by With a score of 31-14, St. Edward secured ten straight wins against Saint Ignatius.
A historic game took place tonight at Don Shula Stadium in the 67th overall meeting between the St. Edward Eagles and Saint Ignatius Wildcats.
There’s a storied rivalry between the Wildcats and the Eagles in Northeast Ohio. Fans were tailgating hours before the game, and all the tickets were sold out at the box office. Everyone was ready for an epic battle between the boys’ schools.
But the outcome of the game was decided in the first minute.
With 11:10 on the clock, quarterback Langston Lucas passed to Caleb Hall for a 77-yard touchdown in the second play of the game. Edward fans went wild.
In the first quarter, the Ignatius game play could not have been more different from the aggressive offense of their opponent. Billy Cole was taken down in dramatic fashion on second down. On third down, there was a high snap that went over the head of the quarterback, and Ignatius seemed to have given up on a touchdown. To make matters worse, 4th down had a shank punt. While the Eagles were finding their offensive stride, the Wildcats looked scattered.
The Eagles continued to dominate, as they pushed through the pile into the endzone for a touchdown, setting the score at 14-0.
Ignatius started to put their foot on the gas for the next few drives. Dane Donovan picked up some yards, and there was a successful pass from quarterback Jacob Mikin to JT Hummer. When Ed got the ball back, Ignatius had an excellent tackle. They were looking like a more uniform team.
This game was defined by turnovers.
When Lucas was executing a longer pass, he was intercepted by Anthony Anghilante. It was Ignatius’ 9th interception of the season, and a much needed turnover to get back in the game.
Ignatius continued to move down the field, with strong connections from Mikin to Trey Haddad.
But the Eagles offense was playing their best game tonight.
Running back Colin Tedesco used his teammates to cover for him. Finding a hole, he ran 60 yards. Lucas was also playing aggressively. He threw to Joe Moore, who ran it in for a touchdown, advancing the score to 21-0.
Ignatius wasn’t deterred. Mikin had a great pass to Haddad while evading a sack, and Ty McMilan ran some successful running plays. However, all their efforts down the field were for nothing. Griffin Roberts missed the field goal, so the Wildcats’ score stayed at 0.
After Lucas was sacked by James Conrad, Ignatius took the ball back, only for it to be intercepted by the Eagles.
The second quarter refused to end. There were multiple plays with defensive penalties, until St. Edward finally got a chance to kick for three points. They made it, setting the score at 24-0.
The start of the third quarter brought about yet another turnover to St. Ed’s after they recovered the ball on the kickoff.
To make things crazier, there was a turnover to the Wildcats when the Eagles fumbled the ball, showing one of the first instances of Eagles’ offensive weakness.
The fourth quarter proceeded with difficulties on the Ignatius snap. A pass from Mikin to Billy Cole had the ball at the 1 yard line, before Mikin fell on the ball. Frustrated, they had to start the next play from the 7 yard line.
With a successful pass from Mikin to Jake Lamirand, Ignatius scored a touchdown, getting their first points of the game on the board with a score of 24-6.
Tedesco continued to make a name for himself with excellent running plays down the field that resulted in a touchdown. It was truly a night to remember for his game play.
The score was now 31-6 with 3:19 remaining in the game.
But Ignatius isn’t a team that calls it quits in the last few minutes of game time.
They fought to move up the field and finished the game strong with a touchdown pass from Donovan to Jack Favret.
The first ever game played by these rivals at Don Shula Stadium ended with a score of 31-14, continuing St. Edward’s dominant streak.
Players of the Game:
Running Back Colin Tedesco of St. Edward had 12 carries for 148 yards and one touchdown.
Quarterback Jacob Mikin of Saint Ignatius completed 8 of 22 passes for 96 yards and one touchdown.
