-to-Henry touchdown connection, a fumble on a snap on a punt that was scooped up in the end zone, and another Moten-Parris connection in the winding seconds of the quarter. The score at half was 28-7 in favor of the Warriors.
Out of the half, Walsh started on offense, where they would have a methodical eight-and-a-half minute, 18-play drive capped off by a two-yard Marty Tobin rushing touchdown, making the score 35-7 with 3:33 left to play. The Cats' first offensive drive of the half showed some promising play but would end when Chalhoub was picked off for the first time this season by Walsh's Grant Blascak.
After a few more Walsh snaps, the third quarter quickly came to a close, bringing the game into the last quarter of play. The Warriors started the fourth quarter with a bang, as third-string running back Carlos Smith broke multiple tackles on his 27-yard journey to the end zone, making the score 42-7 and instituting a running clock.
The Cats pulled their offensive starters for the fourth quarter, allowing younger guys to see the field, although they were stopped on a fourth down and two. Walsh took back over and would extinguish the remaining time, defeating the Wildcats 42-7. Walsh Jesuit moved to 4-0 on the season, while the Cats dropped to 1-3.
When all said and done, Washington had the best night offensively for the Wildcats, rushing for 70 yards on ten carries. Rivera would have a team-high nine tackles in the loss.
The Wildcats will play the Archbishop Hoban Knights (3-1) in their fifth game of the season next week, looking to bounce back with a win. SIBN will have audio-only coverage of the teams' eighth meeting in history at Dowed Field. Hoban owns the series lead, 4-3.
