MENTOR, OH - The Saint Ignatius Wildcats (0-3) made the trip to the East side this past Friday to take on their cross-town rival, the Mentor Cardinals (3-0). The Cardinals came into the game undefeated, having won high-scoring affairs in their meetings with Olmstead Falls (35-28) and Erie McDowell (PA) (42-12) in their first two games. Mentor running back Jackson Farley rushed for 610 yards combined in those two games and scored eight touchdowns. In a mid-week meeting, Head Football Coach
Ryan Franzinger '02 mentioned that the Wildcats' game plan was to try to stop Farley.
The Wildcats entered the game winless following a 20-7 loss to Pick. North the week prior. Despite the losing efforts, the defense looked objectively good, only allowing 2.2 yards per rush and a goal-line stand. With a North defensive touchdown, the Wildcat defense only allowed two touchdowns. The Mentor game would be a true test of run defense.
In a late-week decision, the Wildcats named sophomore quarterback
Jacob Mikin the starting quarterback. With Week One starter
Daniel Chalhoub still dealing with a lower-body injury and last week's starter,
Dane Donovan, injured, Mikin made his first career start.
Having won the coin toss, Mentor deferred to the second half, electing to kick the ball away to the Wildcats. The Wildcats' first drive was ground-heavy as they rushed the ball on every play of their opening six-play, 65-yard touchdown drive. Mentor native,
Jake Bobinski, took a pitch play 30 yards to the house, breaking multiple tackles along the way. In just under 3 minutes elapsed in the quarter, the score was 7-0, in favor of the Wildcats. Their first lead of the season.
Possession now turned over to Brogan Jones and his Mentor offense. After two unproductive plays, the Cardinals were set up on a third and 11, but a Wildcat offsides penalty moved the Cardinals up five yards, providing a much more manageable third and six. The Cardinals would move the sticks on the next play with a Justen Hodge reception. The Cardinals would keep the ball on the ground for the next few plays, and just when they had thought they had a touchdown, they were flagged for a 15-yard facemask penalty and were set up well behind the first-down marker.
On the next play, Farley gained a chunk of yards on the ground, getting back near the original line of scrimmage. Mentor kept the wagon rolling and gained 20 yards through the air on a Jones to Hodge connection, getting themselves inside the five-yard line. The Cardinals scored three plays later on a play-action pass that left Logan Berwald wide open for an easy Cardinal touchdown, tying the game at seven with 4:33 remaining in the first.
The Wildcats' next drive ran out of juice after a risky fourth-down conversion in their half of the field, and they were forced to punt. On Mentor's first play of their next drive, following a completion to Hodge, Wildcat linebacker
Nick Rivera chased down Hodge and punched the ball out in which the Wildcats recovered.
The Wildcats could not capitalize on the turnover, however, and after a couple of negative plays and a penalty, they punted yet again on the first play of the second quarter.
Both teams traded punts before the Mentor offense finally broke free. The Cardinals set themselves up in prime real estate following a misdirection play that set up Farley in space and went for 34 yards down to the one-yard line. On the next play, Jones handed off to Farley, taking care of the rest, lowering a shoulder and fighting his way into the end zone. The Cardinals led 14-7 midway through the second quarter.
With about five minutes remaining in the half, the Wildcats had the ball on their 40-yard line. On a first-and-ten, Mikin handed it off to
Owen Colwell and had the ball punched out, which the Cardinals recovered. On the following play, Mentor scored on a 43-yard touchdown reception from Jones to Hodge, which increased Mentor's lead to 21-7.
The Wildcat offense looked to find momentum before halftime, and they got a spark from Bobinski. With the ball on the Mentor 47-yard line, Bobinski took the hand off to the strong side and was met by two Cardinal defenders. Bobinski rolled over the defenders, and an elbow or knee never hit the turf, meaning the play stayed alive. Bobinski got up and kept running for the score, cutting the Cardinal lead to one possession with 3:24 left in the half.
With over a minute to play, the Wildcat defense forced the Mentor punt unit onto the field. A botched handle by the Cardinal punter, Jacob Brown, prevented him from punting, so he took off with the ball. Converted defensive back
Anthony Anghilante came flying in and clobbered Brown, giving the Wildcats the ball around midfield. Unfortunately, time expired, as the Cats couldn't score before the break.
To start the second half, Mentor began at their 18-yard line. The Cardinals would have a 12-play, 82-yard drive that took 7:15 off the game clock in the third quarter, capped off with a Berwald 3-yard touchdown reception, his second on the night.
The Wildcats would respond by driving the ball deep in Cardinal territory inside the ten. The Wildcats would face a fourth and two at the five, but a Cardinal blitz ambushed Bobinski, and the Cats were denied in the red zone.
Mentor opened the fourth quarter with the possession. On a first down, Brown set up a screen play to Farley, where Farley fumbled the ball.
Michael Packer for the Wildcats fell on the loose ball, and the Wildcats regained possession.
The Wildcats would have a methodical drive, working inside the Mentor five-yard line. Bobinski got the ball to the one-yard line, and on fourth and inches, Mikin capped the drive off, scoring his first varsity touchdown on a QB sneak. With 6:47 remaining in regulation, the Cats were back in the game, trailing Mentor 28-21.
Mentor would close the door on the Wildcat comeback with 2:30 left in the fourth when Farley went 11 yards for a Mentor score. It was desperation time for the Wildcat offense, and Mikin began letting it fly. Mentor's Xayvion Dunn would pick him off when targeting
Luke Simms.
Mentor would come away with their third straight victory over the Wildcats with a 35-21 final. Bobinski would rush for a career-high in his homecoming game, 142 yards and two touchdowns.
Next up for the Wildcats is a meeting with their Jesuit rivals, the Walsh Jesuit Warriors (3-0). The Warriors are coming off a 13-1 season in 2024. Kick-off is at 7 p.m. from University Heights at Don Shula Stadium on the campus of John Carroll University.
