CLEVELAND, OHIO—The Saint Ignatius Wildcats (1-8) welcomed the St. Xavier Bombers (7-2) to Cleveland this past Friday in the third installment of the Paul Lammermeier Memorial Cup. The Wildcats were coming off a trip to Cincinnati, where they fell to Archbishop Moeller 42-10 (6-3) the week prior. Moeller and St. Xavier had met in a GCL South matchup earlier in the season, where Moeller prevailed in a 30-13 win.
The Bombers entered this week's game without star athlete and Vandy commit Daniel Vollmer. Vollmer primarily took snaps out of the wildcat formation and presented a dangerous read option along with fellow running back Spencer Stegbauer and Jake Britt.
With Chase Herbstreit graduating last year and heading to Michigan, the Bombers entered the season uncertain about their quarterback situation. That changed when Jackson Frey transferred from Bexley High School in Columbus to lead the Bomber offense. Frey is the son of former Ohio State quarterback Greg Frey, who played in the Arena Football League and the World League of American Football for several seasons. After his professional career, Greg Frey served as quarterback coach for Brady Quinn and also worked as the offensive coordinator at Pickerington North, the Wildcats' opponent in week two.
Despite opening the game with a defensive sack, the Wildcat defense faltered. After picking up a first down, Jackson Frey scrambled out of the pocket, picked up 25 yards, and set up the Bombers in Wildcat territory. The Bombers then entered the red zone, and in the Cats' favor, only left with three points on a 20-yard Owen Davidson field goal to give Xavier a 3-0 lead, 6:05 to go in the first quarter.
After the Wildcats' opening offensive drive stalled, Xavier took over via a JT Hummer punt. Their drive would go four plays for 74 yards and a touchdown, as Alex McClatchey took a screen pass 35 yards to the house. With 55 seconds left in the opening quarter, the Bombers led 10-0.
On second down on the next Wildcat possession, Daniel Chalhoub overthrew Shane O'leary on a route over the middle of the field and straight into the hands of an awaiting Jax Hendon for an interception. The Bombers took over at the Wildcat 42-yard line, nearing the end of the first quarter.
Despite starting in blue and gold territory, the Bombers only left the possession with three points, as a third-down stop by Caiden Marvin led to a 31-yard Davidson field goal. The Bombers led 13-0 with 9:42 left in the half.
O'Leary started the next Wildcat drive with a 15-yard reception, but the Wildcats stalled out again, and Hummer was brought on to punt. Hummer pinned the punt inside the Bombers' 20-yard line, successfully flipping the field.
On second down of the St. Xavier drive, Frey uncorked a ball deep downfield to a streaking McClatchey, who made an incredible over-the-shoulder grab before waltzing running his way 35 yards after the catch for a touchdown. With 4:42 left in the half, the Bombers now led 20-0.
The Wildcats' offensive struggles continued on their next drive, as St. Xavier's defense forced another three-and-out. The Bombers' special teams also disrupted Hummer's punt, nullifying the field-flipping attempt and giving St. Xavier excellent field position to score.
It took just one play for the Bombers to capitalize on the turnover. Frey found McClatchey wide open in the back corner of the endzone to complete the hat trick, and McClatchey collected his third touchdown of the half. St. Xavier held a 27-point lead with 3:57 remaining in the second.
The Wildcats finally got the offense to click on their next drive. Owen Colwell converted an early third and five to extend the drive, and St. Xavier aided the Wildcats with free yards on a pass interference penalty, setting the Cats up at the 25-yard line. Two plays later, Chalhoub fired a pass towards Trey Haddad in the endzone and made an incredible catch over a Bomber defender for a touchdown. The Cats drew back as the score was 27-7 with 1:38 left in the half.
It took just one play for the Bombers to respond. On first down from the 32-yard line, Frey dumped off a screen to Jake Britt out of the backfield, and he weaved through the Wildcat defense for a 68-yard score to extend the Bombers' lead just before half. They now led 34-7.
The Wildcats started with the ball out of half but failed to gain any momentum. They had yet another three-and-out before a Hummer punt. The Bombers' half started slow, as they, too, punted.
On the Wildcats' next drive, Matt Joyce made a back-shoulder grab to get the Wildcats near midfield, but the offense stalled and failed on a fourth-down conversion, turning the ball over on downs.
A few possessions later, on a Wildcat punt, an impressive McClatchey return set the Bombers up all the way down at the Wildcat 17-yard line. On the next play, the Bombers would get tricky as Frey handed the ball off to Britt before exchanging it with an in-motion McClatchey, who would take it around the edge and into the endzone for his fourth touchdown of the evening.
The score would be the last by either team for the rest of the night as the Bombers carried the 41-7 lead and a running clock for the remainder of the game.
The Wildcats dropped their fourth straight game, falling to 1-8 on the season heading into the final week of the regular season. It would be St. Xavier's largest margin of victory against the Wildcats in 33 overall meetings.
Frey would finish 10-of-16 passing for 239 yards and four touchdowns, and McClatchey had a night to remember with 180 all-purpose yards, three receiving touchdowns, and one rushing touchdown.
Week Ten presents an interesting scenario for the Wildcats as they fight for the final playoff spot in Region I. The Cats will host their friends from up north, the Football North-Clarkson Chargers (ONT), from Euclid Community Stadium.
A few outcomes on Friday could clinch the Wildcats' spot in the postseason. A victory over Clarkson would ultimately clinch a spot, and a Riverside victory over Willoughby South would jump the Wildcats to 11.
If the Wildcats lose to Clarkson, they can still make it; they would need some help. Riverside needs to beat South to earn as many points as possible. But if the Cats fall to Clarkson and Medina defeats Lorain, the Wildcats would be eliminated from playoff contention. Other teams looking to jump into the final playoff spot include GlenOak and Solon.
