by Greg Ziton ’13
One game at a time. That is the mantra that Coach O’Toole has instilled in his basketball team all season long. Even after earning the number one seed at the Solon District, the Saint Ignatius Wildcats know that advancing to Regionals will be no easy task. The Solon District is widely considered the toughest in the state. Game number one for Saint Ignatius, ranked #1 in Northeast Ohio by the Plain Dealer and #7 in the state by the AP poll, will be a March 1st Sectional Final against the winner of the February 26th Sectional Semifinal between Lincoln West and John F. Kennedy. Senate Athletic League runner-up JFK is favored there. This Sectional Final game should be a relatively comfortable win for the Wildcats. After that, the real challenge begins.
The March 6th District Semifinal will likely be against the 4th seeded Tigers of Cleveland Heights, who finished the regular season with a 16-6 record and will play the winner of Maple Heights and Kenston in their first playoff game. Saint Ignatius won a 58-54 thriller on the road at Cleveland Heights back on Valentine’s Day. The Tigers, ranked #7 by the Plain Dealer, bring an abundance of speed and athleticism to the court and are able to run at will. Guard Marcus Bagley and 6’7 post Antonio Harper are the players to watch for fourth-seeded Cleveland Heights, who also boasts a wide array of capable three-point shooters.
Looking ahead to the district title game on March 9th, if the Wildcats advance to that point, the probable opponent would be the winner of a projected Garfield Heights vs. Shaker Heights matchup. Two-seed Garfield Heights (15-6) and third-seeded Shaker Heights (16-6) are neck and neck in the PD poll at 4th and 6th, respectively. Garfield Heights’ balanced attack, with standouts like Willie Jackson, Robert Hurst, Al Burge, and 6’10 junior and Ohio State commit Dave Bell, can give opponents nightmares. Coach Sonny Johnson’s Bulldogs were the 2012 district runner-up.
Shaker Heights is trying to repeat as District Champion. The 2012 Raiders ended the ‘Cats’ postseason run last season in the District Semifinals. Led by Kash Blackwell, Esa Ahmad, and Rosel Hurley, the 2013 Shaker squad is a tough, physical team that isn’t afraid to play defense. The Raiders showed that in a tightly-contested pre-season scrimmage against the Wildcats. Garfield Heights beat Shaker Heights, 62-60, in Shaker when the teams matched up in mid-January. However, Shaker trounced Garfield, 52-35, in the rematch on February 21st in Garfield Heights.
The Wildcats are looking to show Northeast Ohio that they deserve their #1 seed by advancing to the Cleveland State Regional for the first time since 2010. Their challenging regular season schedule, which they handled with a record of 19-3, has prepared them for the Solon District. Saint Ignatius will bring momentum into the playoffs, with a 10-game winning streak in progress and the return of senior center Alec Papesch expected shortly. Senior captains Derek Sloan and Francisco Santiago have also been on a roll as of late, averaging 20 and 15.6 points, respectively, over the team’s last five games. Here’s to the first step in the Wildcats pursuit of their ultimate goal, a victory in Columbus on March 23rd.
Check out the district bracket in the last edition of The Eye, or at the OHSAA site. I’ll have the call with John Fanta for all of the playoff action on the SIBN live from Solon High School if you can’t make it.
