Bobinski And The Wildcats’ Offense Take Over, As St. Ignatius Cruises Past Mentor 49-7

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PARMA, Ohio-In what is advertised as a very compelling and tightly-contested series, St. Ignatius looked to avenge their loss last year at Mentor right in front of Wildcat faithful.

My goodness did they do that.

Senior Quarterback Patrick Ryan for St. Ignatius and Junior Quarterback Tadas Tatarunas for Mentor both looked to start the scoring off and have another offensive war between the schools. Both defenses looked to have studied up, as there was a 0-0 tie to end the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Patrick Ryan turned to his Junior Running Back Mark Bobinski and he delivered, taking a three-yard run in for the score at the 11:56 mark to open the scoring.

Bobinski struck again in the second quarter, finding the goal line with a three-yard touchdown run to put the Wildcats up 14-0 with 2:56 to go in the half.

Tatarunas and the Cardinals tried to get the last laugh of the half, as the Junior hooked up with Derek Kleinhenz for a 47-yard touchdown pass with 52 seconds in the half to cut the score to 14-7.

The Cardinals failed to take advantage of a turnover, after a Patrick Ryan fumble set Mentor up right in their opponents’ territory. Tatarunas overshot his man on the end-zone attempt and the Wildcats’ Matthew Wiegandt picked the ball off, as the Wildcats trotted out on the field to take a knee to end the half.

From there, it truly became the St. Ignatius Offensive Showcase.

A three-yard touchdown run from James Andrews opened the second half scoring. It was a very sustaining drive where Andrews had a fantastic opportunity to run the ball in for six points, thanks to that tremendous offensive line.

The following drive saw Patrick Ryan lead the team down the field, capping the drive off by evading the pocket to take off for a 21-yard touchdown run, making the score 28-7.

Jeffrey Chonko joined the party with a 30-yard touchdown run to the house at the 6:23 mark of the half. Mark Bobinski finished his night with one more with one more touchdown, finding the end zone for the third time after a seven-yard rush with 6:23 to go in the game.

To seal the deal, Justin Perpar picked off backup quarterback Luke Floriea and ran it all the way back for the score with 2:40 left to go, putting the final touches on a 49-7 win.

After the game, Mark Bobinski spoke on his success running the ball against a very good Mentor defense:

“We were able to get the big push. Our offensive linemen did a heck of a job and also our receivers. Downfield blocking is key and it helped us with the run. We just kept tunnel vision, just kept going straight forward. We were able to do a great job today and hopefully more to come.”

The Wildcats face Valley Forge next week at Byers Field, as Mentor returns home to face St. Xavier.

Player of the game: St Ignatius Running Back Mark Bobinski, who finished with 155 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 19 attempts.