Here's Norm Weber's excellent preview of the game:
By Norm Weber
nweber@sehs.net
Twitter.com/WeberNorm/
LAKEWOOD – All that can be said is – here it is. The game that each team from both schools await with anticipation: St. Edward vs. St. Ignatius.
Currently known as the Battle of the Saints (the previous name of the rivalry having been expunged a few years ago), St. Edward against St. Ignatius draws big crowds in any sport, but football has been the grandest, due to it being ranked by a number of credible organizations near the top five among rivalries in the country.
The Eagles (5-1) and Wildcats (1-5) will play at 7 p.m. Saturday inside First Federal of Lakewood Stadium.
“We should expect the team that comes out fighting …,” said St. Edward Head Coach Tom Lombardo. “They’ve played a tough schedule as have we. In this game, as anyone would say, throw the records out. The kids are excited to play in the game. They look forward to the game at the beginning of the year. That’s how it is.”
St. Ignatius’ won-loss record is a mirage. In the past two weeks, they lost to the No. 1 ranked team in the state in Division II (Archbishop Hoban) and the No. I ranked team in Division III Toledo Central Catholic.
Now the Wildcats get the two-time defending state champions and current No. 1 ranked team in the big school division, St. Edward.
“No matter what (record or rankings), you have to play well Saturday night,” Coach Lombardo said.
As usual, the crowd will be big, upwards of 8,000 and should be filled to capacity. The Eagles are used to it already this season. They played at Tom Benson Stadium and Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, the two biggest venues for high schools in Ohio, and to large crowds.
“We’ve played the game now, the kids have been in St. Ignatius games and big stadiums,” Coach Lombardo said. “We’ve been deep in the playoffs and state championship games, which has the same type of feel. We went to Massillon and to Canton for Our Lady of Good Counsel. We’re used to big crowds. We’re excited to do it.”
In the first meeting between the schools last year, St. Ignatius lost quarterback Joshua Papesh on a hard hit and inserted Quinn Woidke at quarterback. Woidke actually did better for the Cats, but the Eagles still ran away with it, 48-6.
Papesh returned for the playoff game and was the starter earlier this year. However, the Ignatius JV team is 6-1 and word has it that the Cats’ two freshman teams are even better.
Sophomore Peyton Frontino scored his first varsity start at quarterback last week against Toledo Central Catholic, a 35-0 loss.
“We’re expecting him to start again,” Coach Lombardo said.
Frontino did throw for 190 yards in that game.
“They like his ability to stand in the pocket and throw the football,” Lombardo said. “We never know who is going to start the game. You can never be 100 percent sure.”
Lombardo, the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach as well as the head coach, has to anticipate the types of formations and personnel the Cats have.
“They have a system on defense and Coach (Ryan Franzinger) has been running it for a while,” said Lombardo. “They have multiple fronts, multiple coverages. They do a nice job and they are getting better. They have good players there. They are always stout on the defensive line. They have Sean Martin at corner. He’s an excellent player.”
Certainly, the Wildcats are going to be ready to play.
“It’s one game, one night,” Coach Lombardo said. “They are going to give it all they have and we are going to give it all we have. We have to execute.”
With an expanded roster in the program, Ignatius has the bodies and Franzinger is developing a winning culture in Ohio City.
“They are one of the biggest schools in the state,” Coach Lombardo said. “They have a lot of kids playing. They have good players. They are playing a tough schedule.”
The Eagles needed a game like the 42-6 whacking of River Rouge Saturday, rolling off the tough loss to Massillon the previous week. In some ways, they might have found a way to be good to themselves.
“Not as much (a psychological factor) other than we played well,” Coach said. “We played well in all three phases. Special teams, defense, and offense were all complementing one another. That’s what I was most happy to see. We scored on most of those ways. The defense giot us in good field position and the special teams got us a score. The offense had good scoring drives, and we were efficient in the game.”
The Massillon game excluded, usually big plays on offense and defense gains or perpetuates the momentum of the game.
“We talk about enjoying playing the game,” Lombardo said. “You get to do this one time, enjoy every moment of it, particularly for the ones who are the seniors.”
Franzinger had been groomed to be the head coach upon Chuck Kyle’s eventual retirement, which happened at the end of last season. Kyle was head coach for 40 years, and was good for football in Cleveland, Ohio, and the USA, with 11 state championships and three national titles.
Franzinger’s father, Tim, was a highly successful football and track coach at Rhodes for decades, retiring in the mid-`00s.