PERRYSBURG, OHIO - After John Marshall opted out of the playoffs the Saturday after the OHSAA regular season concluded, the Saint Ignatius Wildcats (1-10) were given the final spot in Region I. The week prior, the Wildcats lost their regular-season finale against Football North. The loss, along with a Medina win, had mathematically eliminated the Wildcats from playoff contention.
Awaiting the Wildcats in round one were the 8-2 Perrysburg Yellow Jackets from the Northern Lakes League. Perrysburg entered the game with only two losses to Olentangy and Whitmer. Perrysburg outscored its opponents during the year 345-108 with a dynamic run-heavy offense and a reliable pass defense.
After winning the coin toss and electing to start with the ball, Perrysburg trotted on Brady Maxwell and the rest of the offense to open up the first round of the playoffs. After the Wildcats made three stops, Perrysburg was set up with a fourth and one and converted on a Brady Maxwell keeper. Still, the Wildcats' defense held strong on the next set of plays, setting the Yellow Jackets up with a third and seven. On that down, Maxwell rolled out of the pocket and fired a ball downfield to an awaiting Luke Simms, who collected his first interception of his career.
The Wildcats' first drive started in Perrysburg territory at the 46-yard line. A Shane O'leary one-handed grab was called back on the first play from scrimmage due to an ineligible man downfield call, which pushed the Wildcats behind the sticks. Despite this, the Wildcats managed to string together an 11-play drive that culminated in a one-yard touchdown run by Owen Colwell. The Wildcast led 7-0 with 1:23 left to go in the first.
Perrysburg cashed in on its third drive with a 40-yard field goal from Brayden Heitmeyer after the Wildcats made a key third-down stop, holding the Yellow Jackets to just three points on an 8-play, 45-yard drive with 5:09 remaining in the half.
The Wildcats would respond with three points of their own on their last possession of the half when Griffin Roberts hit a 26-yard right hash field goal to give the Wildcats a 10-3 advantage at halftime.
The Wildcats regained possession of the football after halftime, but had no success. On third down, Malik Beck chased down Jacob Mikin for a sack back at the Wildcats' six-yard line. To add insult to injury, Alex Miller took a personal foul, and the Wildcats were backed up half the distance to the goal line, giving Roberts little room to punt, only placing the punt back at the Wildcats' 33-yard line.
Perrysburg would cash in on their next drive, taking advantage of their field position. On second and six from the 17-yard line, Liam Nowakowski carried a hand off to the right side of the field and went untouched on his way to the endzone, tying the game at 10 with 8:20 left in the third quarter.
Perrysburg would score again eight minutes later after Shane O'leary had the ball stripped immediately after a catch that would have set the Wildcats up in the red zone. Perrysburg went 81 yards downfield on just five plays thanks to the legs of Maxwell. Then, on first and goal, Nowakowski gave the Yellow Jackets their first lead of the game on a 10-yard rushing touchdown. It was 17-10 Perrysburg with 14 seconds left in the third quarter.
As a result of a personal foul after Perrysburg's touchdown, the penalty was assessed on their kickoff. Heitmeyer was forced to kick from his own 25-yard line. Awaiting a deep return was Billy Cole, one of the nation's top 30 kick returners in terms of yardage. The Yellow Jackets chose not to kick toward him, so Heitmeyer kicked the ball out of bounds at the 48-yard line. With the penalty for kicking out of bounds, the Wildcats began their drive in Perrysburg territory.
Despite the excellent field position, on the second play of the fourth quarter, on third and seven, Mikin was strip-sacked and Perryburg took over on the Wildcats' 48-yard line.
It took just one play for Perrysburg to get into the red zone on a Maxwell keeper. It seemed like Perryburg was going to extend its lead when they trotted out Heitmeyer to attempt a 29-yard field goal. On the kick, Michael Camardo flew around the edge and blocked the kick, holding the Yellow Jacket lead to one score with 8:58 left in the ballgame.
On the very next play, Mikin checked the ball down to O'leary off of the line, and he made a move upfield but was hit from behind, and the ball was jarred loose, and Perrysburg recovered, sending the Yellow Jacket offense right back onto the field.
After picking up a first down on their first set of plays and then gaining nine yards on their next three plays, Perrysburg kept the offense on the field on 4th and one from the Wildcat 29-yard line. On fourth down, Nick Rivera shot through the Perrysburg line and dropped Nowakowski for a loss, forcing a turnover on downs.
With 4:45 remaining in the game, the Wildcat offense would get one more crack at putting points on the scoreboard. The Wildcats got their drive going with a Colwell screen pass and a run that set them up at the Yellow Jacket's 38-yard line. On that set of plays, the Wildcats were held to no gain on their first three downs, and the season would come down to a fourth-and-ten.
On that play, Mikin fired a risky ball over the middle to Billy Cole, who made the catch and set the Wildcats up in prime position to score at the eight-yard line. The Wildcats would face another fourth down, this time at the two-yard line with 14 seconds left. After both teams traded timeouts, the Cats handed the ball off to Colwell, who made no mistake and fought his way into the endzone, giving the Wildcats a chance. Kyle Ritt drilled the extra point, tying the game up. The game would then go into overtime.
The Wildcats, who had not played in overtime since Week 9 of 2023, won the overtime coin toss and sent their defense onto the field first.
After picking up a first down, Perrysburg had it with a goal to go, and on third down, Nowakowski punched his way in and gave Perrysburg a 24-17 advantage after their first OT possession.
On second down and seven on their second offensive play of overtime, the Wildcats handed the ball off to Colwell, who, on his way down, had the football stripped, and the Yellow Jackets recovered the fumble, ending the game and the Wildcats' season.
For the second consecutive year, the Wildcats fell in the opening round of the playoffs and finished their season with a 1-10 record.
Author's Note: The loss also marked my final football play-by-play broadcast. I have covered the Wildcats full-time since my sophomore year, serving as the inaugural sideline reporter before transitioning to the play-by-play role full-time my junior year. Despite the two down years, I loved every single moment covering the Wildcats. It was a true pleasure, and a true dream come true for me to have done so. Until next time, thank you, goodnight, and go Wildcats.
