by Patrick McGuire ’14
The storyline for the Wildcats in week 4 was how would junior quarterback Christian Klink be able to step in to the starting role after starting John Thomas ’14 went down with a shoulder injury. The Wildcats faced an Erie McDowell team who gave Mentor problems in week 1, leading them 16-0 after the first quarter.
The Trojans of McDowell ran an offense called the Wing T which is an extremely run-heavy offense that focuses on misdirection. Their offense set up on almost every single play with three running backs in the backfield behind their quarterback Jake Tarsovich. McDowell came out early and put up 7 points quickly when the Trojan quarterback hooked up with Jamie Szymczak on a 34 yard pass which led to a rushing touchdown by QB Jake Tarasovich. This would be the only real offense that the Trojans would show Saturday night. Senior Enzo Cannata would then help out his junior quarterback with a 33 yard sprint to the end zone to tie up the score at 7-7.
Then, with 9:18 remaining in the first half, Klink would hit Jack Hyland ’14 across the middle, and the senior receiver was off to the races, breaking a 78 yard touchdown to give the ‘Cats the 14-7 lead. After a Trojan field goal, the Wildcats would march 80 yards down the field and punch the ball into the end zone with 48 seconds left on a 4 yard TD run again by Cannata.
Heading into halftime, the Wildcats had all the momentum. In the third quarter, Cannata punched in his 3rd touchdown of the evening on a 2 yard run. Then, Klink connected with Senior Michael Siragusa on a spectacular pitch-and-catch in the back left corner of the end zone to put the score to 35-10. Then came the special teams.
The Wildcat special teams units put together two touchdowns in the 4th quarter to put the game away for the ‘Cats. First, Tyree Spearman fumbled the Cory Griffith punt on his own 8 yard line, and Nick Malarik recovered it in the end zone to increase the Cats’ lead to 42-10. Just over 2 minutes later, Lawrence Birchler single-handedly blocked and then recovered the ball in the end zone for the ‘Cats’ final score.
The Wildcat’s offense exploded in the second half for 28 unanswered points to put away the Erie McDowell Trojans 49-10 in the first varsity start by Christian Klink, as the Wildcats improve their record to 3-1.
Saint Ignatius will take on Paramus Catholic this Saturday, 2 P.M. at Byers Field for their homecoming game.
