LAKEWOOD, OH - The Saint Ignatius Wildcats (6-6) took the field at First Federal Lakewood Stadium for what would turn out to be the 12th and final time in the 2026 season, as they prepared for a rematch with their rival, the St. Edward Eagles (10-1) in the Regional Quarterfinal. The Eagles defeated Saint Ignatius 31-14 at John Carroll in the Week 7 contest, marking the first time since 2022 that the two teams played twice in a season and faced each other in a postseason contest. For Saint Ignatius, they were riding high off back-to-back wins heading into the night's action, including a 49-14 round one victory against Berea Midpark. St. Edward, on the other hand, had a week off to regroup and refocus, as the Eagles earned the #1 in the region following a 9-1 regular season finish, with the only loss coming against Massillon Washington in Week 5. Friday night was meeting number 68 all time between Saint Ignatius and Eds, with St. Edward leading the all-time series 34-32, one tie mixed in, and the Eagles having rattled off 10 straight victories over Saint Ignatius.

One problem the Wildcats had in the first matchup was that they fell into an early hole and couldn't recover. However, the Cats started this game with the hot start they desperately needed. After a St. Edward's drive that had some traction ended abruptly due to a fumbled snap by Langston Lucas that was recovered by Jimmy Myers, the Cats wasted no time pouncing on the turnover. On the first play on offense for the Cats, Dane Donovan took the top off the defense and found Trey Haddad amongst two defenders in the end zone for a 35-yard Cats' touchdown and an early 7-0 lead. 

Saint Ignatius continued the hot start by forcing the Eagles into a three-and-out on their second drive. However, while the Cats were running back on the punt by Landon Walkem, the Cats touched the football incidentally before Billy Cole could get to it, and St. Edward pounced on the loose football and suddenly had new life at Ignatius' 45. From here, the Cats' defense bent but didn't break; St. Edward worked the football into the red zone, but they were eventually denied on third down after a nice tackle by Joey Granzier and Nick Chime. Dallas Nixon, who was perfect on the year for the Eagles, trotted out for a 33-yard field goal and flipped it through, making it a 7-3 ballgame with 4:21 left to go in the first quarter. 

On their next drive, the Cats were once again on the move and showed encouraging signs offensively that weren't seen until late in that Week 7 matchup against the Eagles. However, on fourth and one, a Cats' false start turned it into fourth-and-six, which left the Cats no choice but to have Griffin Roberts trot out for a 51-yard field goal. Roberts had the leg, but it clanked off the right upright and was no good. A valiant effort, but the score remained 7-3. Starting at their own 20, the Eagles started to find their groove offensively, as a 35-yard reception by Joe Moore put St. Edward in Ignatius' territory, and some nice runs by Lucas and the Eagles' running backs put St. Edward inside the Ignatius 30, when the clock hit all zeroes in the first quarter, with Saint Ignatius leading 7-3.

Continuing the drive that started at the tail end of the first quarter, an 18-yard reception by Moore put the Eagles down all the way to the two-yard line, and from here Lucas did it himself, punching it in from two yards out to give St. Edward the second-quarter lead, 10-7. The next drive for Saint Ignatius went three-and-out. St. Edward wasted no time on their next drive, as on the first play of the drive Lucas found Maxwell Jemison for a 61-yard score, giving St. Edward a 17-7 lead with 9:09 left to go in the first half. 

On the next drive for the Wildcats, the tough breaks continued, as after a big run by Donovan got the Cats up to midfield, Donovan was banged up after the play, meaning the talented junior Jacob Mikin checked in at QB. On Mikin's second play after a first-down handoff, his pass was deflected by Braylen Jenkins and intercepted by John Papandreas, who had the ball land right in his lap at the line of scrimmage. The Cats' defense did a good job of not reacting to the sudden-change situation, forcing an Eagles punt. James Conrad, who had a big first half per usual, put the Eagles behind the sticks, which ultimately led to the punt. 

The next drive for Ignatius was methodical but balanced, featuring a good mix of run and pass, and some penalties as well. A personal foul on St. Edward, followed by a 15-yard penalty, gave the Cats some life on this drive on the Eagles' side of the field. However, with less than a minute to go in the first half, the Cats tried for a trick play with Brandon Paull throwing the football, and it ended in disaster, as Paull was intercepted by Landon Lehmer in the end zone, and the Eagles took over with less than a minute to go in the first half. From here, the Eagles were content to let the clock bleed all the way off in the first half; the half came to a close with St. Edward leading Saint Ignatius 17-7.

Saint Ignatius won the toss and deferred, so they got the ball first to start the second half. However, it was not the start the Cats envisioned; in fact quite the opposite, as the Wildcats went three-and-out, and St. Edward started to establish the run game with a second-half lead. A big catch from Moore put the Eagles at the Ignatius 10-yard line, and Lucas would cap off the drive with his second rushing touchdown of the night, this time from a yard out to give St. Edward a 24-7 lead with 7:26 to go in the third quarter. 

The Eagles' defense started to bear down as well, as on the ensuing drive Saint Ignatius had to punt again. St. Edward was on the move once again and had a chance to nearly put it to bed late in the third quarter. However, Lucas was intercepted by Anthony Anghilante for the third time in the two games, and the Eagles were left empty-handed despite being in the red zone. The Cats, despite being backed up inside their own 15, were able to work the ball just inside St. Edward territory late in the third. However, Donovan was intercepted by Lehmer for his second pick of the night, and the Cats' drive that showed promise and needed to end in some points came to an abrupt end. After a big run from Lucas put the Eagles into Ignatius' territory, the third quarter came to a close with the Eagles leading by three scores, 24-7. 

A few plays later in the fourth quarter, St. Edward would tack on seven more after a short touchdown run by Ronnie Neal Jr., with a nice second effort from the junior running back. St. Edward had now scored 31 unanswered, and was 8:47 away from advancing to the Regional Semifinal. The Cats would get a slight measure of revenge, as Donovan connected with Billy Cole from 45 yards to make a 31-13 game. Had the Cats converted the two-point conversion, it would have been a two-score game with 7:11 left to go. However, Donovan was intercepted by Lehmer again on the two-point conversion, and that put to rest any hopes the Cats had at coming back. 
Nevertheless, there were some late-game fireworks as well for both teams. Neal picked up his second score of the night from 28 yards out with 5:42 left to play; however, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the touchdown, enforced on the kickoff, gave way to CJ McLean to record an 82-yard kick return touchdown. The Cats could not convert the two-point conversion, so the game remained 38-19, and it ended after the Eagles bled most of the remaining clock off, and the Cats ran the rest. The clock hit all zeros, with St. Edward emerging victorious and advancing to the Regional Semifinal against Hudson with a 38-19 win over Saint Ignatius.

For Saint Ignatius, the loss to St. Edward this past Friday has ultimately brought the 2026 campaign to a close, with a final record of 6-6 for the Cats. It was a season with many ups and downs, but when you look at the bigger picture, this season was a huge success, as Saint Ignatius finished with six wins after picking up five wins in the last three years prior to 2026. More than anything, the Cats showed that under Head Football Coach Tom Kaufman and his staff, Saint Ignatius is back to competing with some of the top teams in Ohio and is trending in the right direction. 

The Cats will continue to take strides toward the next level, both next season and beyond. At the same time, the Cats will have a lot of senior talent to replace, as their leading receiver, Trey Haddad; their leader in tackles and interceptions, Anthony Anghilante; their leader in sacks, James Conrad; their starting kicker and punter, Griffin Roberts; and four of their five starting offensive linemen, among so many others who contributed in so many different ways, are part of the senior class and have officially played their last game for the Blue and Gold. 

In total, 34 seniors, all of whom made deep contributions to Saint Ignatius football over the past four years, have played their last game for the Cats. The seniors are Brandon Paull, Trey Haddad, Joey Granzier, David Hughes III, Dillon Baker, Charlie Blasko, Payton Green, Kevin Lally, Anthony Anghilante, CJ McLean, Jimmy Myers, Gavin Foss, Connor Plato, Tristan Rivera-Jones, Coen Luecke, Mike Velotta, Jude Norman, Danny Salata, Michael Pavlik, Peter Yuen-Gonzalez, Griffin Roberts, Angelo Semertsidis, Dane Donovan, Michael Camardo, James Conrad, Maksim Gosiewski, Bobby Leskovec, Tyler Beran, Grayson Halkiadakis, Jackson Janosek, Andrew Davalla, Patrick Spear, Luke Salman, and Josh Hanson. These seniors may have played their final down, but they will forever be Ignatius Men. Ultimately, the 2026 campaign laid the groundwork for what's to come for this program and shows a bright future ahead for Saint Ignatius football. That's all for the 2026 St. Ignatius football season. We will see you all next year.