by AKRON, OH𑁋 The bright Friday night lights shone down upon historic Dowed Field, home of the Archbishop Hoban Knights. The St. Ignatius Wildcats rolled into town seeking three straight against Hoban while improving to 4-0. With both teams ranked top 25 in the state, this matchup had all the makeup of another classic. Hoban, however, had other plans as Lamar Sperling and the defense controlled the pace all game long. The Knights would cruise to a 28-7 wire-to-wire victory and move to 4-0.
FIRST HALF
Quarter one for the most part was uneventful with the Knights and Wildcats trading punts. Hoban though had an easier time advancing downfield than Ignatius. After a swift three and out by the visitors to start the game, Hoban’s first crack on offense whittled the clock down to 5:20. On third and seven the drive was finally stopped by Max Palinski who brought down quarterback Jacqui Long for a loss of nine.
Joshua Papesh and the Wildcat offense trotted back onto the field. Their second attempt yielded slightly better results but still no points. Papesh missed a receiver streaking down the far sideline that would have got them on the board. A pass interference call moments later kept the possession going and it appeared that St. Ignatius would be able to muster three or six by the end of it.
But, the Knight’s defense that constricts opponents to an average of 12 points per game, was able to hold serve again.
Pinned on their 17, Hoban needed to give themselves some breathing room. The solution to that problem was to hand it off to arguably the best tail back in the state, Lamar Sperling. The senior bounced to the outside and ran up the sideline, then made a huge cut to the right side of the field. Sperling took it all the way to the endzone on an electrifying display of running vision utilizing the whole field.
A one play, 83 yard, 18 second drive was all Hoban needed to break the 0-0 tie.
Moving into the second quarter St. Ignatius continued to struggle. Besides a stellar defensive outing, Hoban’s special teams was the unsung hero. On at least four occasions, junior kicker Ryan Burns had the Wildcats starting drives on the 10 yard line or lower.
That allowed the defensive play-calling to be more aggressive and force more pressure on Papesh in the pocket or commit to the run game.
Right before the half Sperling reached paydirt from 10 yards out to increase the margin to 14-0.
SECOND HALF
The Knights picked up right where they left off by traveling down into Wildcat territory with ease. Long was not asked to throw the ball much, especially down field, but he made the right reads throughout. He flipped it down to wideout Jayvian Crable on a bubble screen. He was able to take the ball down the far sideline for a monster gain of 42, setting up Long for his first touchdown of the evening.
Long located a wide open Payton Cook at the back corner of the endzone for a 24 yard connection.
Ignatius responded right back though. Charlie Dunstan received the ensuing boot past midfield and to the 24 yard line of Hoban. The very next play got the Wildcats to the promised land with 8:35 in the third. Papesh laid a beauty right out in front of Jonathan Merimee, trimming the gap to 14.
The Knights, looking to put this one out of reach for good, certainly appeared to do so. A combination of a facemask and pass interference assisted in propelling the drive back to a familiar place for Hoban. But, St. Ignatius stood tall and got a critical stop forcing out the punting unit.
Burns worked his magic to cage the Wildcats inside the five for the third time and it could not have come at a better moment. The defense was able to lock up and force another three and out. Ignatius’s punt attempt failed after a Knight defender tipped it. The ball landed at the Ignatius 30 and that would ultimately end the game.
After 1:37 elapsed off the clock, Sperling rumbled into the endzone for the third time from 21 yards out. It put a stamp on another dominant performance in all three aspects for the Knights.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Archbishop Hoban Knights improve to 4-0. They will travel to Cuyahoga Falls to take on the 4-1 Walsh Jesuit Warriors. The St. Ignatius Wildcats drop to 3-1. They will look to get back on track on the road against the 3-0 River Rouge Panthers in Michigan.
With the win Hoban ties the matchup series with Ignatius at 3-3.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Archbishop Hoban Knights
Lamar Sperling- 27 carries, 231 rushing yards, 3 TD
Defense/Special Teams- 4 punts inside 10 yard line, 50% completion percentage, 7 points, handful sacks, around 120 yards of total offense allowed
St. Ignatius Wildcats
Jonathan Merimee- 5 receptions, 57 yards, 1 TD
