High School Football in Review-Week 13

A look back at the games I attended last week-my 28th and 29th of the season:

FRIDAY NIGHT-Columbiana Crestview vs. Kirtland-It was a crisp, chilly night out in Warren, the first time I'd been there since the Kirtland-Youngstown Ursuline matchup of 2008. Special thanks to quick-thinking N-H sportswriter John Kampf, who gave me a package of hand warmers that he had. Absolutely dominating performance by the Hornet defense, which really controlled this game. The small but quick Rebels made Kirtland work for they got offensively, at least for the first 3 quarters. Now Kirtland will play the biggest game in school history-a state semifinal against a fellow undefeated team in Bucyrus Wynford. Hopefully Damon Washington, who suffered a mild concussion against Crestview, will be able to play.

SATURDAY NIGHT-Mentor vs. St.Ignatius-I didn't see the first game between these teams 10 weeks ago, but the Wildcats were clearly very well prepared for this one. The Ignatius defense, the running of Tim McVey, and a strong wind helped prevent the Cardinals from doing a lot of things they wanted to do. It was clear that it was important to St.Ignatius to avoid falling behind on the scoreboard. The Wildcats had a great game plan and executed it very well. There was a sense that perhaps Mentor could pull off an epic comeback, but St.Ignatius did what they had to do, and so they'll move on. Hey, I've said it before-St.Ignatius is still the standard, the best high school football program in Northeast Ohio.