This past Friday, the Saint Ignatius Wildcats (2-2) traveled to Cuyahoga Falls to take on the Walsh Jesuit Warriors (4-0), looking to secure three straight victories for the first time since 2022. However, it wasn't going to be easy, as Walsh came into Friday night's action riding high at 3-0, with a 26-game home winning streak dating back to 2022. Everyone knew this was going to be a tough test for the Cats. The question was, how would they handle it?

Saint Ignatius won the toss and deferred, giving us a look at David Ternosky and the Walsh offense first. Walsh quickly went three-and-out, and on the Cats' first drive, they cashed in. Aided by a pass interference on third-and-11,  Jacob Mikin found Charlie Blasko two plays later from 39 yards out for an early Cats' score and a 7-0 lead. The next Warriors drive moved into the St. Ignatius redzone, but it came to an abrupt end when Ternosky was intercepted by Logan Drummond in the endzone, keeping it a 7-0 game. 

On the second drive for the Wildcats, they were able to work it into Walsh territory; however, a third-down sack, the first surrendered by the Cats' offensive line all year, forced a Saint Ignatius punt. After one quarter of action, Saint Ignatius led 7-0.

Drive number three for Walsh Jesuit was more of the same, as they went quietly and had to punt deep in their own territory. This gave Billy Cole a dangerous return opportunity, and he took full advantage, returning it 52 yards to paydirt and giving Saint Ignatius a 14-0 lead with 10:26 left in the second. Walsh once again came up short on their next drive, being stopped on fourth-and-three, giving Saint Ignatius the football near midfield. The Wildcats ran it three straight times into a punt, and Walsh Jesuit got the football back with seven minutes remaining in the first half. 

Walsh then started to lean into their identity of running the football, as Dom Courtad, who would become a heavy theme in the second half, was a workhorse on this drive. Aided by a big completion downfield to freshman Cameron Brunson on the sideline, Courtad punched it in from 10 yards out, cutting the deficit in half. A methodical drive, but points nonetheless: with 57 seconds remaining in the first half, it was 14-7. The Cats' offense stalled out, and gave Walsh Jesuit got the ball back with about ten seconds left. After a big screen completion to Mason Rodgers, which got the Warriors down to the 32, Oliver Nonno came on for the Warriors to attempt a 49-yard field goal. It had the leg, but it was wide left, allowing the Cats to maintain their 14-7 lead heading into the locker room.

The Cats got the football to start the second half, but it did not go according to plan: on their second play from scrimmage, Blasko fumbled after a nice completion over the middle, giving Walsh Jesuit the football inside Wildcat 30. The offense stalled, but thanks to field position, the Warriors attempted and converted a 41-yard field goal, making it a 14-10 game. The next drive stalled out after one first down for the Cats, and they had to send it away. The Warriors' offense was starting to figure some things out, as they once again leaned on Courtad, and he rewarded them, punching it in from 12 yards out to give Walsh a 17-14 lead, their first of the game, and giving them 17 unanswered points with 5:23 left in the third. 

At the same time, the Saint Ignatius offense could find no answers to the Walsh defense, as the Cats punted again. The Warriors' offense was on the move again, but not before the third quarter came to a close. With Walsh on the move, they held a 17-14 lead after three quarters. 

The Walsh drive was capped off on the first play of the fourth quarter, as Ternosky found Brunson in the back of the end zone for a Walsh touchdown, giving them a double-digit lead in the fourth. The Cats desperately needed a response, and they got one. A nice return from Trey Haddad and a personal foul on Walsh got the Cats up near midfield to start the drive. It was here that Mikin found the always-reliable Haddad a couple of times and leaned on the ground with JT Hummer, which got the football inside the Walsh five. The Cats were standing on the goal line, and on fourth-and-two from the four, the Cats elected to kick a field goal, as Griffin Roberts nailed the 21-yarder to make it a 24-17 game with 9:22 remaining. 

With the defense desperately needing a stop, they got exactly that and some. On the next Walsh drive, Ternosky was intercepted on third down by CJ McLean, who took it all the way back inside the Walsh ten, giving the Cats prime field position and a chance to tie the game. It wasn't easy, but on third and goal, Mikin found Jake Lamirand in the corner of the endzone from eight yards out, tying the game at 24 after the PAT.

With 7:14 remaining, Walsh Jesuit had an answer, as a big grab from Cayden LeVert put Walsh near midfield, and Courtad capped off the drive with a 38-yard rushing touchdown to give Walsh Jesuit a 31-24 lead with 5:18 remaining. The next drive for Saint Ignatius showed some promise but eventually ground to a halt on their own 41, and on fourth-and-seven, they punted it away. After a debatable call where it looked like Walsh might have touched the football on punt before a Cat jumped on it, Walsh took over with a chance to ice the game, and Ignatius had two timeouts. It was here where, to no one's surprise, Walsh leaned on Courtad to bring them home. Courtad did just that, as he capped off his big night with a huge fourth-and-one conversion from the Wildcat formation to ice the game for Walsh. After a hard-fought battle, Walsh secured a 31-24 victory. 

The Cats should be proud of how they played against one of the top teams in the state on the road. The offense was up-and-down, but didn't have a bad night as a whole. Defensively, the Cats were challenged by a formidable Walsh Jesuit offense, and there were some bumps, but they had a solid night as a whole, with the secondary having some standouts, including the corner duo of Drummond and McLean, and Jimmy Myers also having a nice game. Up front, Matthias Michalek (four tackles) and Luke Spinos (three tackles) had good games on the interior. Overall, there are areas where the Cats can be better, but they can be proud that they went right down to the wire with a Division II powerhouse, in a place that is tough to win in.

The Cats will be back in action this Friday at Wasmer for the first time since 2022 against John Marshall for Senior Night. The SIBN will provide live coverage from the campus of Saint Ignatius High School.