OHIO CITY, OH - With the loss to Football North (5-4) on Friday night, the Saint Ignatius Wildcats (1-9) thought the season was over as the Medina Bees (3-7) defeated the Lorain Titans (2-8). Players came together, emotional, with some seniors believing that was their last game, lacing up the cleats. Saturday came around, and the OHSAA announced that John Marshall would opt out of the tournament. This would shake up Region I, as Medina moved to the 11th seed, and the Wildcats were back in at 12.
"I was with our coaches Saturday afternoon and got a phone call from Rory [Fitzpatrick], who told me the news. And I was shocked," explains Head Football Coach Ryan Franzinger '02. "There was a breath of fresh air with the team. We get to play more football."
Monday quickly changed from an equipment return to practice on Wasmer Field to prepare for the First Round of the OHSAA Tournament against the Perrysburg Yellow Jackets (8-2). The Wildcats are in a unique situation. With the new tournament format, 12 regional teams qualified for the playoffs. The Cats are one of two teams that finished with fewer than four wins to qualify. Little Miami (3-7) of Morrow County qualified in Region IV.
There is new life within the football program, and they have a shot at shaking the Region I bracket. The Cats will play Perrysburg for the first time in program history. The winner of this contest will move on to the Regional Quarterfinal to play the Toledo Whitmer Panthers (8-2). Whitmer earned a first-round bye, finishing fourth in the region after defeating Perrysburg in Week Ten to earn a share of the Northern Lakes League Title (NLL).
SAINT IGNATIUS OFFENSE VS. PERRYSBURG DEFENSE
Sophomore Jacob Mikin returned as the starter for the Wildcat offense against Football North after missing the last two weeks due to an injury.Mikin would finish his night, completing 14-of-23 passes for 161 yards.
Mikin has completed 56.5% of his passes this season, throwing for 768 yards and five touchdowns. He has taken care of the ball, only throwing one interception, which occurred in his varsity debut on a Hail Mary pass against Mentor.
The Wildcats will face a Perrysburg defense that has kept its opponents out of the end zone. In six of their ten games this season, the Yellow Jackets have limited their opponents to single-digit scores.
"They have an active defense, we saw that a lot in their game against Clay," Franzinger says. "They mostly run a three-front, with several blitz packages. Whitmer took advantage of their aggressiveness a week ago."
The Yellow Jackets feature a strong line backing corps that includes senior Jonathan Butterfield. This season, he is the team leader in tackles with 41. He has also added three pass break-ups. Sophomore nose guard Giano Walkosky is the Yellow Jacket leader in sacks with five. He also leads the defense in tackles for a loss with 10.5.
The Wildcats will hope to take a page from Whitmer's book and expose an overaggressive defense. Junior Trey Haddad is coming off a 119-yard, seven-reception performance a week ago. Senior Shane O'Leary has recently seen a heavy uptick in targets and caught six passes for 50 yards last week.
As necessary as the air game will be, the Wildcats must establish the ground game with Owen Colwell and Jake Bobinski. A week ago, against North, the Wildcats were limited to just 55 yards on the ground.
This season, the Wildcats have been limited to 16.2 points per game, and 253.8 yards per game.
SAINT IGNATIUS DEFENSE VS. PERRYSBURG OFFENSE
With their backs against the wall and the chance it would be their final game playing together as a unit, the Wildcat seniors on defense left it all on the field against Football North, keeping them within striking distance. Senior Quinn Kennedy would lead the defense with eight tackles, one for a loss, and a pass break-up. Kennedy was inches from getting a potential pick-six, but the ball slipped through his outstretched hands.
Senior Jayshon Thomas continues to show off his athleticism. Thomas, who recently eclipsed 200 career tackles, has been an Iron man for the Wildcats, playing in every varsity game since his sophomore season, which is 33 games. He added six tackles last week.
The defense has also seen a pair of receivers, Haddad and Luke Simms, helping out the secondary. Haddad had three tackles and a pass break-up that prevented a North touchdown on a trick play. Simms added four tackles, his second game as a safety since injuring his hand and playing with a cast.
"These guys haven't thought twice; they wanted to play defense," explains Franzinger. "Simms and Haddad have been awesome in bolstering our secondary."
Throughout this week, the defense has brought over a handful of offensive linemen to try their hand at defensive line. This week, Peter Whiteside, Grayson Halkiadakis, and Michael van der Oord have seen some reps with the defense, in prep for Perrysburg. The reason for that is the strength of the offensive front. "I think their offensive line is their biggest strength," notes Franzinger. "It's a numbers game; we have to break through those double teams and disrupt their offense."
Junior Brady Maxwell is the signal caller for the Yellow Jackets and is a dangerous dual-threat quarterback. He has completed 64% of his passes with his arm for 1,397 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has 776 yards on 117 carries and 14 touchdowns when he decides to tuck and run. He has rushed over 100 yards in three games this season for Perrysburg.
Maxwell has thrown 12 interceptions this season and is coming off a game in which he struggled against Whitmer. He threw three picks while throwing for 165 yards. Junior Ethan Devries is the leading receiver for the Jackets. He has 41 receptions for 627 yards and eight touchdowns.
This offense averages 341.3 yards per game and has scored 40-plus points in five games this season.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Sophomore Griffin Roberts missed the last two weeks for the Wildcats. That allowed Kyle Ritt and Ian Phiri to hit their first varsity field goals. Ritt hit from 30 yards out a week ago, and Phiri from 39 yards. Phiri did have a field goal blocked last week.
Senior Brayden Heitmeyer does the kicking and punting for the Yellow Jackets. He has punted 19 times, averaging 39.8 yards per punt. He has totaled 53 points through PATs and field goals.
Freshman halfback Dakota Jackson leads Perrysburg in kick return yardage with 176 yards. Senior Lucas Graham will handle the punt return duties; he has 112 yards on 32 returns.
The Wildcats and Perrysburg will meet for the first time on Friday night. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. from Steinecker Stadium and the SIBN will have coverage. Perrysburg is located in Wood County, and it will be the first time the Wildcats will face a team from that county. This marks the 21st county of 88 in Ohio that the Wildcats will have a game against. This is playoff appearance number 35 for the Wildcats, and for Perrysburg, this is their 11th. The winner will advance to the OHSAA Regional Quarterfinal to face the Whitmer Panthers. In program history, the Wildcats have a 79-23 record in the OHSAA Tournament.
Complete Regional First Round Game Notes
