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Meet St. Ignatius
Chuck Kyle became the Cleveland St. Ignatius High School football coach in 1983 after 11 seasons as an assistant, taking over a program that hadn’t yet been to the playoffs.
In the 27 full seasons since, St. Ignatius has won 10 state championships, played in the title game 11 times and been to the postseason 22 times (in a row).
But this season has presented a unique challenge for the legendary coach.
St. Ignatius has been forced to replace 11 defensive starters and returned just three on offense. As an independent, the school also plays a schedule rivaling some in the Mid-American Conference: Lake Catholic, Lancaster, Don Bosco Prep (a team from New Jersey ranked by some as the country’s top team), Mentor, St. Xavier and St. Edward, to name a few.
That schedule also includes Centerville, which St. Ignatius will visit on Saturday and play for the first time since two met in the 1991 state championships game (St. Ignatius won 24-21).
“We have a good team, but we’re a little mysterious,” Kyle said.
St. Ignatius is 2-1 and ranked No. 7 in The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer area Top 25. The team received a spark last week when running back Bobby Grebenc returned from an ankle sprain for the first time this season and scored three touchdowns in a victory against Lancaster.
Grebenc was a second-team All-Ohio selection last season after scoring 17 touchdowns and is key for St. Ignatius.
“He’s a guy we need,” Kyle said.
Centerville enters the game 3-0 and ranked No. 10 in the state in Division I after its emotional 24-7 victory against Alter last week. Kyle said the Elks’ strength on its lines, particularly the offensive line, is impressive from the games he has reviewed.
“You start with their offensive line, that’s a good group,” Kyle said. “You watch the first three games, and, oh my. You preach controlling the line of scrimmage. It’s safe to say they have.”
Permalink | Comments (8) | Post your comment | Categories: Football
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By goelks
September 15, 2010 5:10 PM | Link to this
This is the firt real test for Centerville this year. This should determine whether Centerville is capable of playing with the best in the state. Go Elks!!!
By meh
September 16, 2010 10:55 AM | Link to this
Will it be a test for Centerville? Yes. Is this St. Ignatius team as good as it was last year or previous years? Definitely not.
By brett
September 16, 2010 5:04 PM | Link to this
Ignatius wins 35-14
By high school sportfan
September 17, 2010 8:24 AM | Link to this
I wish you would talk about other high schools beside Centerville.
By Iggy83
September 17, 2010 11:28 AM | Link to this
This game has the potential to get ugly if Centerville is as advertised. Ignatius D-line is undersized and inexperienced. The teams leading tackler is a junior safety. If Iggy somehow pulls this out, it’ll come down to special teams and how well the Oline protects our junior QB.
By Iggy83
September 17, 2010 11:30 AM | Link to this
This game has the potential to get ugly if Centerville is as advertised. Ignatius D-line is undersized and inexperienced. The teams leading tackler is a junior safety. If Iggy somehow pulls this out, it’ll come down to special teams and how well the Oline protects our junior QB.
By Vomit
September 17, 2010 2:13 PM | Link to this
Enough of Centerville Coverage, it is so sickening to hear how good they are and if they lose how it was due to a bad call or something other than poor play or coaching.
By foffvomit
September 18, 2010 10:51 PM | Link to this
Foff vomit loser