St. Ignatius pulled out a double overtime victory of 27-24 at home against St. Mary's-Stockton. The Wildcats remain undefeated at 3-0 and are one win away from matching last season's four win total. The Rams go to 2-1 and have another tough non-league game against Los Gatos.
The Rams scored within the first minute of the game as quarterback Noah Righetti ran 57 yards for 7-0 lead. The defenses battled for field position for the rest of the half, as St. Ignatius was able to start in Ram territory and driver 47 yards that culminated with a Brian Vollert 1-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game at 7-7. The Rams ended the half with a Righetti 3-yard pass to Stephen Gudino to give St Mary's a 14-7 advantage.
On the first offensive play for the Rams in the second half, a key fumble in their territory setup a Ryan Hagfeldt to Rob Meagher 3-yard touchdown pass to trim the Ram lead to 14-13 with the missed extra point. St. Mary's had all the momentum as Righetti ran 31 yards to give the Rams a 21-13 lead early in the final quarter. The Wildcats were able to come up with several key conversions on their final drive that allowed Vollert to run for his second touchdown from 2 yards out with less than a minute in regulation. The two point conversion was caught on a misdirection pass to Dominic Burke to tie the game at 21-21. The Rams frantically drove down the field but the 35-yard field goal attempt on the final play of regulation was no good.
In the first overtime, the teams started in the red zone at the 10-yard line. Both teams were stopped short of the endzone and exchanged field goals to make the score 24-24. On the second possession for the Rams, a deflected Rightetti pass ended up being intercepted by Peter Katz. The Wildcats ran one play before kicker Andrew Fererro converted on his second straight attempt to win the game 27-24 for St Ignatius.
St. Ignatius has a bye week before starting league play against Bellarmine. The team has played with a "bend but don't break" approach as each victory was by one score. West Catholic Athletic League play has always been tough but the Wildcats look like they will finish in the upper half of the standings this year.
The Rams committed the only two turnovers of the game. In addition, they seem to play too conservatively after going up 21-13. St. Mary's has two more non-league battles in Los Gatos and Buhach Colony before looking to challenge for the Tri-City Athletic League.
Ryan Hagfeldt 6-foot-3, 195 pounds QB St. Ignatius (2015): Hagfeldt made the necessary plays at the right time and did not make any costly mistakes. He converted several third downs on the Wildcat scoring drives including a fourth down conversion on the game-tying drive in regulation. He passed for 166 yards on an efficient 21 of 28. Hagfeldt said that his recruiting is mostly limited to feelers from Ivy League schools currently.
Dylan Elder 6-foot-1, 165 pounds WR St. Ignatius (2015): Elder is a possession receiver who made several critical catches. In the final possession in regulation, he snatched the ball from a defender in keeping the game tying drive alive. He also was the recipient of the key fourth down play.
Jack Mckeon 6-foot-1, 180 pounds DE/TE St. Ignatius (2017): Mckeon is a sophomore to watch as he made several key tackles both on special teams and in the opponent's backfield. He made the key fumble recovery that led to the Wildcats second score.
Noah Righetti 6-foot-1, 206 pounds QB St. Mary's Stockton (2015): Righetti is a dual threat quarterback who accounted for all three touchdowns for the Rams. He has the arm strength to make all the throws and made good decisions on the offense. The Rams also have skilled playmakers to complement Righetti.
Myles Cunningham 5-foot-11, 208 pounds DE/G St. Mary's Stockton (2015) and
Cutler Salmon 6-foot-5, 245 pounds DL St. Mary's Stockton (2015): Cunningham is undersized for the next level but he was providing a solid pass rush as he got to the opposing quarterback a few times. Salmon is probably a few inches shorter than his listed height but he also met Cunningham in the backfield on several occasions. The duo was effective in applying a consistent pass rush.
Marcell Spady 5-foot-10, 220 pounds RB St. Mary's Stockton (2015): Spady is a big bruising back who was able to get chunks of yards on his rushes. Spady does not have lightning speed but is difficult to take down on the initial hit. He should be the team's leading rusher for the season.
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