MENTOR, Ohio — Ian Kipp and the Mentor Cardinals looked like a well-oiled machine one week ahead of postseason play. When you tie a current NFL quarterback’s high school record, it almost should look that way.
Led by a career-high six touchdown passes. Kipp and the Cardinals cruised to a 41-7 victory over the Strongsville Mustangs in a Greater Cleveland Conference regular season finale on Oct. 2.
Mentor, ranked No. 2 in the Cleveland.com poll, improves to 5-1 on the season. No. 22 Strongsville falls to 2-3. The Cardinals claimed the GCC championship with tonight’s victory at Jerome T. Osborne Stadium.
Kipp’s performance was one for the record books. On just 12 completions Kipp tossed six touchdowns and racked up 349 passing yards. The last time a Mentor passer threw six touchdown passes in the game, it was Chicago Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky on Oct. 5, 2012, against Solon.
“It means a lot because everything [Mitch] has achieved. It feels great to tie such a great name like that,” Kipp said when he learned of the achievement. “I am just thankful that my line protected me, and my receivers got open.”
Mentor head coach Matt Gray felt that with the preparation going into tonight’s game that Kipp was going to have a big game.
“I am proud to see him lock-in and hone in on his mechanics. Being able to have a great understanding of our offense. He knew exactly how he wanted to attack,” Gray said. “He was on from the start. When he’s on like that, we’re pretty dangerous to be able to compete.”
Kipp threw five of his six touchdown passes in the first half. He did so on only 19 total plays over the course of 4:56 to tally the 34 points in the first two quarters.
“We knew that Strongsville was going to put us in some one-on-one situations the way they play their defense. We wanted to take advantage of it,” Gray said. “I think our kids did a tremendous job winning some of those one-on-ones. That’s where you saw some of those explosive plays.”
That first explosive play came on Mentor’s second offensive play of the game. Kipp found junior Evan Harper for the first of their two touchdown connections.
Harper caught four total receptions for 157 yards, leading Mentor in the receiving category. His second overall reception of the night setup the Cardinals in Mustang territory on their way to the second touchdown of the game. Senior Hutch Baird, who also had two touchdown catches, capped off the drive with the score.
Two minutes was too much time for Kipp and the Cardinals to answer back. Less than a minute later, Kipp threw his fifth touchdown of the half to increase the lead to 27 points.
“I have been so proud of these guys, really from the beginning.” Gray said of how his team responded after surrendering the touchdown. “Handling everything that has been thrown at them in terms of the COVID, the summer, this fall … all the restrictions. They just respond and respond, and their perseverance is unbelievable. It’s encouraging to be able to see.”
The Mustangs threw another wrench into Gray’s team early in the second half. Strongsville completed its longest non-special teams play of the night, which placed them in prime position for a touchdown. One play later, the Cardinals swooped in for a fumble recovery.
“We knew they were going to come in man (coverage), and we did all that we could to try and beat that. We were really efficient too,” Kipp said of the offensive output.
Even without 4-star sophomore defensive end Brenan Vernon, Mentor’s defense stood tall all night. The Mustangs (31:53) had the ball for nearly twice as long as the Cardinals (16:07), but the Mentor defense held Strongsville to only 4.5 yards per play.
“Strongsville is a good, physical football team that wants to establish the run,” Gray said. “I thought our defense played extremely tough, extremely physical. They got 11 hats to the ball. Our defense did a tremendous job of playing hard, physical football.”
Next week, the No. 2 seed Mentor Cardinals will host No. 15 Shaker Heights in a Division I, Region I matchup. Gray wants his team to avoid going home early in the playoffs this time around.
“It’s exciting. It’s another shot to be able to compete. Having that taken away from us for 12 weeks, we’re excited to be able to compete every single day,” he said. “We don’t want to go home. We are going to do everything in our power to keep getting better on a daily basis.”
Strongsville, the No. 9 seed in that same bracket, will look to bounce back on the road against No. 8 Medina.
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Ian Kipp’s six TD passes tie Mitch Trubisky’s school mark in No. 3 Mentor’s 41-7 romp over No. 22 Strongsville - cleveland.com
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