Cub Football - Loyola hosts No. 11th-ranked Cathedral on Friday
LOYOLA OPENS 2025 CAMPAIGN AGAINST LOADED CATHEDRAL SQUAD AT SMITH FIELD ON FRIDAY
Loyola opens the 2025 season at 7:00 p.m. at Smith Field on Friday night against Cathedral, the 11th-ranked team in the Los Angeles Times’ preseason top 25.
The Phantoms, who are loaded with fast skill position athletes on both sides of the ball, is one of four top 25 opponents the Cubs will play this fall.
But for the unprecedented exodus of multiple players from the football program, Loyola likely would have been highly ranked heading into the season.
Now, the Cubs will need to find a way to harness every ounce of talent and determination to compete against a monster schedule.
BLUE-WHITE SCRIMMAGE HIGHLIGHTS
Last Saturday in the Blue-White scrimmage, a large number of new starters served notice that the Cubs intend to be in the fight every week during the regular season which concludes on October 31.
The offensive line, as expected, demonstrated that it will be a team strength this fall.
Harvard-bound offensive right tackle NATHAN TURK (6-3, 279)and Stanford-bound Edge “MAD MAX” MEIER (6-6, 251) showed why they are among the best in the CIF Southern Section at their respective positions. Their one-on-one battles were impressive.
Senior AL SANFORD (6-3, 298) started at left tackle on the offensive line, and showed well in his spirited matchup with talented outside linebacker ZACH HARRISON (6-3, 217). Sophomore LONDON DIVENS (6-3, 305) and freshman EVANDER MARTINEZ (6-2, 242) are both pushing for playing time on the offensive and defensive lines.
Sophomore running back JAYDEN ROGERS flashed his sprinter’s speed, breaking off a 45-yard run on his first carry of the scrimmage. Junior KANE CASANI also had a 35-yard sprint for a first down.
Sophomore JC RISING completed 12 of 18 passes (67%) in his varsity debut. The receiving corps looked good, led by junior wideout TOBY THUSS, junior receiver SAM FRIEND, swift sophomore pass catcher BRANDON ALEXANDER and senior tight end WES McMULLIN.
All-CIF kicker JACOB KREINBRING made all of his field goal and PAT attempts.
A LOOK AT CATHEDRAL
Coach Vincent Jefferson expects his Phantoms team to vie for a CIF Southern Section championship this season, and he has good reason for his optimism, as a boat load of exceptional athletes, including several newcomers, will be leading Cathedral, which posted a 10—1 record last fall and ran away with the Angelus League title.
The centerpiece of the Phantoms’ offensive attack is uber talented junior quarterback JADEN JEFFERSON (5-10, 175). In his two years as a varsity starter, Jefferson has amassed a staggering 5,643 yards of total offense.
The prime-time dual threat signal caller passed for 2,641 yards (240 yards per game) and 30 touchdowns last season. He rushed for 793 yards (8.2 yards per carry) and four TDs.
Senior wide receiver Quentin Hale (6-3, 175) is fast and sure handed. He totaled 995 receiving yards (15.8 yards per reception) last fall.
On the defensive side of the ball, Cathedral is led by senior defensive end Isaiah Greer (6-2,205). The cat quick athlete made 57 tackles in 2024, recorded 4.5 sacks, and forced 16 QB hurries.
GAME OUTLOOK
If Jaden Jefferson cannot be corralled, it could be a long night for the Cubs. Somehow, some way Loyola’s ‘Wolfpack’ defense will need to slow down the junior phenom in both the aerial and ground game.
To have a shot at what would be a major upset, the Cubs must shorten the game by executing time consuming drives on offense and limiting Cathedral’s offensive possessions.
One area where Loyola has an advantage is in the kicking game.
The Phantoms participated in an interscholastic scrimmage last week against Western of Anaheim, whereas the Cubs only had a limited intra-squad scrimmage. Loyola’s lack of a tuneup against another squad in preparation for Friday’s contest, provides Cathedral with another decided advantage.
THE LOYOLA - CATHEDRAL SERIES
Loyola leads its oldest rivalry series against the Phantoms 33-16-1 (67%).
The schools played their first football game against one another in 1927, some 98 years ago.
To give some perspective to the age of the rivalry, 1927 marked the year of the first-ever talkie movie, the first-ever transatlantic telephone call and Charles Lindberg’’s solo transatlantic flight.
The Cubs won the inaugural grid battle against Cathedral, 19-0, with head coach AL TASSI guiding the team. Loyola finished the 1927 campaign 6-0-1.
For decades the Cubs and Phantoms competed in the venerable Catholic League, which disbanded after the 1967 season.
Last fall Cathedral defeated Loyola, 16-13, in double overtime in the season’s first game.
CUBS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Below is the list of Loyola graduates on college football rosters in 2025 according to published collegiate rosters:
JAKE ARELLANO '24, DB, Bentley University
CHAD BAILEY ‘20, DB, Bentley University
BROCK BOJORQUEZ ‘25, DB, Johns Hopkins
COLIN CRUCE ‘22, OL, Bowdoin
KHALIL CUEVA ‘24, WR, University of San Diego
JEFFREY JOHNSON ‘21, TE, Cal
LUKE HARRISON ‘24, OL, University of San Diego
CONNOR KLEIN ‘25, LB, Williams
SHAWN LIN '22, DL, Columbia
LEIGHTON LINE ‘23, DL, Cal Lutheran
TAHJ OWENS '22, DB, Princeton
JACK PARIS '23, DL, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
RYAN QUINTANAR '20, LB, USC
ISAIAH SANDERS, ‘24, LB, UC Davis
PATRICK SODL ‘22, LB, Columbia
ZAKHARI SPEARS ‘21, DB, Idaho
HENRY STICKLER ‘22, WR, SMU
JACK SUSNJAR ‘23, OL, USC
JOE TATUM ‘22, QB, Texas
SCOTT TAYLOR '25, LB, UCLA
RYAN TURK ‘24, OL, Dartmouth
CHAMP WESTBROOKS ‘24, OL, Arizona State
ALEX WHITMAN ‘22, WR, Notre Dame
CEYAIR WRIGHT ‘21, DB, Nebraska
SAM YOON ‘22, OL, UCLA
2025 LOYOLA VARSITY FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
8-22 Cathedral
8-29 @ Millikan (Long Beach)
9-5 Mount Miguel
9-12 @ Hamilton (Los Angeles)
9-19 St. Francis
10-3 @ Notre Dame*
10-10 @ Serra*
10-17 Bishop Amat*
10-24 @ Chaminade*
10-31 Sierra Canyon*
Denotes Mission League game