AKRON, OH - The Saint Ignatius Wildcats (1-4) traveled to Akron this past Friday to take on the Archbishop Hoban Knights (4-1). The Knights welcomed the Cats to town for their annual homecoming game. The Wildcats, coming off a 42-7 loss in week four to the Walsh Jesuit Warriors (5-0), needed a bounce-back win in the final game of a three-game road stretch. 

Hoban, a Division II powerhouse, presents talent across their roster. The Knights roster over ten players with NCAA Division I offers, most notably their WR/DB hybrid, Elbert Hill IV. Hill has collected thirty Division I offers to this point and is highly regarded as a top prospect in the class of 2026. Other standout players include four-star sophomore back, Brayton Feister, left tackle Sam Greer, Western Michigan commit wide receiver Tylan Boykin, two-way player Payton Cook, and OSU commit linebacker Eli Lee. 

With the Cats having won the coin toss for the first time all season and deferring to the second half, the defense would start for the Cats, in which they would force an early three-and-out. The Wildcats' first offensive drive would be stopped on three downs, and Hoban's defense, too, forced a punt. 

On the next drive, however, Hoban would find their offensive footing. On a first and ten, the Knights would hand it off to Feister, and he would go 53 yards after shaking off a few tackles on his way to the end zone. After the made PAT, Hoban jumped out to a 7-0 lead with 6:37 left to play in the first quarter.

On the Cat's next drive, they would answer right back. Jake Bobinski would take it 64 yards on a run-up in the middle, setting the Cats up in the red zone at the five-yard line. Owen Colwell would finish the drive on a fourth down run, where he went on to find the end zone for the fifth time of the season, tying the game up at seven with 2:30 left to go in the third quarter.

After a trade-off of touchdowns, Hoban would continue the trend on a pitch play to Elbert Hill IV, where he would get the edge and go on an 80-yard marathon run to the end zone, giving Hoban a 14-7 lead with 2:16 left to go in the first quarter.

The Cats would struggle in the second quarter as Hoban would score on a keeper from senior quarterback Ethan Roksandich, making the score 21-7 with 8:09 to play in the quarter. The Cats looked to bounce back, but Daniel Chalhoub was picked off on a third and seven by Tylan Boykin, giving the Knights the ball back with immaculate field position. Hoban would then go on to score yet again with the legs of Feister as he punched in for his second score of the day, making the score 28-7 with 5:22 left in the half. 

The Cats desperately needed an answer but could not put together much of anything on offense and were forced to punt. Hoban looked like they would punch in again, but junior defensive back Michael Packer picked off Roksandich, giving the ball back to the Wildcats. On the next play, junior quarterback Chalhoub stepped up in the pocket and was hit as he threw, which fell incomplete, but Chalhoub was shaken up and was forced to come out of the game. 

The Cats would turn the keys to sophomore quarterback Dane Donovan to take them the rest of the game. The waning minutes of the half didn't muster any scores as both teams headed to the locker rooms with the score 28-7 Hoban after two quarters. 

Coming out of the half, the Cats showed some signs of momentum. On a second and three, the Cats handed the ball off to Senior running back Grant Washington as he broke multiple tackles on his well-deserved 49-yard journey to the end zone, making the score 28-14 with only a few minutes elapsed in the second half. However, Hoban would answer shortly after on Feister's third score of the day, extending the Hoban lead to 21 at the 5:22 mark of the third quarter. 

The Cats' offense failed to score any points the rest of the night but did show some life in the running game with Donovan, Bobinksi, Washington, and Zach Putka. 

Hoban would add ten more points before the game went final. Hill would score once more on a 75-yard connection from backup quarterback Trent Hayden. And a 26-yard Jeremy Hammel field goal. The game ended with a final score of 45-14, as the Cats fell to 1-4 on the season, and Hoban improved to 4-1. 

The Wildcats look to adjust and improve ahead of their week six match up next Friday against the Toledo Central Catholic Fighting Irish (4-1), a team that beat the Cats 28-0 a year ago. The game will be at Baldwin Wallace University at 7:00 p.m. SIBN has audio-only coverage, and FanVu will have video and audio coverage.