PAINESVILLE, OHIO - The Saint Ignatius Wildcats (1-4) picked up their first win this past Friday, securing a 45-33 victory over the Riverside Beavers (3-2). The win marked the first Wildcat victory since September 6th, 2024.
With the Wildcats having won the coin toss and deferring to the second half, the Beavers would showcase their offense, led by quarterback Bo Brandehoff and running back Kyndall McCaleb. After two plays for little gain, the Beavers picked up a first down on a McCaleb rush that went well into Wildcat territory, officially downed at the 33-yard line. The Beavers moved the sticks two plays later, getting into the red zone. The Beavers were then faced with a fourth and six from the Wildcat 16-yard line and decided to go for it. On the fourth down play, Brandehoff miscommunicated with his receiver and chucked the ball well out of bounds, turning the ball over.
The Wildcats' first possession was lackluster. After a negative Owen Colwell run play, a run for little yardage, and a holding penalty, the Wildcats brought on Griffin Roberts to punt it away. The Wildcat defense returned the favor, forcing a three-and-out as the Beavers punted as well. The Wildcat offense again struggled and was forced to punt again.
The Beavers' next drive would go for a score. On third and nine from their own 45-yard line, Spencer Short got a handoff from his tight end spot and took it 55 yards for the first score of the ball game. The PAT was missed wide left, and the score stayed 6-0 with 2:59 left in the first.
Wildcats' returner Billy Cole continued his success on the Beavers' kickoff, returning the kick to midfield. The offense would give Riverside a look at the Jake Bobinski show as he singlehandedly carried the Wildcats to the Riverside 13-yard line as the first quarter expired.
On the third play of the second quarter, Marcus Tekancic made a spectacular play after the catch. He cut back to the middle, made a Beaver defender miss, and walked into the end zone for his first touchdown since week six last year. Kyle Ritt knocked the extra point through, giving the Wildcats a one-point lead.
The Riverside offense would pick up right where it left off, having yet another drive capped off by a touchdown. On first and ten from their own 43-yard line, Brandehoff dropped back to throw and found a wide-open Ethan Baker downfield for an easy long touchdown. The score was now 13-7 Riverside with eight minutes to go in the half.
The Wildcats' next drive fizzled out just past midfield after a low snap on first down led to a late handoff to Colwell. The Beavers blew the play up in the backfield and regained possession on downs.
On the drive's first play, the Beavers went deep into the playbook and got tricky as a flea-flicker left Short wide open downfield and set the Beavers up inside the red zone. Short kept the drive rolling on third down as he made a couple of Wildcats miss on a short reception to pick up a tough seven yards and first down. On their next play, McCaleb would get his number called on an outside zone, and he marched his way to paydirt, extending the Beavers' lead to 13 with 3:39 left in the half.
On the next play from scrimmage for the Wildcats, Jacob Mikin would fire downfield to Luke Simms, and Simms would do the rest, taking it thirty yards after the catch for a 65-yard touchdown connection, Simms' third of the year. The score was now 20-14.
The Beavers' next drive would start negatively as the Cats' Nick Rivera and Matthias Michalek combined for a sack. The Beavers could not recover, and after a deep shot incompletion on third down, they were forced to punt. Despite great field position, the Wildcats followed suit and punted.
After the Wildcat defense came up huge, the offense would get the ball back with a go at the two-minute drill following an explosive Cole punt return. The Wildcats marched into field goal range and trotted on Griffin Roberts to attempt a 38-yard field goal with three seconds left in the half. Roberts rose to the occasion and drilled the kick, the first Wildcat field goal since Tommy Kilbane's in the 2023 Regional Quarterfinal. At half, the score was 20-17.
Out of the half, Simms kept the Wildcat offense rolling. On third and three from their own 25-yard line, Jacob Mikin fired an out route to Simms, and he took it 70 yards after the catch to cash in for his second long touchdown of the day, and the Cats regained the lead. It was Wildcats 24, Beavers 20, with 10:55 remaining in the third quarter.
The Beavers' next drive was a long one. With help from multiple Wildcat penalties and good execution, the Beavers drove downfield and regained the lead on a one-yard Brandehoff rushing touchdown. The score was 27-24 Beavers with 2:27 left in the third quarter.
The Wildcat offense continued its second-half success, going six plays for 65 yards for another score on a Mikin to Haddad 36-yard touchdown pass. The back-and-forth game again tilted in the blue and gold direction as they held a 31-27 lead into the fourth.
Riverside punted the ball away in the early stages of the fourth. The Wildcats took a shot on first down to Luke Simms, and after a pass interference on the Beavers, the Cats were gifted a first down into the Riverside half of the field. After a third-down play ended two yards short, the Cats kept their offense on the field for a fourth down from the 32-yard line.
The Cats handed to Owen Colwell, and he worked his magic, picking up 22 yards down to the 10-yard line. The Wildcats committed a penalty a few plays later, forcing them to back up to the 26-yard line. On their next play, Mikin fired to Bobinski out of the backfield, and he took it to the one-yard line. On the next play, Mikin punched in on a QB sneak for his fifth touchdown of the night and extended the Cats' lead to 11 points with 6:35 left in the ballgame.
In need of points, the Beavers faced a fourth-and-three from the Wildcats' 36-yard line and handed it off to McCaleb to the outside. However, he was stopped shy of the line to gain, and the Beavers turned it over on downs yet again with 5:19 left.
The Wildcats tried to waste time on their next drive but were ultimately forced to punt with 4:13 left in the ball game. The Beavers took over on their own 25-yard line.
On a broken play in the Wildcats' half, Brandehoff rolled out of the pocket and chucked the ball up into the endzone, and Riverside's David Seibert miraculously pulled it in for a Beaver touchdown with 2:32 left in the game. The score was 38-33 following a missed two-point conversion.
The Beavers rolled the dice on an onside kick, but the Cats recovered it. On second and 13 from their own 45-yard line, Colwell put the icing on the cake, taking it 55 yards to the house, solidifying the Cats' lead and making the score 45-33 with 2:14 left to play.
On the kickoff, Roberts pooched it, and the Beavers failed to pick it up; the Wildcats' Caiden Marvin recovered the ball. The Wildcats' offense ran the clock down to triple zeroes, and they collected their first win in 378 days.
Luke Simms shined in the victory, picking up 142 yards on five receptions to go along with two touchdowns. Jacob Mikin collected five touchdowns, four of which were through the air.
The Wildcats will take on the Benedictine Bengals (4-1) next week on Senior Night at Don Shula Stadium on the campus of John Carroll University. Kickoff will be at 7:30 p.m.
