By JOE SCALZO

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

PARMA — Well, at least Boardman’s band sounded good.

“Not much else you can say but that we got our butts whupped,” said Spartans coach D.J. Ogilvie after a 37-7 loss to Cleveland St. Ignatius on Saturday at Byers Stadium. “It was not a good effort.”

One year after nearly upsetting the Wildcats before losing 8-6, Boardman had no answer for Ignatius, falling behind 31-0 at halftime against a team that’s been mentioned as a Division I state title contender.

The Spartans haven’t been in those discussions, but many observers felt Boardman was primed for its first winning season since 2002.

To do so, it’ll have to play much better than it did on Saturday.

“That’s a tremendous football team,” Ogilvie said of Ignatius. “But being in the Federal League, we’re going to have to compete against those kinds of teams.

“We’re going to see more teams like that.”

Fumble early

Boardman was never really into the game, losing a fumble on its second play from scrimmage and quickly falling behind 7-0 less than three minutes into the game. The Wildcats scored on their next five possessions before pulling their starters.

The Spartans’ band played Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” at halftime and a few of the fans must have thought about it.

The Spartans’ lone bright spot on offense came in the fourth quarter when junior Damien Jarrett scampered for a 20-yard touchdown to avoid the shutout.

“We’ve got to put this game behind us and play better next week,” said Jarrett, who finished with 44 yards on 11 carries and had some nice kick returns.

The Spartans gained 193 total yards, but most of those came in the second half. Ignatius had 286 and started most of its drives in the first half in Boardman territory.

“I think [Boardman’s] a very good team,” said Ignatius coach Chuck Kyle. “They’re going to learn from this and they’ll get it straightened out.

“They’re going to be fine.”

Junior Michael Anter led the Wildcats with 100 yards on 11 carries with a touchdown. Quarterback Andrew Holland completed 8 of 11 passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Holland also ran for 23 yard and a TD.

Kyle more confident

“I know we’re good; I just don’t know how good,” said Kyle, whose team last won a state title in 2001. “Obviously I feel better after tonight.”

Spartan quarterback Nick Tuminello completed 5 of 12 passes for 48 yards but spent most of the night running for his life. Sophomore Rob Boyd looked good playing mop-up time in the fourth, completing 3 of 4 passes for 64 yards.

Tyler Amendola added 33 yards on 11 carries for the Spartans, who play Toledo Start next week. Jeremy Hobby added seven catches for 71 yards. J.T. Moore, Ryan Holmes and Jordan Paradise made some nice plays defensively.

“I’ve never questioned the kids’ effort — this team has a lot of heart and they always give 100 percent,” said Ogilvie. “You make your biggest improvement from Week 1 to Week 2.

“We’ve got a lot of room for improvement.”

scalzo@vindy.com