Once new to St. Ignatius, Darian Kinnard now fits like a glove - cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio Anticipation momentarily distracted Darian Kinnard.
The St. Ignatius left tackle forgot his size triple-XL gloves at home Friday after washing them for the biggest football game of his life, the Wildcats Division I, Region 1 championship vs. St. Edward.
Like his mitts, Kinnard is hard to miss. The 6-foot-6, 315-pound junior stepped into a position vacated by Liam Eichenberg, now at Notre Dame. Kinnard aspires to play at a prestigious college, too, which brought him to St. Ignatius. Right now, he is part of a massive offensive line that set the tone for St. Ignatius run to Fridays state semifinal in Mansfield vs. Olentangy Liberty (13-0).
Collectively, this line weighs 1,485 pounds. No one is shorter than 6-1, yet Kinnard towers on the left side with 285-pound senior guard Tyler Fuerst. The rest of the core includes East Carolina-bound center John Spellacy, All-Northeast Lakes District junior guard John Jamieson and 6-4, 310-pound right tackle Brian Almady.
Coach Chuck Kyle entered the year convinced St. Ignatius chances hinged on their play.
Coming into the year, thats where we had experience and skill, he said.
So far, they cushioned every blow and question mark. Patrick Ryan replaced All-Ohio quarterback Dennis Grosel. The offense lost starting running back Jimmy Andrews in Week 9 to a broken arm. Yet here is St. Ignatius at 12-1 after beating rival St. Edward for a second time in Fridays regional final, 38-31 in overtime.
Kyle credits the line for making that possible. Opposing coaches, from Mentors Steve Trivisonno to St. Edwards Tom Lombardo, pointed to that mammoth line when each of them met the Wildcats.
The right side is savvy from a year or two of Division I competition. The left side towers over a defensive front with Kinnard.
He arrived at St. Ignatius in the summer of 2015.
Born in Youngstown, his mother moved him to Tennessee at a young age. He grew up in Knoxville and Johnson City and played football as a freshman at Dobyns-Bennett in Kingsport. That's when Mandy Headrick lost her job and began sending out resumes. She asked her son where he wanted to move.
Kinnard responded with Ohio.
Why? she asked. Its cold up there.
His answer had everything to do with his future and nothing about revisiting a birthplace.
I wanted to come up here to get better looks at colleges, he said, and I heard about St. Ignatius, so it all kind of fell into place from there.
They found a home in Ohio City, a short walking distance from St. Ignatius. He enrolled in the school with a lot of help from my grandparents, who still live in Tennessee.
Unlike most of his new teammates and classmates at St. Ignatius, Kinnard never attended a private school. He remembered the first few weeks as very awkward. On the football team, his adjustments included two position changes. He played guard in Tennessee, and St. Ignatius coaches made him a right tackle.
Just like school, the position and right side of the line were new to him.
He had a very good offseason, Kyle said, and was a big kid that needed to put the weight in the right area and condition himself; just become more of a student of the game. Its not just standing there and throwing guys around. Theres a lot more to it.
Kinnard learned techniques from his older teammates. Now, on a frigid Monday in preparation for the state semifinals, Kinnard points others through drills.
Hes really progressed throughout the year, said Fuerst, who lines up beside Kinnard. To be such a great player now is actually kind of amazing.
Kinnard said he has yet to receive a college scholarship offer, but he did visit Ohio State the school that prompted his suggestion to move north.
Mom agreed then, just like she did Friday when Kinnard called her about grabbing his triple-XL gloves from the washer.
And drying them.
And bringing them to the game.
She reached Bedfords Bearcat Stadium about 30 minute before kickoff, just as Kinnard warmed up on the field with his teammates for their biggest game. By night's end, Kinnard and the line plowed the way on four consecutive plays that culminated with Mark Bobinski's go-ahead touchdown in overtime.
Dont expect Kinnard to forget those gloves anywhere in the next two weeks.
These gloves are pretty torn up, he said, looking over patches exposing parts of his hand. Its hard to find gloves anywhere.
From Eichenberg to Kinnard, hulking left tackles are more prevalent at St. Ignatius.
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Looks like he really is from Knoxville may be some truth to this. wow its Trip Thurman all over again
