Week 6 High School Football in review

A look back at the games I attended over the weekend:

FRIDAY NIGHT: Mayfield at Brush. The story of this game, as with every game Friday, was the weather. Steady rain and chilly wind all night. Luckily for me, I got to watch from the press box. As expected. defenses ruled. With Mayfield, that's to be expected. The Wildcats make their name with defense. The performance of Brush was a little surprising. The Arcs were strong up front against the Mayfield running game all night. Surprising considering that Brush had given up big points in all 4 of their previous losses. Besides the fact that this is a rivalry game, the game was also important because each team has a chance to do well in its respective division of the NOC. In the end, it was once again Mayfield coming out on top-for the 21st time in the last 22 meetings.

SATURDAY NIGHT: Glenville at St.Ignatius. I try to make it out to Byers Field in Parma for at least one Ignatius regular season game per year. The games are always a big event; it's still truly the best high school football program in NE Ohio. Plus, I needed a new pair of shoes, and the Parmatown Mall is right next door. So that worked out well. As for the game, it will be memorable for two reasons-the weather, and the Wildcat defense in the second half. It was so cold, it reminded me of mid-November. I always stay until the end of games, so this was a real test of my tolerance for freezing. Now the game-in the first half, the Wildcats seemed to be in control until a Glenville wide receiver went 78 yards for a touchdown on a reverse with just 1:11 to go before halftime. The extra-point attempt into the wind was no good, which left the score 7-6 St. Ignatius at the half. The third quarter would decide everything. Four times Glenville had the ball, and four times went three-and-out during the period. It was an awesome display of defense by Iggy. Trying to punt into the wind just did not work for Glenville. The Wildcats started possession 3 straight times inside Glenville's 40. Two touchdowns and a wind-aided 48-yard field goal later, it was 24-6 Ignatius and that was pretty much that. Glenville's playoff chances appear to be shot, now 2-3 on a 9-game schedule, they most likely would need to win out and hope just about everyone ranked higher than them in Region 1 loses. As for St.Ignatius, they'll be there in November.