By Dan McGrath
The 2-7 St. Ignatius team that played host to Leo in the second round of the Prep Bowl Playoffs on Friday did a pretty convincing impression of 10-0 Mount Carmel.
Then again, that 2-7 record was misleading in that it included losses to Mount Carmel, Brother Rice, Loyola, IC Catholic and Montini, all potential or even likely state champions.
So maybe the 49-6 knockout punch the Wolfpack landed on the Lions under the lights at Fornelli Field wasn’t all that surprising. It earned them a semifinal matchup with Notre Dame of Niles. And it left first-year Leo Coach Theo Hopkins undaunted.
“It was an honor to coach these kids,” Hopkins said after the loss closed the books on a 4-7 season. “They gave me everything they had.”
It just wasn’t enough against Ignatius’ crisp and efficient triple-option offense, known as the “Wishbone” when it was all the rage in college football some 50 years ago. Showing no ill effects from a three-week layoff, the Wolfpack piled up more than 200 rushing yards and found the end zone on their first six possessions.
The night began on a promising note for the Lions – they took the opening kickoff and mixed run and pass to move from their 17-yard line to the St. Ignatius 14. But Derrick Davis threw wide of Trent Watson on a first-down out route. S.I.’s Connor Gibbs intercepted and brought the ball back 57 yards to the Leo 30. Robbie Connor barged in from the 16 three plays later, and what followed wasn’t pretty.
Connor would score again on a 25-yard run while amassing 63 yards on seven carries. Sophomore Reid Hites, nimble orchestrator of the triple option, carried just five times, but three of his runs went for touchdowns, all from 16 yards. Luca Capuano’s 48 yards included a six-yard TD burst, and as if to relieve the run-run-run monotony, Connor Wanzung hooked up with JP Rydz on a 67-yard TD pass.
Davis, meanwhile, closed out his Leo career with another max-effort performance, running for 72 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries and completing three of six passes for 46 yards. Sophomore Ellison Cox’s 14 carries produced 62 yards.
“Next season starts next week,” Hopkins told his team afterwards. “We will be in the weight room. If you’re going to compete in the Catholic League, you have to be stronger than we were, and more focused.
“I want to thank the seniors for giving us everything they had. And you younger guys, you’re on notice. We will get better. When I took this job, some people told me I was crazy, you can’t win at Leo. We can win at Leo. And we will.”