Cub Football - A Loyola win on Friday would secure no worse than a tie for Angelus League title
LOYOLA WILL FACE LONGTIME RIVAL ST. FRANCIS ON FRIDAY WITH A LOT ON THE LINE
The fierce rivalry between Loyola and St. Francis goes back 58 years (more on that below), and while there have been long stretches when the schools have not played on the gridiron, the sparks always fly when the rivals do battle. The Cubs and Golden Knights will duke it out in La Canada on Friday night in the their twenty-eighth grid bout with a lot on the line for both teams.
At least a share of the Angelus League title is at stake. And, as usual, bragging rights will be among the motivating factors for each team, as many players on both squads hail from the same neighborhoods and elementary schools.
If the Cubs prevail Friday and vanquish Santa Fe Springs St. Paul on October 29, they will likely be assured of at least a top five seeding in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs. A loss could result in a precipitous drop in the CalPreps rankings and relegate Loyola to Division 4 for the playoffs.
The Cubs improved to 6-2 after handling Crespi Carmelite, 44-20, in Encino on Friday. St. Francis upped its record to 6–1 (it had a game cancelled because of COVID-19 issues) with a close 26-20 victory over underrated St. Paul on the road last Thursday.
Word has it that St. Francis head coach Dean Herrington announced upon his hiring this spring that there was no need for Golden Knights supporters to worry about Loyola as he knew how to beat them. After a long stint as the offensive coordinator at Newhall Hart under his CIF Southern Section Hall of Fame brother, Mike, Herrington had successful runs as the head coach at Mission Hills Alemany and Lancaster Paraclete before taking over at St. Francis this year following the passing of beloved longtime head coach Jim Bonds, who himself was a Hart alumnus. Herrington is highly regarded as an offensive coach, and he routinely gave Loyola fits during the 1990s when he coordinated Hart’s offense during a time when the two teams were perennial state powerhouses and engaged in some high profile non-league contests.
One thing is certain, Herrington will have a savvy game plan mapped out for his squad’s showdown with the Cubs on Friday night. But, so will Loyola head coach DREW CASANI ‘91. So it is a good idea to make plans to arrive at St. Francis early on Friday as a standing-room-only crowd will make seating a luxury.
A LOOK AT ST. FRANCIS
Loyola will likely not face a bigger offensive line than that of St. Francis for the remainder of the campaign. The huge Golden Knight trench men average over 300 pounds from tackle to tackle. The best of the burly bunch is sophomore Phillip Ochoa (6-4, 325), but his status coming off an injury is unknown for Friday’s contest.
Suffice to say, the big brawlers up front will be used to open running lanes for outstanding senior running back Max Garrison (5-9, 180, averages 9.6 yards per carry) and to provide clean pockets for 6-6, 205 lb. junior quarterback Jack Jacobs (64% passer, over 1,000 yards),
The two-headed monster of Garrison and Jacobs is tough to stop. It is not an enviable pick-your/
poison challenge for opposing defenses. Last Thursday, St. Francis took more than eleven minutes off the clock as it employed a run-only power run game for the go-ahead score. But Jacobs can go to the play action bomb at any moment. The top receivers are 6-5, 220 lb. Myles Shannon and sophomore tight end Preston Jernigan (6-2, 210). Garrison is also a home run threat as a receiver out of the backfield.
Defensively, the Golden Knights’ top stopper is Shannon, who plays inside linebacker. St. Francis is not overly stingy on the defensive side, but it has made some key stops in critical situations.
OUTLOOK
Loyola brings a lot of speed and athleticism to the field, so expect Herrington to try to shorten the game with time consuming drives to limit the Cubs’ offensive possessions. The Golden Knights’ best player is Garrison, so the ball will be in his hands a lot, not only as a running back, but also as a receiver. Don’t be surprised to see some trick plays that involve Garrison.
The Cubs will look to their play makers to gain big yards all night long. Included among the marquee Loyola weapons are running back TAHJ OWENS, quarterback JOE TATUM and receivers JACOBY KELLY, PETER VANIS, BAYLIN BROOKS and WILKIE WILES. That skill group will make its presence felt with the help of a tough offensive line.
Loyola’s defense will have to play make mistake-free football to aid the cause. It will also need to be on the lookout for trick plays.
The Golden Knights and Cubs have two common opponents. St. Francis defeated Mira Costa, 44-35. Loyola outlasted the Mustangs, 34-31. Loyola won a squeaker against La Verne Damien, 16-14, while the Golden Knights lost to the Spartans, 42-17.
The cumulative record of Loyola’s eight opponents thus far is 32-28. St. Francis’s seven opponents’ cumulative record is 24-30. The Cubs’ average score is 34-20. The Golden Knights’ average score through seven games games is 34-25. Loyola’s two losses, by a combined total of six points, were to undefeated Inglewood and San Clemente, both of whom are ranked higher than the Cubs by CalPreps.com. St. Francis’s lone loss was to Damien by 25 points. The Spartans, who started the season highly ranked, now have a pedestrian 3-5 record.
St. Francis’s Friedman Field is a tough place to play. The raucous home crowd and close quarters provide a distinct home field advantage for the Golden Knights. Special teams may very well play a role in the outcome of what is certain to be a taut, physical, fiercely contested brawl.
The team that plays with the most intensity, passion, pride and physicality will win,
THE SERIES
The rivalry between the 75 year old Franciscan high school in La Canada and the 156 year old Jesuit college preparatory just west of downtown Los Angeles began in 1963, but the teams did not play a game that season.
Undefeated Loyola completed a second consecutive undefeated season and went on to win a second consecutive CIF Southern Section AAAA championship before being ranked the second best prep football in the nation in 1963. Meanwhile, St. Francis won the CIF Southern Section AAA title. The two championship games were played as a double header at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The answer to why the Golden Knights-Cubs rivalry was born in 1963 was because the two teams scrimmaged each other in a very physical preseason exhibition, with both squads flexing their muscle and inflicting more than a few black and blue marks on the other. Ever since that scrimmage there has been no love lost between the teams.
For decades, many outstanding Loyola players have hailed from La Canada, Pasadena and neighboring San Gabriel Mountain foothill communities that are also feeders to St. Francis. That familiarity has certainly fueled the rivalry.
The Cubs lead the series 18-8-1. Eleven of those 27 contests were decided by eight or fewer points. The intensity of the clashes are typically off the charts.
The 1977 game stands out in particular. Loyola and the Golden Knights were both highly ranked when the battle for league supremacy was played at the Golden Knights’ home field in La Canada before an overflow crowd. After warming up in their standard all white roaduniforms the Cubs were presented with Pittsburgh Steeler uniforms just minutes before the opening kick.
The Steelers’ gear had been donated to Loyola by Jesuit-educated movie producer Charles Maguire (the uniforms were used in the film Heaven Can Wait, starring Warren Beatty). Maguire’s son Dennis started at defensive end on Loyola’s 10-1 1974 Del Rey League Championship squad and Dennis’ brother John started as an offensive tackle on the 13-0 1975 CIF AAAA/National Championship team. Dennis, who worked on the movie during summer break from Santa Clara University, got the uniforms over to 1901 Venice shortly before the game. Charles Maguire attended the prestigious Jesuit college preparatory Regis High School in New York City, and was a huge supporter of The High. His two other sons, CJ ‘71 (offensive guard/ defensive tackle) and James ‘83 (defensive tackle) (Georgetown) also were standout football players for the Cubs.
Needless to say the crowd on both sides gasped as the Cubs took the field donned in their Steelers’ uniforms. The ‘Steel Curtain’ theme played out as Loyola shut out St. Francis and stopped their highly acclaimed running back Henry Bell, while Cub backs LARRY WYNN, JONAS MACK and GREGG BRENTON ran hard for the Big Blue.
The drive down the hill was a jubilant one for the Cubs after they defeated their arch rival, 7-0. Loyola advanced to the CIF Big Five Conference semifinals where team leader and All-CIF quarterback ANDY HENDERSON suffered a severe knee injury on the second play of the game, ending the Big Blue’s quest for the CIF crown. JOE MURRAY ‘78, who was an All-CIF offensive tackle for the Big Blue on the ‘77 team, currently serves as Loyola’s offensive line coach. Murray later started for USC and played several in the NFL.
The Cubs’ biggest win (49-0) in the series came in 1989. Loyola’s longest streak without a loss to the Golden Knights was ten games which
spanned the period from 1983 to 2007.
The schools were part of the newly formed Del Rey League beginning in 1968, and continued to be league rivals until 1990 when Loyola joined a new league, the Angelus, which wa comprised of the Cubs, Bishop Amat, Mater Dei, St. John Bosco and Servite. From then on until last season the games between the schools were all non-league contests.
This spring, the Cubs defeated the Golden Knights 42-14 in a game played at Pius X-St. Mathias Academy.
The fierce rivalry between Loyola and St. Francis goes back 58 years (more on that below), and while there have been long stretches when the schools have not played on the gridiron, the sparks always fly when the rivals do battle. The Cubs and Golden Knights will duke it out in La Canada on Friday night in the their twenty-eighth grid bout with a lot on the line for both teams.
At least a share of the Angelus League title is at stake. And, as usual, bragging rights will be among the motivating factors for each team, as many players on both squads hail from the same neighborhoods and elementary schools.
If the Cubs prevail Friday and vanquish Santa Fe Springs St. Paul on October 29, they will likely be assured of at least a top five seeding in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs. A loss could result in a precipitous drop in the CalPreps rankings and relegate Loyola to Division 4 for the playoffs.
The Cubs improved to 6-2 after handling Crespi Carmelite, 44-20, in Encino on Friday. St. Francis upped its record to 6–1 (it had a game cancelled because of COVID-19 issues) with a close 26-20 victory over underrated St. Paul on the road last Thursday.
Word has it that St. Francis head coach Dean Herrington announced upon his hiring this spring that there was no need for Golden Knights supporters to worry about Loyola as he knew how to beat them. After a long stint as the offensive coordinator at Newhall Hart under his CIF Southern Section Hall of Fame brother, Mike, Herrington had successful runs as the head coach at Mission Hills Alemany and Lancaster Paraclete before taking over at St. Francis this year following the passing of beloved longtime head coach Jim Bonds, who himself was a Hart alumnus. Herrington is highly regarded as an offensive coach, and he routinely gave Loyola fits during the 1990s when he coordinated Hart’s offense during a time when the two teams were perennial state powerhouses and engaged in some high profile non-league contests.
One thing is certain, Herrington will have a savvy game plan mapped out for his squad’s showdown with the Cubs on Friday night. But, so will Loyola head coach DREW CASANI ‘91. So it is a good idea to make plans to arrive at St. Francis early on Friday as a standing-room-only crowd will make seating a luxury.
A LOOK AT ST. FRANCIS
Loyola will likely not face a bigger offensive line than that of St. Francis for the remainder of the campaign. The huge Golden Knight trench men average over 300 pounds from tackle to tackle. The best of the burly bunch is sophomore Phillip Ochoa (6-4, 325), but his status coming off an injury is unknown for Friday’s contest.
Suffice to say, the big brawlers up front will be used to open running lanes for outstanding senior running back Max Garrison (5-9, 180, averages 9.6 yards per carry) and to provide clean pockets for 6-6, 205 lb. junior quarterback Jack Jacobs (64% passer, over 1,000 yards),
The two-headed monster of Garrison and Jacobs is tough to stop. It is not an enviable pick-your/
poison challenge for opposing defenses. Last Thursday, St. Francis took more than eleven minutes off the clock as it employed a run-only power run game for the go-ahead score. But Jacobs can go to the play action bomb at any moment. The top receivers are 6-5, 220 lb. Myles Shannon and sophomore tight end Preston Jernigan (6-2, 210). Garrison is also a home run threat as a receiver out of the backfield.
Defensively, the Golden Knights’ top stopper is Shannon, who plays inside linebacker. St. Francis is not overly stingy on the defensive side, but it has made some key stops in critical situations.
OUTLOOK
Loyola brings a lot of speed and athleticism to the field, so expect Herrington to try to shorten the game with time consuming drives to limit the Cubs’ offensive possessions. The Golden Knights’ best player is Garrison, so the ball will be in his hands a lot, not only as a running back, but also as a receiver. Don’t be surprised to see some trick plays that involve Garrison.
The Cubs will look to their play makers to gain big yards all night long. Included among the marquee Loyola weapons are running back TAHJ OWENS, quarterback JOE TATUM and receivers JACOBY KELLY, PETER VANIS, BAYLIN BROOKS and WILKIE WILES. That skill group will make its presence felt with the help of a tough offensive line.
Loyola’s defense will have to play make mistake-free football to aid the cause. It will also need to be on the lookout for trick plays.
The Golden Knights and Cubs have two common opponents. St. Francis defeated Mira Costa, 44-35. Loyola outlasted the Mustangs, 34-31. Loyola won a squeaker against La Verne Damien, 16-14, while the Golden Knights lost to the Spartans, 42-17.
The cumulative record of Loyola’s eight opponents thus far is 32-28. St. Francis’s seven opponents’ cumulative record is 24-30. The Cubs’ average score is 34-20. The Golden Knights’ average score through seven games games is 34-25. Loyola’s two losses, by a combined total of six points, were to undefeated Inglewood and San Clemente, both of whom are ranked higher than the Cubs by CalPreps.com. St. Francis’s lone loss was to Damien by 25 points. The Spartans, who started the season highly ranked, now have a pedestrian 3-5 record.
St. Francis’s Friedman Field is a tough place to play. The raucous home crowd and close quarters provide a distinct home field advantage for the Golden Knights. Special teams may very well play a role in the outcome of what is certain to be a taut, physical, fiercely contested brawl.
The team that plays with the most intensity, passion, pride and physicality will win,
THE SERIES
The rivalry between the 75 year old Franciscan high school in La Canada and the 156 year old Jesuit college preparatory just west of downtown Los Angeles began in 1963, but the teams did not play a game that season.
Undefeated Loyola completed a second consecutive undefeated season and went on to win a second consecutive CIF Southern Section AAAA championship before being ranked the second best prep football in the nation in 1963. Meanwhile, St. Francis won the CIF Southern Section AAA title. The two championship games were played as a double header at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The answer to why the Golden Knights-Cubs rivalry was born in 1963 was because the two teams scrimmaged each other in a very physical preseason exhibition, with both squads flexing their muscle and inflicting more than a few black and blue marks on the other. Ever since that scrimmage there has been no love lost between the teams.
For decades, many outstanding Loyola players have hailed from La Canada, Pasadena and neighboring San Gabriel Mountain foothill communities that are also feeders to St. Francis. That familiarity has certainly fueled the rivalry.
The Cubs lead the series 18-8-1. Eleven of those 27 contests were decided by eight or fewer points. The intensity of the clashes are typically off the charts.
The 1977 game stands out in particular. Loyola and the Golden Knights were both highly ranked when the battle for league supremacy was played at the Golden Knights’ home field in La Canada before an overflow crowd. After warming up in their standard all white roaduniforms the Cubs were presented with Pittsburgh Steeler uniforms just minutes before the opening kick.
The Steelers’ gear had been donated to Loyola by Jesuit-educated movie producer Charles Maguire (the uniforms were used in the film Heaven Can Wait, starring Warren Beatty). Maguire’s son Dennis started at defensive end on Loyola’s 10-1 1974 Del Rey League Championship squad and Dennis’ brother John started as an offensive tackle on the 13-0 1975 CIF AAAA/National Championship team. Dennis, who worked on the movie during summer break from Santa Clara University, got the uniforms over to 1901 Venice shortly before the game. Charles Maguire attended the prestigious Jesuit college preparatory Regis High School in New York City, and was a huge supporter of The High. His two other sons, CJ ‘71 (offensive guard/ defensive tackle) and James ‘83 (defensive tackle) (Georgetown) also were standout football players for the Cubs.
Needless to say the crowd on both sides gasped as the Cubs took the field donned in their Steelers’ uniforms. The ‘Steel Curtain’ theme played out as Loyola shut out St. Francis and stopped their highly acclaimed running back Henry Bell, while Cub backs LARRY WYNN, JONAS MACK and GREGG BRENTON ran hard for the Big Blue.
The drive down the hill was a jubilant one for the Cubs after they defeated their arch rival, 7-0. Loyola advanced to the CIF Big Five Conference semifinals where team leader and All-CIF quarterback ANDY HENDERSON suffered a severe knee injury on the second play of the game, ending the Big Blue’s quest for the CIF crown. JOE MURRAY ‘78, who was an All-CIF offensive tackle for the Big Blue on the ‘77 team, currently serves as Loyola’s offensive line coach. Murray later started for USC and played several in the NFL.
The Cubs’ biggest win (49-0) in the series came in 1989. Loyola’s longest streak without a loss to the Golden Knights was ten games which
spanned the period from 1983 to 2007.
The schools were part of the newly formed Del Rey League beginning in 1968, and continued to be league rivals until 1990 when Loyola joined a new league, the Angelus, which wa comprised of the Cubs, Bishop Amat, Mater Dei, St. John Bosco and Servite. From then on until last season the games between the schools were all non-league contests.
This spring, the Cubs defeated the Golden Knights 42-14 in a game played at Pius X-St. Mathias Academy.
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