Eagles Fall in Playoff OT Thriller

Eagle senior running back Curtis Szelesta had 167 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the game.

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St. Edward and St. Ignatius added another chapter to their epic football rivalry Friday night, as the Wildcats defeated the Eagles 38-31 in an overtime playoff thriller. The loss ended St. Edward’s bid to win a third consecutive Division 1 state championship. The Eagles season ends with a final record of 9-3, two of the losses coming to their west side rivals. St. Ignatius advanced to play Olentangy Liberty in the state semifinal on Friday night.

Three weeks earlier St. Ignatius drubbed the Eagles 34-7 in the regular season finale at First Energy Stadium.  That “running clock” defeat was a motivator for St. Edward, which wanted to avenge the embarrassing defeat. Ignatius took the first lead of the rematch, as running back Mark Bobinski scored a two yard touchdown run with 4:57 left in the first quarter. St. Edward responded with a one yard touchdown run from Curtis Szelesta in the closing seconds of the period, tying the game at 7-7.

An ugly sequence in the second quarter threatened to turn the game into another Wildcat blowout. Ignatius scored ten points off two Eagle turnovers to build a 17-7 lead with 1:50 left in the half. The Eagles also had a field goal attempt blocked, and the game appeared to be slipping away. However, quarterback Kevin Ktamer hit receiver Kordell Hoover with a beautiful 66 yard touchdown pass with 18 seconds left on the clock, making the halftime score 17-14 and giving the Eagles some momentum.  

Ignatius widened its lead in the third quarter, as quarterback Patrick Ryan hit James Leyden with a 19 yard touchdown pass to make it 24-14 with 2:48 left. The Eagles quickly responded with a seven yard Szelesta touchdown carry with 1:13 left in the quarter. Szelesta, who finished with 167 yards on the night, carried the ball on all five plays of the 80 yard touchdown drive.  

The Eagles forced a turnover early in the fourth quarter, as cornerback Melvin Jackson picked off Ryan deep in Wildcat territory. Szelesta scored a ten yard touchdown on the next play, giving St. Edward its first lead of the game at 28-24 with 10:05 left in regulation. Ignatius responded on the next possession, driving 80 yards to retake the lead 31-28 with 7:39 to go. St. Edward tied the game on its next possession, as Mason Lawler drilled a 33 yard field goal with 4:14 left in the fourth quarter. The drive came at a high cost…..Kramer was injured on a 42 yard carry that took the ball to the Wildcats 22 yard line. Without their starting quarterback, the Eagles were forced to settle for the field goal, and had trouble generating offense the rest of the night.

The Eagle defense clamped down on the Wildcats for the remainder of regulation, forcing two Ignatius punts and keeping the score tied. However, Bobinski scored an eight yard touchdown run in the first possession of overtime, capping a 20 yard drive where he carried on all four plays. The Eagles, playing without Kramer, were unable to match the score. The Ignatius defense held the Eagles to two short runs and two incomplete passes, thereby walking off with the 38-31 victory.