PICKERINGTON, OH - The Saint Ignatius Wildcats (1-1) were back in action this past Friday, looking to bounce back after a disappointing 22-21 loss to Avon. Despite the loss, the Cats were looking to take the many positives from Week One into Week Two against the Pickerington North Panthers (1-1), another top 25 team in the state, and a squad that secured a 31-14 road victory against Troy in Week One. This game would be another tough early-season test on a schedule for the Cats that features many of them.
Both teams had strong defenses, and it showed early in this football game. The Cats went three-and -out on their first possession, setting up Pick North inside Saint Ignatius' territory for their first drive. The Panthers would be turned away on fourth-and-one, with their drive anchored by penalties, a common theme for both sides. The rest of the first quarter went quietly, as the Cats moved the football into Pick North territory once, but penalties pushed them back, and they had to punt. Pick. North's offense stalled as well on their drives, meaning there was no score after one quarter of action.
Pick. North would punt again to open up the second quarter, and the Cats finally got some traction going offensively, as some
Billy Cole action in wildcat formation got the Cats down to the two-yard line. However, penalties and missed opportunities forced the Cats to settle for three, giving them the first points of the game and a 3-0 lead as
Griffin Roberts nailed a 27-yard field goal.
The Panthers were able to answer right back, as on fourth-and-one, sophomore quarterback Demetrius-Neal Nesbitt found Dennis White on a slant, and White did the rest, taking it 42 yards to paydirt and giving the Panthers a 7-3 lead with 6:08 remaining in the half.
The ensuing drive for the Cats stalled out initially, but a roughing the kicker penalty gave the Cats a fresh set of downs, and they took advantage, as
Jacob Mikin found
Trey Haddad on a slant and Haddad won the long foot race to the end zone, taking it 82 yards for the Cats' first touchdown of the day, and now a 10-7 lead. With that reception, Haddad achieved over 1,000 yards receiving in his varsity career.
Once again, however, the Panthers had an answer, as this time around Noah Dumas took a screen pass 74 yards for a touchdown, giving Pick North a 14-10 lead with 2:54 before the break. Both offenses went quietly to end the half, but after the defenses dominated early, both offenses got going in the second half, and the Panthers took a 14-10 lead into the locker room, also getting the football to start the second half.
The Panthers' first drive of the second half gained some traction; however, a Jayden Preece fumble, recovered by
Logan Drummond, put a quick end to the drive and set the Cats up on the Panthers' side of the field for their first drive of the half. Despite this, the Cats came up empty-handed as Roberts, who was good from 27 earlier in this game, missed a 33-yarder wide right to keep the score 14-10.
The next drive for Pick. North went backward as the Cats' defense was back to its first-quarter form, similar to how they played coming out of the half last week against Avon, when the Panthers punted from their own end zone, and the Cats were once again set up in Pick North territory to start the drive. A nice scamper by
Teague Deinhart put the Cats inside the 25, and a few plays later, Mikin found
Jake Lamirand on third-and-five from eight yards to give the Cats the lead with 3:41 left in the third. The Panthers' offense did not answer on the ensuing drive, and after three quarters, the Cats held a 17-14 lead.
The next Saint Ignatius drive, which started in the third quarter and bled into the fourth, got slightly into Panther territory, but not enough, so they had to punt. Pick. North once again couldn't get anything going on offense and had to punt it back. The Cats were moving the football well on their next drive with under eight minutes left to go in the ballgame. Saint Ignatius was able to pick up one fourth-down conversion with Cole. However, they were turned away on a fourth-and-six, giving Pick. North had the football back with seven minutes to go at their own 31-yard line. Following a Cats' penalty, Neal Nesbitt was able to find White downfield for a 55-yard touchdown, his second of the game and one that gave Pick North a 21-17 lead with 6:51 left to play in regulation.
The next Wildcat drive started inside their own ten after a holding penalty on the kickoff. The poor field position was easily erased as Mikin found Haddad downfield for a 60-yard completion that put Saint Ignatius at the Pick. North 32-yard line. However, the Cats were unable to convert on fourth-and-six on the next set of downs, were once again turned away, and gave Pick. North the football back with only four minutes left. Desperately needing a stop, the Cats' defense went above and beyond, forcing another Panthers' fumble that was recovered just inside the Panthers' red zone by
James Conrad, giving the offense prime field position and a chance to take the lead late. It took until fourth down, but on another fourth-and-six,
Jacob Mikin found Lamirand over the middle for a 16-yard score, his second of the game, which gave the Cats a 24-21 lead after the PAT with 2:10 remaining in the game.
Pick. North had no timeouts remaining on the ensuing drive. Once again, the Cats' defense came through with yet another big stop, capped off by a
Nathan Hay sack, his first on varsity, on fourth and 16 to officially ice it for the Cats. Saint Ignatius certainly has had a flair for the dramatic, but they were able to escape Panther Stadium with a 24-21 road victory.
Offensively, the Cats showed the wide array of weapons at their disposal: Haddad had over 150 yards, and Lamirand had a pair of touchdowns as well. Deinhart added 37 rushing yards in the win. Mikin also made some big-time, high difficulty throws when it mattered most to make it all possible. Defensively, outside of a couple of big plays, the Cats were dominant once again. David Hughes and
James Conrad continue to wreak havoc off the edges, and Cats had multiple guys do a nice job rotating on their interior. The linebackers and defensive backs held up their end of the bargain for the Cats on Friday as well, limiting the Panthers to 55 yards rushing.
Last Friday also marked the Cats' first win in the Coach Kaufman era. The Cats will be back in action on Friday, September 4th, at John Carroll for a home game against a familiar foe in the Mentor Cardinals. Kickoff is set for 7 P.M., and the SIBN will have live coverage from Don Shula Stadium.
