Opponent Preview: St Ignatius (Week 2)

Disclaimer: This is a fan blog and NOT associated with the Mentor football program

This is the second of my previews of Mentor's opponents for the 2015 season.  See the Week 1 preview here.

Week 2

Who: St Ignatius

What:  Non-league game

Where: Jerome T Osborne Stadium

When: September 4th at 7:00pm

Opposing Coach: Chuck Kyle (33rd season, 11 state titles)

History: St Ignatius leads the regular season series (6-4) dating back to 2005.  Mentor is 3-1 in the playoffs against St Ignatius since 2003.  Coach Triv is an impressive 7-7 against the legendary Coach Kyle.

Looking Back...
Mentor won last year's regular season game 37-33 at Byers Field. The win was the high point of Mentor's season.  The Wildcats finished the season 7-5 (including playoffs).  St Ignatius persevered through a rugged schedule to make the playoffs and earn a 42-14 win over Elyria in Week 11.  Their Week 12 opponent was an undefeated Hudson team that beat Mentor twice last season.  Hudson edged out Ignatius 28-23.  The season had some level of success, but overall it was not a memorable season for the Cats.  When you have won 11 state titles, the bar for a success is set pretty high.

Schedule...
The 2015 schedule includes a rare trifecta with the three Parma high schools (Parma, Normandy, and Valley Forge).  For years, St Ignatius has used Byers Field (owned by Parma City School District) as their home field.  This partnership led to a series with the three schools.  Needless to say, St Ignatius will be heavily favored in all three games.  The other game on the schedule you can chalk up as a victory would be Canada's Brantford Assumption, a team Ignatius handled easily last season.  Those four games are locks.  The other six will be challenging.  Moeller, St Xavier, and St Edward make up the last three games of the season.  Along with St Ignatius, those four schools have won 8 of the last 10 DI state titles.  Walsh Jesuit is on the schedule for the first time since the 90's.  Saint Joseph Prep (Philadelphia), always a strong competitor, returns to the schedule for a second straight season.

2015 St Ignatius Outlook...
The Wildcats are going to be the front runners to win the Region 1 title and serious challengers to win their 12th state title.  They are loaded on the offensive side of the ball.  QB Dennis Grosel is the returning starter.  He had over 2,000 passing yards and 17 TD's last season. His top returning targets include Cal Grbac (son of former NFL QB Elvis Grbac) and All-District receiver Jack Cook.  Cook had 47 receptions for 870 yards and Grbac had 28 catches for 642 yards.  Cook had a team high 12 touchdown receptions.  St Ignatius did not have much of a ground game last year.  Two of the RB's they used (James Norris and Jimmy Andrews) have some promise.  Offensive line is usually a strength for St Ignatius and they do return some of last year's unit.  Highly recruited senior tackle Liam Eichenberg (6'6, 280) is a Notre Dame commit.  The three-year starter, a rarity in Kyle's system, is key to the front 5.  Defensively, the Wildcats graduated a lot of their 2015 starters.  The strong defensive line (led by current OSU freshman Dre'Mont Jones) will be missed.  The secondary should be a strength.  Cook stands out at safety as well as a receiver.  Senior Quin Lawless also returns.  Expect the team to be led by their passing offense.  With a stable running game and defense, the Wildcats could be headed for a big season.  Ignatius may lose a game or two in the regular season with their difficult schedule, but they will be more than ready for state title contention.

Next Preview:  St Xavier (Week 3)