Opponent Preview: St Ignatius (Week 2)

This is the second of my previews of Mentor's opponents for the 2017 season.  See the Week 1 preview here.

Week 2

Who: St Ignatius Wildcats

What: Non-league game

Where: Jerome T Osborne Stadium

When: September 1st at 7:00pm

Opposing Coach: Chuck Kyle (35th season, 11 state titles)

History: Mentor and St Ignatius are entering their 13th game in this series. St Ignatius has an edge (7-5) over the Cardinals in the regular season. Since Mentor has won three of four against the Wildcats in the playoffs since 2003, Triv and Kyle are 8-8 against one another. The definition of a long, even series.

Looking Back...
During Week 2 last fall, a close halftime game really got away from Mentor in the second half to the eventual state runners-up. St Ignatius completely dominated the second half on their way to cruising to a 49-7 win, the most lopsided score in the series. The Wildcats had close to 300 yards on the ground, led by Mark Bobinski.

Schedule...
Gone is the two-year experiment of including the three Parma schools on the schedule. This should help provide Ignatius with a lot more harbin opportunities. The Wildcats have 3/4 of the rugged Cincinnati GCL league (St Xavier, Moeller, and Elder) on the schedule. Rival St Edward is always a huge Week 10 matchup. Two-time state champion Hoban is a big way to open the season. On top of those big five games, Detroit Central Catholic (the only regular season loss for Ignatius last season) also returns. The "easy" games on the schedule include 2016 playoff teams like GlenOak and Euclid. Rounding off the schedule includes a prep team from Canada. All in all, this is a very grueling stretch that should allow Ignatius to be in the mix to make the playoffs as long as they can get 5 wins. 


2017 St Ignatius Outlook...
St Ignatius had a run to the state finals last year before coming up short (27-20, 2OT) to their Jesuit brethren from the other side of the state. The loss to St Xavier was only Chuck Kyle's second state championship game loss in 13 tries. With the talent and loyalty to seniors, every year the Wildcats have to reload. QB Patrick Ryan and RB Jimmy Andrews are among the graduates on offense. Mark Bobinski returns for his senior year after sharing RB duties with Andrews last year. Bobinski had a big game against Mentor last year and should be the focal point of the offense. Senior receiver Connor Kennedy is due for a big season. Two seniors (Kyle Hall and Danny Alexander) are vying for the starting QB spot. Alexander was the backup last season and got varsity reps during some of the wins. Darian Kinnard (6'6, 320) and John Jamieson (All-District in 2016) return to bring some size, talent, and experience on the line. 

Defense was the strength of the state runners-up and they have to replace a deep group of linebackers and linemen. The front six in their vaunted 3-3 stack defense were all seniors last season. In the secondary, a couple starters do return. Kennedy will play both sides of the ball and join the secondary. All-district kicker Matthew Trickett returns and he will be a valuable returning part of the offense/special teams. St Ignatius' goals are pretty simple: winning a state championship. Defensively, there are some unknowns. But expect the Wildcats to be the most challenging opponent on Mentor's schedule. Possibly by a wide margin. 

Next Preview: Glenville (Week 3)