by Matt MacKenzie ’18
The offenses scored early and often in this one, as the Saint Ignatius Wildcats fell in a heartbreaking loss to the Archbishop Moeller Crusaders by a final score of 55-52. The Wildcats were led by a fantastic performance from Dennis Grosel, who had six total touchdowns, but came up just shy of the victory, when the Crusaders nailed a field goal with 0:10 to go in the game.
It all started on the first play from scrimmage when Dennis Grosel connected with Cal Grbac on an 80 yard touchdown pass to make it 7-0 in favor of the ‘Cats. Moeller quarterback and Pittsburgh commit Thomas MacVittie found his receiver Hausmann for a 57 yard touchdown to make it 7-7. You knew from that moment on, that it was going to be an offensive dominated game. The Wildcats answered on a touchdown run by Jimmy Andrews to give St. Ignatius the lead. MacVittie to Hausmann again made it 14-14 with 4:56 left to go in the first quarter. MacVittie ended up throwing six touchdowns on the night, A Trickett 23 yard field goal and a Grosel four yard touchdown run made it 24-14. This score would take us to the second quarter.
Dennis Grosel proved to be hard to cover yet again when he scored two rushing touchdowns, from four and eleven yards out, to give St. Ignatius a commanding 38-14 lead, with 4:58 to go before the half. Archbishop Moeller clicked as an offense after this, as Dotson reeled in a touchdown catch to trim the deficit. A surprise onside kick gave Moeller the ball back and allowed Butz to run it in for a touchdown. Finally, another MacVittie touchdown pass, this time to Ashmore, brought the Crusaders within three points. It was 38-35, as the ‘Cats were clinging to the lead, heading into the half.
The third quarter saw Archbishop Moeller complete its rally and take the lead momentarily, when Ashmore caught his second touchdown pass on the night to make it 42-38 in favor of Moeller. Dennis Grosel answered with his legs, when he scampered into the end zone for his third rushing touchdown to give St. Ignatius a 45-42 lead. It’s the second straight week, that Grosel has scored three or more touchdowns on the ground. Moeller was quick to answer though. Hausmann was the recipient of a 76 yard touchdown pass from MacVittie to give the Crusaders a 49-45 lead. After both teams traded interceptions on back to back plays, the Wildcats answered with 1:02 to go, as Grosel found James Leyden for a 24 yard touchdown and a 52-49 lead. This would take us to the final quarter of play.
There were answers on offense, as both teams had all night long. Archbishop Moeller controlled possession for most of the quarter, but didn’t break through until Coghlin sank a 36 yard field goal with 3:31 to go. That kick would tie the game. Coghlin would be relied on in the later moments of the game as well. The Wildcats were stumped on 4th down and 1 allowing the Crusaders to take over with time on their side. After running down the clock, Coghlin calmly nailed a 26 yard field goal with 0:10 to go, that gave Moeller a 55-52 lead. When the Wildcats took over, a desperation pass was intercepted and that would ultimately end the game.
The Wildcats will need to win their last two games of the season, against St. Xavier and St. Edward, to have a chance at making the playoffs. Once again, the Wildcats fell to the Crusaders in Dublin by a final score of 55-52.
