by If you would like a signed copy of the book that glorifies the Ed’s vs St. Ignatius Holy War, contact Vince McKee at coachvin14@yahoo.com
EUCLID, Ohio — With 53 seconds left in regulation Marvin Bell capped off his big night with a two-yard touchdown.
With heavy rain falling for most of the night in Euclid, the Eagles called heavily on their star senior running back to carry their offense to the promise lands.
Bell answered the call.
He accounted for 148 yards on the ground, senior quarterback Casey Bullock completed 9 of 11 passes for 128 yards + a touchdown, stand out junior receiver Kyan Mason corralled six receptions for 117 yards, and the St. Edward Eagles left no doubt on field in their 28-7 rout of St. Ignatius on Friday night.
After completing the largest comeback in program history (28 points), the Wildcats had earned themselves another crack at the defending division one state champs. This time in the regional semifinals.
Just a week ago, St. Ignatius trailed the ten-win Cleveland Heights Tigers 42-14 at the half. With the season on the line, the Wildcats faced the deficit head on and outscored the Tigers 36-7 in the second half to give them a 50-49 advantage courtesy of a successful two-point conversion with under a minute left in regulation.
That lead would not subside as the Wildcat defense single-handedly shut down the Cleveland Heights high-octane offense to give them the one-point victory in what was arguably one of the greatest games in OHSAA football history.
“Cleveland Heights offense is not a team you want to go into
overtime with because of their run game. I could see a
deflation in energy from their sideline,” said coach Chuck Kyle when asked about the gutsy decision to go for the win instead of the tie to force overtime.
For St. Eds, their playoff journey coming into tonight’s game has been somewhat less stressful. Outscoring their opponents by a combined 91-6, the Eagles have played like the best team in the state even, despite their untroublesome schedule thus far.
FIRST HALF
Undesirable weather conditions without doubt played a pivotal role for both sides in the first half.
St. Ed’s went run heavy on their opening drive as they called on senior running back Marvin Bell many times. Bell along with the legs and arm of senior quarterback Casey Bullock lead the Eagle’s offense down the field and into field goal range.
The Eagles ultimately came up empty handed though on that opening drive as Benjamin Lavelle was unsuccessful in converting the 29-yard field goal attempt.
On the St. Ignatius ensuing drive, it was the St. Edward defense that made their presence felt early. On third and long, senior defensive end Michael Kilbane came up big with the sack to force the Wildcats to punt.
Tempo was the key for the Eagles on their next drive as they had a no-huddle focus on their first three plays to start. Marvin Bell got the St. Ed’s high-octane offense going with big 16-yard scamper through the inside the St. Ignatius defense.
Finding themselves within field goal range again, coach Lombardo called out his unit again to attempt a 39-yarder. The snap was good, the hold was good, but the kick… was wide left. That kept both sides scoreless mid-way through the second quarter.
Another punt was the result of the following St. Ignatius drive. A fumbled snap on the punt was recovered by the St. Edward punt return unit, and that gave the ball back to the Eagles with great field position inside of Wildcat territory.
Seven straight runs by Marvin Bell on the Eagle’s following drive were enough to get the Eagle offense into the endzone. On just that drive, Bell accumulated 33-yards on seven carries along with the touchdown. That gave the Eagles the first and only points scored in the half.
The Benjamin Lavelle PAT gave the Eagles a 7-0 advantage at the half.
SECOND HALF
The Wildcats came out with a different intensity to begin the second half. After only accounting for 36-yards, the St. Ignatius offense came out rolling in a drive that featured a 46-yard run by junior quarterback Joshua Papesh.
That run ultimately set up the ensuing score just three plays later. Papesh hit tight end Hunter Moriarity over the middle on the pop-pass to give the Wildcats their first points of the night. After a Thomas Kilbane point after, both squads were locked dead even with a 7-7 tie midway through the third quarter.
That score from the Wildcat offense did not faze the St. Edward offense whatsoever and it was prevalent on the following drive. A 15-yard Casey Bullock run followed by a massive 45-yard pitch and catch from Bullock to junior receiver Kyan Mason set the Eagles up to score.
Marvin Bell ultimately capped off that drive for St. Edward with a three-yard touchdown scamper up the middle to give the Eagles a 14-7 advantage.
The St. Edward offense would score once more in the third quarter as Bullock hit senior receiver Grayden Lentz-Pieffer in the corner off the endzone from six-yards out to increase the St. Ed’s advantage to two scores putting them up 21-7.
St. Ignatius had success early in the fourth quarter. However, a steady drive through the air was ultimately halted on fourth down from the St. Edward 20 after an all-out blitz was simply too much for the Wildcat offensive line.
Papesh was sacked and the Eagles were back in business mid-way through the fourth quarter on their own 30-yard line.
The following Ed’s possession ended in a punt. It was the team’s first punt on the night and only second throughout the postseason thus far.
With time running out, the Wildcats had the ball back as they found themselves trailing by two scores with under three minutes left in regulation.
On second down, Papesh dropped back, looked to his right, and threw a pass intended for Ryan Kennedy. That throw was intercepted by St. Edward senior linebacker John Slater as he made a tremendous play on the ball to seal the deal for the Eagles.
The St. Edward offense took over on the St. Ignatius 4-yard line after the turnover. To leave no doubt on the field, Marvin Bell capped off his big night with his third touchdown on the ground from two yards out to secure the 28-7 win over the wildcats.
END OF AN ERA
After 40 unbelievably successful seasons, the legendary Chuck Kyle has now coached his last game as the Saint Ignatius head coach. After 377 wins, 32 playoff appearances and 11 state titles, Chuck Kyle will without a doubt go down as one of the greatest coaches in high school football history. A name that will never be forgotten, Chuck’s legacy will always live on, and especially behind the doors of Saint Ignatius High School.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
St. Edward running back: Marvin Bell
Bell rushed the ball 29 times for 148 yards and three touchdowns in Friday’s 28-7 win over St. Ignatius. He added one reception for no yards.
UP NEXT
St. Edward: Advances to the regional final against Mentor next Friday.
St. Ignatius: Heads home for the offseason.
