by Friday night marked the senior night milestone for many Wildcats of Ignatius, as the 1-8 squad searched for their second win of the season against Clarkson North of Canada at 5-3. The offense started slowly, as each team exchanged punts on their opening drive. However, Clarkson North got a hand on the Wildcat punt, resulting in a one-play touchdown drive from #12 QB Winston Chapman to his receiver #11 Lucas Weir for 26 yards. The extra point was missed, and the score was 6-0 less than 5 minutes in.
Ignatius found momentum on their second drive, but it was short-lived after a fumbled football lost them quality field position and forced them to punt. That would not bother their defense as DB #31 Tristin Hughes timed his jump on the receiver perfectly to snatch a pick-six and give the Wildcats a one-point advantage heading into the second quarter.
Ignatius would quickly add to their lead on the very first play of the second quarter, as a 20-yard pass from QB #17 Dane Donovan found WR #15 Trey Haddad in the end zone, and a blocked extra point saw the advantage at 7 for the Wildcats. The St. Ignatius defense held again, forcing a punt, and Donovan’s eventual second touchdown pass gave the Wildcats their 19th unanswered points. Both teams would exchange touchdowns on their final drives to bring the first half to a close at 12-26.
Who knows what was said to each unit at halftime, but it must have been good enough to get North fired up for a quick forced punt and a 7-minute touchdown drive, resulting in a touchdown and a 2-point conversion to cut the deficit to just 6.
As the fourth quarter began, Ignatius found themselves in field goal range to put the icing on the cake but were knocked too far back thanks to a massive sack. Chapman then led the game’s biggest drive with 13 plays and 82 yards down the field, including a gigantic 4th and 12 conversion. It ended in a touchdown and an extra point with 4:12 to go, putting Clarkson North ahead one point late in the contest.
Ignatius was able to get their final drive all the way down to the North 21-yard line, but a 13-yard sack on third down (1 of 6 on the night for Clarkson North) forced a final hail mary attempt that fell incomplete, sealing a Clarkson North win. With the loss, Ignatius falls to 1-9 on the season, and Clarkson North improves to 6-3 in their track record.
Players of the Game:
St. Ignatius: #17 QB Dane Donovan: 19/27, 225 YDs, 2 TDs.
Clarkson North: #12 Winston Chapman: 10/16, 218 YDs, 2 TDs.
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