PACIFICA, CA - After suffering an embarrassing loss at the hands of Terra Nova a year ago, St. Ignatius was looking for revenge Friday night.
And despite a furious second-half rally by the host Tigers, the Wildcats made last year's defeat seem like a distant memory, holding onto a hard-fought 27-24 victory to improve to 2-0.
This contest was a big one for St. Ignatius, which was lit up 50-33 last year as Tigers QB Anthony Gordon threw for 403 yards, including 256 to Jaylend Jones.
But 2014 is a brand new season, and the Wildcats, coming off another impressive revenge win over Marin Catholic, wanted to make a statement.
SI's offense started fast, scoring the game's first 21 points. On the Wildcats' first drive of the game, senior quarterback Ryan Hagfeldt led his offense down the field and found Spencer Sinclair for an 8-yard touchdown pass.
"I gotta owe the offensive production to the offensive line," Hagfeldt said. "They work hard every single day.“
Hagfeldt had a relatively quiet game, finishing 6-of-12 passing for 36 yards and a touchdown, but the St. Ignatius offense was still humming most of the night.
In the second quarter, the Wildcats kept on going as brand new starting running back Xavier Tharpe, who finished with 79 yards, went almost untouched while breaking a 50-yard touchdown run to put SI up 14-0.
Later in the second quarter, SI put together another long drive, capping it off with Brian Vollert (38 rushing yards) bulldozing his way into the end zone.
Early on, Terra Nova struggled to move the ball with field position proving to be a major challenge. In the first half, the Tigers' best starting field position was the 20-yard line. However, right before halftime, Gordon led his team down the field, but Terra Nova had to settle for a field goal, making it 21-3 heading into the break.
The Tigers carried the momentum into the second half, when they came out firing.
Gordon brought the Tigers closer with an 18-yard strike to Chase Edgington to make it 21-10.
Later in the third quarter, Gordon was at it again, tossing a screen pass to Marvin Montoya, who went 62 yards for another Terra Nova touchdown.
On the ensuing kickoff, returner Freddie Gaines took the kick back 99 yards for a touchdown, giving the Cats a 27-17 lead.
“Great execution with all 11 guys on the field," SI coach John Regalia said. "Freddie did a great job finishing that play, and the other 10 guys did a great job from start to finish.”
The Tigers answered right back, scoring a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter on a 20-yard pass from Gordon to senior wideout Eric Viana to trim the deficit to 27-24. For the most part, SI kept Gordon contained, as he finished 25-of-43 with 285 passing yards and three touchdowns.
Late in the fourth quarter, Terra Nova charged down the field once again. The Tigers moved steadily until they got inside the red zone, where they hit a brick wall in the form of the SI defense.
After Terra Nova turned the ball over on downs, SI successfully kept the football on the ground and ran the clock out. Perhaps the biggest play of the whole game was a third-and-long run by Rob Meagher, sealing the win for the Wildcats.
“We had some great success early in the game," Regalia said. "We just needed to settle in, stay with our plan, and trust our preparation."
Terra Nova dropped to 0-2.
“We were playing a very good football team," Terra Nova coach Tim Adams said. "Coach Regalia is one of the best coaches in Northern California. He had them prepared. We dug ourselves into a little bit of a hole in the first half, but played well in the second half. All credit to St. Ignatius. They’re a real, real good football team.”
Terra Nova will look for its first win of the season at Pioneer (1-1), which has had an interesting season so far, losing 55-0 to Valley Christian, but rebounding with a rout of its own, 61-20 over Gunderson.
SI moves on to play St. Mary’s-Stockton (2-0) in the Wildcats' home opener at J.B. Murphy Field on Saturday.
“Now we have an opportunity to get home, and play at home where we work everyday, and we’re excited about that,” Regalia said.
