St. Ignatius advanced to the OHSAA Division I state championship game with its 24-14 victory against Olentangy Liberty. The Wildcats will face Cincinnati St. Xavier.
MANSFIELD, Ohio – Olentangy Liberty coach Steve Hale left Mansfield’s Arlin Field certain no team gave St. Ignatius a fight like his Patriots.
The Wildcats’ defense left with a similar sentiment.
The difference is St. Ignatius is headed to Columbus next week to play for a Division I state championship.
St. Ignatius never trailed and its defense held Ohio State recruit Brendon White in check Friday night for a 24-14 victory in an OHSAA Division I football semifinal. The Wildcats (13-1) will face Cincinnati St. Xavier next Friday night at Ohio Stadium.
This will be St. Ignatius’ first trip to the state finals since winning it in 2011. It also follows last year’s 5-4 season in which the Wildcats missed the playoffs.
“This is a special one,” senior middle linebacker John Velotta said. “Being where we were last year to working out at this time of year to being where we are now, this is an unbelievable experience.”
Velotta and Co. became the only team to beat Liberty, which ran through the Columbus area and won the Region 2 crown last week with a come-from-behind win against Lorain. St. Ignatius jumped to a 14-0 second-quarter lead before the Patriots nipped at that advantage.
11:43 2Q: Patrick Ryan to Travis Pot 44-yard TD gives St. Ignatius 7-0 lead. #NEOvarsity #FridayHuddle pic.twitter.com/tbuFdOhHmf
— Matt Goul (@mgoul) November 26, 2016
Much of the Wildcats’ success came from holding their foe to just 53 yards rushing.
Liberty rallied when it went to the air, and moved White to quarterback after sophomore starter Mitchell Okuley left late in the first half because of an injury.
“I don’t think they’ve been hit like they were hit tonight,” Liberty’s Hale said. “Our linebackers were filling and plugging and smacking guys.”
They kept St. Ignatius to just 224 yards of offense, but Patrick Ryan’s 69-yard touchdown jaunt early in the fourth quarter provided a 21-7 cushion.
4:34 left, Patrick Ryan rips 69-yard TD run for 21-7 St. Ignatius lead on Olentangy Liberty. #NEOvarsity #FridayHuddle pic.twitter.com/OvSXTeo6DD
— Matt Goul (@mgoul) November 26, 2016
Liberty pulled within a touchdown and got the ball with 2:22 left. The Patriots won their Week 1 game against Pennsylvania’s North Allegheny by going for two, and Hale acknowledged they would have considered it Friday.
However, two White incompletions and two more runs ended the drive short of its starting point. St. Ignatius ran out the clock until Hale took his last timeout with 18 seconds left, forcing Matt Trickett to hit a 39-yard field goal and clinch the game.
“They’re a good running team,” St. Ignatius coach Chuck Kyle said. “They’re usually balanced, and we did a good job there. They probably had to throw more than they wanted to.”
Okuly completed 5-of-9 passes for 64 yards before his exit. White finished 4-of-14 for 91 yards and two TDs, while rushing for 47 yards.
“He was a shifty guy, so we had to get used to it and slow down a little bit,” senior linebacker James Leyden said. “He opens up when you make gaps for him. We kept him in front of us and got the win.”
The defensive front struck first. Many times it was senior Joe Gibbons, the 6-1, 260-pounder, who linebacker Adam Shibley said made the plays of the night.
“They make us look good, too,” Leyden said.
Another one didn’t play much defense.
Senior receiver Kevin Ward isn’t used much outside of special teams, but Kyle said he played the role of White for the scout team during practice. Ward put on a red skull cap, lined up at quarterback, running back and receiver.
“He took that challenge on,” Kyle said, “and that’s important.”
It sets up St. Ignatius for a matchup with a team it already prepared to play. St. Xavier, which beat Pickerington Central in Friday’s other semifinal, 29-27, met the Wildcats in Week 9.
St. Ignatius won that meeting, 31-14.
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