Finally, at 9:16 p.m., Springfield’s season-opening game against Saint Ignatius was canceled.
At that point, if the lightning had stopped, which it hadn’t, the game wouldn’t have started until after 10 p.m. The game will not be made up Sunday because of the distance between the schools — Springfield would have had to drive north on two straight days — and the difficulty of finding a stadium on short notice.
Springfield, the state runner-up last fall and a state semifinalist the last three seasons, could not find an opponent for Week 2, so it will now open the season against Trotwood-Madison at home on Sept. 2. Trotwood-Madison opened the season Friday with a 39-16 loss to Winton Woods.
This would have been the second straight meeting in Week 1 between Springfield and Saint Ignatius.
Springfield won 24-20 in Springfield in 2021 when Micah Johnson picked off a pass by Saint Ignatius quarterback Joey Pfaff along the sideline in front of the Saint Ignatius bench and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown. The score gave the Wildcats a 24-20 lead with 2 minutes, 57 seconds to play.
Springfield finished 13-2 last season and made its first state championship game appearance, losing 23-13 to St. Edward. Saint Ignatius, an 11-time state champion, won two playoff games before losing 27-14 to Medina and finished 8-5.
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