by Cleveland, OH – The Saint Ignatius Wildcats defeated the Berea-Midpark Titans in the first round of the OHSAA playoffs, finishing with a final score of 49-14. Saint Ignatius moves on to the second round of the playoffs, where they will face Saint Edward in the Regional Quarterfinals next Friday.
Saint Ignatius kicked off the first round of the OHSAA playoffs against Berea-Midpark to start the game. Berea opened strong with an initial series of screens that managed to get past Saint Ignatius’ defensive line.
This allowed the Titans to slowly drive up the field during their opening series, with completions from senior Nick Reece. However, that momentum was quickly shut down by the Saint Ignatius Wildcats, as senior Anthony Anghilante came away with an interception.
Saint Ignatius quickly pushed Berea-Midpark back with a drive of their own, gaining a little more yardage with each offensive play. The series was short-lived, with Saint Ignatius finding the endzone on a touchdown from senior Dane Donovan at 6:01 of the first quarter.
The touchdown was followed by an extra point from Kyle Ritt, putting seven points on the board for Saint Ignatius.
Berea-Midpark tried to respond with a touchdown of its own, as Reece once again caught a 20-yard pass from senior Dylan Papushak. This gave Berea a breakthrough, bringing the Titans close to Saint Ignatius’ endzone. However, the Wildcats’ defense came up with the stop, forcing a turnover and putting the ball back in the home team’s hands.
Saint Ignatius wasn’t looking to waste any time either, with Donovan quickly charging 15 yards up the field to put the pressure back on the Berea-Midpark Titans. As the Wildcats’ drive carried into the end of the first quarter, the score remained 7-0 in favor of Saint Ignatius.
Moving into the second quarter, Saint Ignatius was stopped by Berea-Midpark’s defensive line. This forced Ritt into a position where he would need to attempt a 35-yard field goal. Ritt quickly showed he had the skills to match, connecting on the kick and putting another three points on the board for Saint Ignatius.
Back on the drive, Berea-Midpark began making slow headway throughout the second quarter, with key plays from senior Andre Alexander and Papushak. However, after five minutes of play, the Titans were stopped once again, putting Saint Ignatius back on offense with 5:46 left in the quarter.
Saint Ignatius couldn’t continue where they left off, as Berea-Midpark brought the pressure with its defensive line. This forced the Wildcats to respond with a rush from Teague Deinhart, helping them gain another opportunity to move the chains and secure a first down.
Deinhart quickly showed that this would be his series, following up the first down with a 10-yard touchdown. This put another six points on the board for Ignatius with only a minute remaining in the half.
That left the Titans with just 65 seconds to make something happen. In that short amount of time, Alexander found the endzone with help from Reece, scoring Berea-Midpark’s first touchdown of the game with only seconds left in the half.
The Titans converted the two-point conversion, making the score 16-8. Saint Ignatius saw the momentum beginning to shift toward Berea and wasn’t going to close out the half quietly. Senior Trey Haddad quickly made his way back into the endzone on the kickoff return, adding another touchdown for the Wildcats.
Ritt connected on the extra point, making the score 23-8 to close out the first half.
Shifting into the second half, Saint Ignatius started with possession as the Wildcats quickly switched up their game plan. Across a series of plays, Donovan and Haddad worked together to move the ball forward, picking up first down after first down.
With the Wildcats’ offense continuing to apply pressure, Berea-Midpark needed to find a way to halt Saint Ignatius’ advance. However, the Titans couldn’t get the stop, as Donovan broke through with help from the offensive line for another touchdown.
Ritt connected on the extra point, putting Ignatius more than 20 points ahead of Berea-Midpark. With the clock ticking down, time was no longer on the Titans’ side.
Berea-Midpark moved back onto offense and quickly found a breakthrough, with Denym Gray making an 80-yard charge across Wasmer Field. This immediately put the Titans in scoring position, with Alexander once again stepping up to help secure another touchdown for Berea-Midpark.
Following a failed two-point conversion, the score stood at 30-14 with 7:29 left in the third quarter. Saint Ignatius continued to show its dominance across the field, holding the lead as the game moved forward.
Back on offense, Saint Ignatius quickly continued to expand that lead, with Tyler McMillian finding the endzone just seconds after the Wildcats regained possession. This put another six points on the board for Ignatius, making the score 36-14.
Berea-Midpark’s offensive series was quickly shut down by Saint Ignatius’ defensive line, forcing the Titans to turn the ball over once again. Back on offense, Saint Ignatius continued its relentless assault against Berea-Midpark, quickly finding itself close to the Titans’ endzone.
Deinhart saw another opportunity and capitalized, scoring another touchdown for Saint Ignatius with the extra point from Ritt and extending the Wildcats’ lead to more than 28 points at 3:17 in the third quarter.
Berea-Midpark was now in a position where it needed to put the pressure back on Saint Ignatius to make a comeback. However, another offensive series was quickly snuffed out for the visiting Titans, allowing Saint Ignatius to regain possession.
Once again finding another breakthrough, Saint Ignatius quickly worked its way inside the 20-yard line of Berea-Midpark’s endzone. This drive carried the Wildcats into the final quarter.
Opening the fourth quarter, McMillian quickly put his name on the board once again with another touchdown for the Saint Ignatius Wildcats. Ritt followed up with the extra point, making the score 49-14. With the Wildcats holding a 35-point lead, the running clock came into effect under OHSAA regulations.
The Titans had one last drive to make some headway before the game came to a close, but Saint Ignatius quickly capitalized on a fumble by Berea-Midpark. This was the final straw that sealed the deal for the Wildcats, with six minutes remaining on the clock.
With Berea-Midpark quickly bringing down the Saint Ignatius offensive line, the Titans had very little time left to put together another scoring opportunity before the game ended.
This final series brought an end to an action-packed Friday night matchup, as Saint Ignatius moves on to face Saint Edward next week in the second round of the OHSAA playoffs, the Regional Quarterfinals.
Player(s) of the game:
Saint Ignatius’ Dane Donovan-(2 TDs, 35 YDS)
Saint Ignatius’ Teague Deinhart-(2 TDs, 20 YDS)
