by St. Ignatius versus Mentor was one of the highlight games of the week. The Wildcats were on the road looking to bounce back after a tough loss to the Springfield Wildcats. As for the Cardinals, they were coming off of a dominating win against the Canton McKinley Bulldogs.
Both teams entered the night ranked in the top 10. This game between the 4th ranked Cardinals and 6th ranked Wildcats lived up to the hype and will go down as an instant classic.
From the start, the Wildcats displayed a balanced attack and began to work their way down the field. However, Mentor’s defense came up big to stop a 4th and 3 run. Mentor’s offense took the field for the first time and impressed. They drove 65 yards, and capped off the drive with a 13- yard passing touchdown from QB Jacob Snow to WR Evan Harper. The 7-0 lead came at the 4:28 mark in the first quarter.
On St.Ignatius 2nd drive, the same story played out, slowly moving the ball down the field. Two key defensive penalties granted the Wildcats an extra 25 yards on the drive. The Wildcats capitalized on the opportunity and knotted up the score at 7-7 on a Marty Lenehan 4-yard TD run.
Both teams would continue to struggle running the ball, but that didn’t stop Mentor’s passing game. After Peter Chalhoub of Ignatius recorded the game’s first sack, Snow responded with a connection of 65 yards to Harper with 7:39 left in the first half (14-7 Cardinals).
On the Wildcats next drive, Joey Pfaff would be picked off by Henry Schenk. The ensuing drive for the Mentor offense resulted in another long touchdown pass from Snow. The 72-yard strike to Michael Norwood at the end of the half made it 21-7. Snow would go into the locker room with an impressive three passing touchdowns.
The third quarter was quite similar to the second quarter for St. Ignatius QB Pfaff. Mentor’s secondary was getting the better of him, resulting in six straight incomplete passes. The uphill battle with a deficit of 14 points for St. Ignatius was met by some impressive halftime adjustments defensively for the Wildcats. They began applying more pressure on Snow which resulted in several punts.
On St. Ignatius’ first drive of the second half, Zeb Eldridge would drill a 37-yard field goal to make the score 21-10 with 8:43 in the third quarter. On the ensuing drive, Snow would be picked off by Joe Norris with 6:43 in the third.
On the WIldcats third drive, the Mentor defense held St. Ignatius, forcing them to settle for a 33- yard field goal by Eldridge. Slowly but surely the Wildcats were making their way back a field goal at a time (21-13 Cardinals).
The Wildcat defense shut down Mentor on the next drive but the punt returner Charlie Dunstan muffed the ball and the Cardinals would recover the loose ball late in the third quarter. The score remained 21-13 through the start of the fourth quarter, but Mentor was pushing deep into the redzone.
On the opening play of the fourth, Nick Jares threw an interception to John Mangan. As St. Ignatius started moving the ball on the ensuing drive, penalties would slow them down and halt the possession.
Later in the quarter, Lenehan would finally break free and outran everybody. The massive 52- yard run edged the Wildcats within 2 points, however Mentor would stop the Wildcats from converting the 2 point conversion, keeping the score at 21-19.
As momentum was fully swinging the way of the Wildcats, Harper delivered a blow with a nasty stiff arm then took it to the house on a 98-yard TD return. The massive play nearly iced the game away at 28-19 with 4:45 left in the game.
The next drive for the Wildcats was crucial, yet Pfaff would be picked off for the 2nd time by Caleb Pohto. Mentor did give the ball right back as Snow fumbled on 3rd and 1 with 1:51 left to go.
St. Ignatius took advantage of the sliver of opportunity and quickly punched it into the endzone. The 17-yard TD pass from Pfaff to Sean Martin pulled it within two once again (28-26 Cardinals).
With 1:17 left in the game, Mentor recovered the onside kick and sealed the win.
Joey Pfaff was 15-33 for 196 yards, 1 TD, and 2 interceptions and ran for 25 yards.
Marty Lenehan had 18 carries for 125 yards and 2 TDs.
For Mentor, Jacob Snow was 14-21 for 242 yards, 3 TDs and an interception.
Brendon Molinyawe had 14 carries for 46 yards prior to leaving due to an injury.
Mitchell Waite came on in relief of Molinyawe and had 8 carries for 17 yards.
Michael Norwood added 5 receptions for 116 yards and a TD.
My players of the game are the following:
Mentor – Evan Harper: 4 receptions for 101 yards, 2 TDs, 7 rushing yards, and a 98 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. It was a toss up between Harper and Snow. I went with Harper because he was the ultimate game changer. His two touchdowns early helped put them up big when all the momentum was on their side. His kickoff return for a touchdown iced the game, sealed the win for the Cardinals, and is also the player of the game.
St. Ignatius – Marty Lenehan. His play not only kept them in the game, but also helped them pull it within two. If not for Harper’s kickoff return and accounting for Snow’s fumble which led to a Wildcats touchdown. St. Ignatius walks away with a win because of his huge 52-yard run. He was a game changer no doubt.
Mentor moves to 2-0 with this win as they get ready to travel to Lakewood to take on the St. Edward Eagles.
For St. Ignatius, they fall to 0-2 as they prepare for an out-of-state opponent as they face Mount St. Joseph of Maryland.
Marty Lenehan is a beast