St. Ignatius wins 11th title in football

The only thing that surprised Cleveland St. Ignatius coach Chuck Kyle about a record 11th Division I state championship was the ease with which the Wildcats bolted to a lead.

The opportunistic Wildcats (13-2) once again converted turnovers into points as Eric Williams passed for 297 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-13 win over Pickerington Central on Saturday night.

 "We came off the field and there's cameras and reporters asking about the 11th, the 11th, the 11th," Kyle said. "I don't think that way. For me, this is one.

 "We surprised ourselves a little with 20 points right away. We thought we would have to claw our way, we've being doing that a lot lately, so being up 20-0 we were excited.
   "Then they totally took the momentum in the second quarter."
 

Quarterback Nic JensenClagg threw a 15-yard TD pass to Roger Lewis and just 1:47 later, hooked up with Sabastian Smith on a 75-yard score to make it 20-13 in favor of the Wildcats.

One week after advancing past Toledo Whitmer 17-6 with the help of five turnovers, the Wildcats scooped up two fumbles and intercepted a pass to beat the Tigers (11-3) for their first title since 2008.

"We didn't take care of the ball when we needed to," Tigers coach Jay Sharrett said. "We needed to play a near-perfect game against them."
 

St. Ignatius players, after missing the playoffs in 2010 for the first time in 23 years, had vowed early in the season to restore team tradition.

 "We wanted to win No. 11 in 2011," senior safety Mike Svetina said. "Everybody was disappointed last year and we figured out we had to do everything we could to get back."
 

All-state placekicker Tim Shenk certainly did his part, converting on field goals of 31 and 43 yards in the first quarter. Running back Tim McVey contributed 107 yards on the ground, including TDs of 8 and 1 yard.

 "Timmy is a tough kid," Kyle said. "He's a throwback. He's got the speed to break one, but doesn't mind putting his head down and running over somebody."
 

McVey's second score, midway through the third quarter, put the Wildcats up 27-13.

 "We got the turnover and put it in," Kyle said. "That was huge."

Meanwhile, the Tigers couldn't get any pressure on Williams, who sat in the pocket and hit key passes to keep the Wildcats in control.
 

"You give him four or five seconds in the pocket, he's going to find a receiver," Sharrett said. "They've got playmakers, but their line lets them make plays.

"We're proud to have been here after starting the year 0-2. It was a rough loss, but a good season.
 "Who knows, maybe we'll meet again someday."