Cub Football - A look at the Cubs at half way point - The Loyola-Mira Costa “neighborhood” rivalry
LOYOLA SHOWING STRENGTH AT HALF-WAY POINT OF REGULAR SEASON
After playing five games, the still pandemic-affected regular season has proved promising for the Cubs (4-1) who continue to strive for the big goals they set for the 2021 campaign. Two of the Big Blue’s opponents, San Diego Mira Mesa last Friday, and Manhattan Beach Mira Costa this week, were late replacements because of cancellation of scheduled contests.
Loyola’s average score through the first five games of its seven game non league schedule is 32-18. In their last three contests, the Cubs have scored 62, 34 and 42 points with an offensive squad loaded with playmakers. The high scores look to continue.
The Cub ‘Wolfpack’ defense has played well, and continues to improve as a number of first time players are gaining valuable experience while learning on the job.
Loyola is currently ranked twenty-third in the state by CalPreps.com, and seventeenth in the Southland by the Los Angeles Times.
The Cubs play resurgent Mira Costa on the road this Friday and will be traveling to South Orange County to take on San Clemente on October 1 before embarking on their three-game Angelus League slate in Encino against Crespi Carmelite on October 15.
LOYOLA - MIRA COSTA , A “NEIGHBORHOOD” RIVALRY
Loyola and Mira Costa first did battle on the gridiron in 1963. The Cubs lassoed the Mustangs, 10-0. Loyola went on to win a second consecutive CIF AAAA championship that season and finished the undefeated campaign as the second ranked high school football team in the nation.
The following year, the Cubs downed Mira Costa, 12-6. Loyola again played in the CIF AAAA title game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum where it lost a heartbreaker to upstart Whittier to end what is still the CIF Southern Section Large Schools record winning streak at 35 games. The Big Blue was led by famed two-time All-CIF tailback MIKE BERGDAHL, Loyola’s all-time leading rusher.
In 1965 the Cubs shut out the Mustangs, 20-0, on a fog shrouded evening in Manhattan Beach. Loyola was paced by All-CIF tailback PHIL JEBBIA.
The teams took a 31-year hiatus in the rivalry before playing again in 1996. The Cubs routed Mira Costa, 37-12, and finished the year 12-2, losing a close one in the CIF Southern Section Division I title contest to Mater Dei.
Since 1996, Loyola and the Mustangs have met an additional nine times, with the Cubs winning each of those battles.
Why are a Jesuit college preparatory located just west of downtown Los Angeles and a public high school in Manhattan Beach such fierce rivals? The answer is probably proximity, not in the location of the schools, but rather the neighborhoods where their students reside. Twenty-plus percent of Loyola’s varsity football players live in the South Bay area, and an even larger number on the Freshman squad are from the South Bay. And those numbers have remained relatively constant for decades. Many Mira Costa athletes grew up playing youth sports, including football, with future Cubs.
Since the 1980s the schools have developed an intense rivalry in volleyball, with both schools ranking among the top squads in the country on an annual basis. And indeed many of the players at Loyola and Mira Costa hail from the same beach towns and play on the same club teams.
The annual matches between the arch rivals draw thousands of fans. Loyola has won 12 CIF Southern Section volleyball championships, and quite a number of South Bay players have been instrumental in those titles.
Such Cub luminaries as safety JIMMY KLEIN ‘90 (All-CIF football and volleyball) and DANNY FARMER ‘95 (All-League wide receiver, CIF Div. I volleyball Player of the Year, UCLA ‘s all-time receiving leader and NFL wide receiver) played both football and volleyball at Loyola.
Many do not know that legendary internationally renowned volleyball player SINJIN SMITH ‘75 is a Loyola alumnus.
Suffice to say, the rivalry between the two schools could not be more intense, and as a consequence, the sparks will be flying fiercely at Friday’s gridiron bout in Manhattan Beach. The game marks the fourteenth time the Cubs and Mustangs have competed on the gridiron. The winner will have “neighborhood” bragging rights until the next time they tee it up.
A LOOK AT MIRA COSTA
Do not let Mira Costa’s 2-2 record mislead you. The Mustangs could very well be 4-0 but for a late-game, close loss to St. Francis (44-35) in La Canada in its second game and a one-point, 28-27, loss to Lancaster Paraclete on September 10. Mira Costa ran roughshod over Paramount, 40-6, in its opener. The Mustangs regrouped last Friday with a 40-14 demolition of West Torrance.
Head coach Don Morrow’s Mustangs possess talent on both sides of the ball. Senior quarterback Casey Pavlick (6-0, 165) is a capable field general. Senior wide receiver Riley Bloomstrand is a sure handed pass catcher, and senior running back Matt Kraskouskas is tough.
Mira Costa senior middle linebacker Brett McCalla (6-3, 210) is the leader of the Mustang defense. Among other talented defenders are senior DE Donovan McKinnon, senior outside linebacker Dean Repetti and 6-1 senior safety Owen MacTavish.
The Mustang lines are stout. Two of the strong men are senior Wesley Widmer (6-4, 265) and junior Jack Clarke (6-4, 240).
OUTLOOK
Mira Costa’s best chance of upsetting Loyola will be to control the clock and to find a way to somehow slow down the Cubs’ balanced offensive attack. The Mustangs are averaging 36 offensive points per game, so the Big Blue will need to force more than a few punts on the defensive side of the ball.
If Loyola’s talented receiving corps (BAYLIN BROOKS, JACOBY KELLY, PETER VANIS and WILKE WILES) is in sync with QB JOE TATUM, and if the Cub offensive line opens holes for All-CIF running back TAHJ OWENS, the Jesuit college preparatory school from Los Angeles will have a good chance of winning its fifth game.
THE SERIES
Mira Costa is the only school the Cubs have played more than ten times that has never notched a win over Loyola. The Cubs lead the series 13-0. The last time the rivals played was in 2013. Loyola outscored the Mustangs, 49-29.
HOW TO PURCHSE TICKETS FOR MIRA COSTA GAME
Mira Costa is restricting the crowd for Friday night’s game. It wil only accept copies of tickets purchased on line. To get directions on how to purchase tickets go to Loyola’s website loyolahs.edu, then click on athletics, then click on football.
After playing five games, the still pandemic-affected regular season has proved promising for the Cubs (4-1) who continue to strive for the big goals they set for the 2021 campaign. Two of the Big Blue’s opponents, San Diego Mira Mesa last Friday, and Manhattan Beach Mira Costa this week, were late replacements because of cancellation of scheduled contests.
Loyola’s average score through the first five games of its seven game non league schedule is 32-18. In their last three contests, the Cubs have scored 62, 34 and 42 points with an offensive squad loaded with playmakers. The high scores look to continue.
The Cub ‘Wolfpack’ defense has played well, and continues to improve as a number of first time players are gaining valuable experience while learning on the job.
Loyola is currently ranked twenty-third in the state by CalPreps.com, and seventeenth in the Southland by the Los Angeles Times.
The Cubs play resurgent Mira Costa on the road this Friday and will be traveling to South Orange County to take on San Clemente on October 1 before embarking on their three-game Angelus League slate in Encino against Crespi Carmelite on October 15.
LOYOLA - MIRA COSTA , A “NEIGHBORHOOD” RIVALRY
Loyola and Mira Costa first did battle on the gridiron in 1963. The Cubs lassoed the Mustangs, 10-0. Loyola went on to win a second consecutive CIF AAAA championship that season and finished the undefeated campaign as the second ranked high school football team in the nation.
The following year, the Cubs downed Mira Costa, 12-6. Loyola again played in the CIF AAAA title game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum where it lost a heartbreaker to upstart Whittier to end what is still the CIF Southern Section Large Schools record winning streak at 35 games. The Big Blue was led by famed two-time All-CIF tailback MIKE BERGDAHL, Loyola’s all-time leading rusher.
In 1965 the Cubs shut out the Mustangs, 20-0, on a fog shrouded evening in Manhattan Beach. Loyola was paced by All-CIF tailback PHIL JEBBIA.
The teams took a 31-year hiatus in the rivalry before playing again in 1996. The Cubs routed Mira Costa, 37-12, and finished the year 12-2, losing a close one in the CIF Southern Section Division I title contest to Mater Dei.
Since 1996, Loyola and the Mustangs have met an additional nine times, with the Cubs winning each of those battles.
Why are a Jesuit college preparatory located just west of downtown Los Angeles and a public high school in Manhattan Beach such fierce rivals? The answer is probably proximity, not in the location of the schools, but rather the neighborhoods where their students reside. Twenty-plus percent of Loyola’s varsity football players live in the South Bay area, and an even larger number on the Freshman squad are from the South Bay. And those numbers have remained relatively constant for decades. Many Mira Costa athletes grew up playing youth sports, including football, with future Cubs.
Since the 1980s the schools have developed an intense rivalry in volleyball, with both schools ranking among the top squads in the country on an annual basis. And indeed many of the players at Loyola and Mira Costa hail from the same beach towns and play on the same club teams.
The annual matches between the arch rivals draw thousands of fans. Loyola has won 12 CIF Southern Section volleyball championships, and quite a number of South Bay players have been instrumental in those titles.
Such Cub luminaries as safety JIMMY KLEIN ‘90 (All-CIF football and volleyball) and DANNY FARMER ‘95 (All-League wide receiver, CIF Div. I volleyball Player of the Year, UCLA ‘s all-time receiving leader and NFL wide receiver) played both football and volleyball at Loyola.
Many do not know that legendary internationally renowned volleyball player SINJIN SMITH ‘75 is a Loyola alumnus.
Suffice to say, the rivalry between the two schools could not be more intense, and as a consequence, the sparks will be flying fiercely at Friday’s gridiron bout in Manhattan Beach. The game marks the fourteenth time the Cubs and Mustangs have competed on the gridiron. The winner will have “neighborhood” bragging rights until the next time they tee it up.
A LOOK AT MIRA COSTA
Do not let Mira Costa’s 2-2 record mislead you. The Mustangs could very well be 4-0 but for a late-game, close loss to St. Francis (44-35) in La Canada in its second game and a one-point, 28-27, loss to Lancaster Paraclete on September 10. Mira Costa ran roughshod over Paramount, 40-6, in its opener. The Mustangs regrouped last Friday with a 40-14 demolition of West Torrance.
Head coach Don Morrow’s Mustangs possess talent on both sides of the ball. Senior quarterback Casey Pavlick (6-0, 165) is a capable field general. Senior wide receiver Riley Bloomstrand is a sure handed pass catcher, and senior running back Matt Kraskouskas is tough.
Mira Costa senior middle linebacker Brett McCalla (6-3, 210) is the leader of the Mustang defense. Among other talented defenders are senior DE Donovan McKinnon, senior outside linebacker Dean Repetti and 6-1 senior safety Owen MacTavish.
The Mustang lines are stout. Two of the strong men are senior Wesley Widmer (6-4, 265) and junior Jack Clarke (6-4, 240).
OUTLOOK
Mira Costa’s best chance of upsetting Loyola will be to control the clock and to find a way to somehow slow down the Cubs’ balanced offensive attack. The Mustangs are averaging 36 offensive points per game, so the Big Blue will need to force more than a few punts on the defensive side of the ball.
If Loyola’s talented receiving corps (BAYLIN BROOKS, JACOBY KELLY, PETER VANIS and WILKE WILES) is in sync with QB JOE TATUM, and if the Cub offensive line opens holes for All-CIF running back TAHJ OWENS, the Jesuit college preparatory school from Los Angeles will have a good chance of winning its fifth game.
THE SERIES
Mira Costa is the only school the Cubs have played more than ten times that has never notched a win over Loyola. The Cubs lead the series 13-0. The last time the rivals played was in 2013. Loyola outscored the Mustangs, 49-29.
HOW TO PURCHSE TICKETS FOR MIRA COSTA GAME
Mira Costa is restricting the crowd for Friday night’s game. It wil only accept copies of tickets purchased on line. To get directions on how to purchase tickets go to Loyola’s website loyolahs.edu, then click on athletics, then click on football.
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