November 17, 2022

Cub Football - A closer look at semifinal contest on Friday - More Loyola news and stat updates - Seven Cubs will be on the field at the Rose Bowl on Saturday when UCLA and USC battle for City and PAC-12 supremacy

A CLOSER LOOK AT LOYOLA’S SEMIFINAL OPPONENT
As the Cubs (7-5) have completed their preparations to take on Orange Coast League champion Orange (10-2) in the semifinal round of the CIF Southern Section Division 6 playoffs on Friday, a deeper analytical dive into Loyola’s prospects for earning a trip to the CIF championship game for the fourteenth time in its storied football history is in order.

Orange has put up big offensive numbers (39 points per game) and posted impressive defensive stats (13 points per game), so it is easy to conclude on paper that the Panthers will be very tough to beat. A close look at various metrics, though, make the prospects for a Big Blue victory far from a long shot.

The recent implementation of the competitive equity system by the CIF Southern Section uses the computer rankings of CalPreps.com for the placement of teams in the 14 divisional brackets at the end of the regular season.

Both Loyola and Orange were placed in the Division 6 playoffs, with the Cubs’ ranking earning them a number four seed, and the Panthers’ rating putting them into the playoff field as a number eight seed. 

Among the various criteria utilized by CalPreps in its ranking formulae is strength of schedule (SOS). Orange’s current SOS is rated at 3.4. The Panthers are currently ranked 61st in the Southern Section by CalPreps, and has by far the worst SOS of all of the teams ranked above them.

Loyola, currently ranked 64th in the Southern Section by CalPreps, has a SOS rating of 24.8, which is over seven times higher than that of Orange. There can be little argument that the Cubs’ tough non-league schedule benefited their overall success in league competition and the playoffs.

In their two losses to Villa Park (24-12) and Yorba Linda (36-7) early in the season, the Panthers were outscored by Villa Park, 17-6, in the second half and shutout by Yorba Linda after intermission.

According to MaxPreps statistics, Orange’s vaunted rushing attack was held to minus one yard against Villa Park and only gained 74 yards (3.0 ypc) against Yorba Linda.

In the Panthers’ first round playoff game against Huntington Beach, they escaped with 34-28 overtime win. They were shutout in the second half by the Oilers, who finished the 2022 campaign with a 5-6 record.

St. Francis, whom Loyola defeated 28-27, downed Villa Park, a 12-point winner over Orange in the Division 5 quarterfinals by a score of 35-28

CalPreps projects Orange to down Loyola by one point, and the Orange County Register likewise predicts the Panthers to prevail over the Cubs. Bottom line, Loyola will be in it to win it, based on a number of positive factors.

LOYOLA WILL DEFEAT ORANGE IF . . .
The Cubs run the ball effectively and limit the Panthers’ rushing attack. . . .

Loyola comes out fast, and keeps the pedal to the metal for a full 48 minutes . . . 

The Cubs contain Orange’s dual threat QB, who ran for 153 yards in the Panthers’ 34-18 quarterfinal win over San Juan Hills . . .

Loyola wins the turnover battle . . .

The Cubs play great on special teams . . .

Loyola is on the lookout for trick plays  (onside kicks, double passes , etc.)

The Big Blue wants it more!!!

WHAT’S NEXT AFTER A LOYOLA WIN ON FRIDAY
The CIF coin tosses were won by Loyola to determine the home team for the CIF Division 6 title game. Regardless of which team in the lower bracket (Calabasas at San Jacinto) wins the other semifinal contest, the championship game will be at Loyola the day after Thanksgiving if the Cubs take care of business tomorrow night.

FAMILIAR VENUE
Loyola’s seniors will be familiar with the surroundings this Friday. In the 2021 first round Division 3 playoffs, the Cubs defeated Villa Park, 35-14, at Fred Kelly Stadium, the venue they will play at tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m.

LOYOLA STAT LEADERS
Here is a list of Loyola’s current stat leaders:

OFFENSE
Passing:
XAVIER RICE (Sr.)
147/255 (58%), 1,346 yds., 7 TDs

Receiving:
WILKE WILES (Sr.)
39 receptions, 421 yds. (10.8 avg.), 4TDs
KHALIL CUEVA (Jr.)
25 receptions, 283 yds. (11.3 avg.), 3 TDs

Rushing:
JON BAUTISTA (Sr.)
123/640 yds., 5.2 ypc, 7 TDs
DESI VALDES (Soph.) 77/ 439 yds. 5.7 ypc, 5 TDs

Pancake blocks:
JACK SUSNJAR (Sr.)
13

DEFENSE
Tackles:
ZACH BOWLES (Sr.)
136
JAKE ARELLANO (Jr.)
128

Interceptions:
JORDAN HEWITT (Sr.)
4

Sacks:
ELIJAH SANDERS (Jr.)
7.5
JARED ERBY (Sr.)
4
SCOTT TAYLOR ( Soph.)
3

Tackles for loss:
ELIJAH SANDERS (Jr.)
60
JARED ERBY (Sr.)
28
SCOTT TAYLOR ( Soph.)
17

Hurries:
ELIJAH SANDERS (Jr.)
26
SCOTT TAYLOR (Soph.)
15

MORE FRESHMAN HISTORY
Since the 2022 Loyola freshman team went undefeated this season in impressive fashion, there have been a lot of emails received from alumni about their freshman teams.  

DENNIS MAGUIRE ‘75, who quarterbacked the 1974 Frosh squad, wrote about his team which featured one of, if not the greatest, running backs in Cub Football history, the incomparable All-CIF tailback FREDDY BROWN ‘75. GLENN HARVEY ‘75 proudly pointed out that the ‘74 Frosh defense yielded only 6.8 yards per game.

There were so many excellent Cub freshman teams over the last century, they are too numerous to mention.

How about the 2002 Loyola freshmen who finished  a disappointing 2-8. The next year as sophomores under current Denver Broncos general manager and then sophomore head coach GEORGE PATON ‘87, that group went 10-0. Current head coach DREW CASANI ‘91, was the defensive coordinator under Paton.

Two years later, as seniors, the 2002 freshmen won the CIF Southern Section Division I title and were led by the Cubs’ tenth CIF Player-of-the-Year, quarterback HENRY BURGE ‘06. The moral of that story is that even less than stellar freshmen squads can develop into championship caliber teams.

Undefeated Loyola freshman squads have invariably gone on to have highly successful varsity campaigns.

The level of enthusiasm generated among Cub alumni concerning their freshman squads has been incredible.

PRE-GAME MEETING PLACE TOMORROW NIGHT
Loyola parents, alumni and supporters are meeting at Aces Bar & Grill, 3538 Chapman Avenue, Orange , CA 92869, at 4:00 before the big semifinal bout tomorrow.. Fred Kelly Stadium is directly across the street from Aces.

SEVEN CUB ALUMNI TO MEET IN USC - UCLA GAME AT THE ROSE BOWL ON SATURDAY 
Seven former Loyola football players will be on the field at the Rose Bowl Friday for the annual UCLA vs. USC battle.

Cubs on the Bruins roster:
NICHOLAS BARR-MIRA ‘19
ALEX JOHNSON ‘18
EVAN THOMAS ‘20
SAM YOON ‘22

Loyola alums on the Trojans roster:
JAC CASASANTE ‘18
SINJUN ASTANI ‘17
CEYAIR WRIGHT ‘21
 

CUB ALUMNI IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL 
Here is the current list of Cubs participating in college football (in alphabetical order):

NICK ANDERSON ‘20, OL (Denison)
SINJUN ASTANI ‘17, DL (USC)
CHAD BAILEY ‘20, DB (Tulane)
NICHOLAS BARR-MIRA ‘19, K (UCLA)
GEORGE CARATAN ‘17, K/P (Connecticut)
JAC CASASANTE ‘18, LS (USC)
COLIN CRUCE ‘22 (Bowdoin)
RAMAN ENIGBOKAN ‘22 (Morehouse)
MIKE GRAVES ‘19, DB (Notre Dame)
JACOBY KELLY ‘22, WR (San Diego State)
ANDREW KOZHAYA ‘21, OL (Grinnel)
ALEX JOHNSON, ‘18, DB (UCLA)
JEFFREY JOHNSON ‘21, TE (Cal)
CARTER LINK ‘20, LB (SMU)
SHAWN LINN ‘22, DL (Columbia)
TY MAHER ‘18, OL (Colby)
CONNOR McDOWELL ‘21, DB (Angelo State)
BLAKE NEITHART ‘20 DB (Carleton)
TAHJ OWENS ‘22, RB/DB (Princeton)
NATHAN PRIESTLEY ‘19, QB (Georgia)
RYAN QUINTANAR ‘20, LB (TCU)
PATRICK SODL ‘22, LB (Columbia)
ZAKHARI SPEARS ‘21, DB (Washington)
JOE TATUM ‘22, QB (Texas)
EVAN THOMAS ‘20, DB ( UCLA)
BRAYDEN UTLEY ‘18, DL (Baylor)
CEYAIR WRIGHT ‘21, DB ( USC)
SAM YOON ‘22, OL (UCLA)