St. Ignatius out of Ohio finally got on the field this past weekend and defeated a challenging Archbishop Moeller school 57-5. 

It was still very cold in Cleveland, but the fields were usable. Ignatius handled a big, physical Moeller team which used their forwards to pummel opposing defenses. Ignatius fullback Andrew Bladado played well and converted six of his team's nine tries in a difficult win, and also scored two tries while setting up another.

With Moeller using a kick-and-chase, Baldado had a lot of work to do defensively, and his counter-attacking got St. Igantius back on the front foot.

It's now to the airport for St. Ignatius as tey leave Thursday for a ten-day trip to Ireland. There Ignatius will play three Jesuit schools in Ireland - Galway, Clongowes Wood, and Belvedere. Both Clongowes and Belvedere advanced to the Leinster Senior Cup semifinals this year, where Belvedere eliminated Clongowes 27 to 26. The schools have a long list of former students who played for Ireland. 

"We're using the trip to continue to build the program from the ground on up and will only be bringing 10 A-side starters," said Head Coach Daniel Arbeznik. "The rest of the group will be filled out with freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. We're hoping the younger kids will be inspired to go out and continue to recruit their classmates to the club."

It will be a tough tour for the St. Ignatius team, but one Arbeznik said will be part of a larger cultural tour of the country.