Late missed extra point helps Central Catholic football earn 1-point win at St. Ignatius

BEREA, Ohio — What a difference a week makes.

Just seven days removed from not being happy about the production from the run game in a victory over Warren De La Salle, the Central Catholic football team recommitted itself to the ground game, and it had starkly different results against a physical Cleveland St. Ignatius defense.

Behind 238 yards and two touchdowns from senior running back Tyler Morgan and a missed extra point from the Wildcats in the final two minutes, the Fighting Irish overcame a 14-point deficit and earned a 27-26 victory on Tressel Field at the George Finnie Stadium at Baldwin Wallace University on Friday night.

“It felt amazing to overcome a good team,” Morgan said. “They had a bad record, but it’s a great team all-around. It felt great. I honestly thank my O-line, my quarterback, my coaches, and everybody that played with us, because of how we played, how we practiced, how we developed, and worked hard to get this win.”

St. Ignatius (1-5) scored a touchdown to pull within one with 1:17 left in the fourth quarter and intended to go for two for the lead. The Wildcats then committed a penalty with 12 players in the huddle and opted to kick an extra point instead. But the kick attempt was no good.

Central Catholic (5-1) recovered the ensuing onside kick and kneeled out the clock.

The Fighting Irish scored 20 consecutive points to take the lead.

After taking the ball to start the game, the Fighting Irish marched 80 yards in seven plays. The final 27 yards came when junior running back Jerome Davis caught a screen pass from Isaiah Fox and hustled down the right sideline for the game’s opening touchdown.

Earlier in the drive, junior receiver Sharard Vaughn III gained 21 yards on a screen pass. Later in the possession, the Fighting Irish faced a third-and-12 from their own 39-yard-line when Fox found junior receiver Preston Fryzel for a 22-yard gain and new set of downs.

The extra point gave the Irish a 7-0 lead with 8:50 remaining in the first quarter, but that advantage did not last long. The Wildcats responded with touchdown drives on their next three possessions to take a 20-6 lead at the 9:47 mark of the second quarter.

Junior running back Owen Colwell got things started for the Wildcats, as he turned the corner on a first-down carry and rushed in untouched for the 22-yard score.

Then, a botched snap on the ensuing possession backed up the Fighting Irish into a third-and-31, and that miscue led to the Wildcats having great field position after a punt.

In his first varsity start, St. Ignatius sophomore quarterback Dane Donovan completed a 43-yard touchdown pass to Luke Simms for the go-ahead score and a 14-7 lead with 4:54 remaining in the first quarter.

The Wildcats added onto their advantage when Donovan found junior receiver Marcus Tekancic for a 49-yard touchdown on their next possession.

Quickly after St. Ignatius’ third touchdown, the Fighting Irish responded with a 12-play, 80-yard drive that Morgan capped with a 2-yard touchdown run.

Following a missed St. Ignatius field goal attempt, Morgan nearly gave the Fighting Irish a lead at the half. Morgan rattled off runs of 35, 12 and 3 yards before Fox completed a 21-yard pass to Fryzel to set up a first-and-goal at the St. Ignatius nine with 15 seconds left in the half.

However, after a defensive holding penalty in the end zone gave the Fighting Irish an untimed down from the St. Ignatius 1-yard-line, Morgan got stopped at the goal line and the score remained 20-14 in favor of the Wildcats at the break.

“We made one mistake, but our mistakes didn’t determine this game,” Morgan said. “Our mistakes made us better. Every mistake we made, we countered it. We came back off of it. We didn’t let our mistakes live. We let our mistakes die every time.”

Central Catholic coach Greg Dempsey added, “Let’s be honest, after the opening drive of the first quarter, it didn’t look too good for us until the very end. We got a chance to tie it up at the end of the half, and I just wasn’t very happy with what I called and the position I put our kids in down there. It looked like we were going to have momentum, and then, it ended on a downer.

“The kids didn’t let that affect them. They came out with energy in the second half and made things happen. They took advantage of mistakes, and it was a crazy game.”

Following the halftime break, the Fighting Irish scored late in the third quarter and early in the fourth to seize control of the game. Morgan scored the tying touchdown on a 24-yard run, and then, Fox found Fryzel for a 14-yard score with 11:07 left in regulation.

After coming back to beat the Wildcats, the Fighting Irish will look to build momentum with a rivalry matchup against St. John’s Jesuit on Friday.

“We’ve got to be focused,” Dempsey said. “It would make St. John’s’ season to come into our place and beat us, so we better be ready for a tough fight.”