October 2, 2022

Cub Football - Assessing Loyola’s prospects after first league victory - Crespi Carmelite up next

COULD LOYOLA PLAY TEN MORE GAMES THIS SEASON?
After defeating St. Paul, 24-14, in its Angelus League opener, what are the prospects for a Cub team that is still developing?

The passing game is improving. KYLE SOMERVILLE’s 18-yard TD reception on rocket throw from senior quarterback XAVIER RICE in the Cubs’ 24-14 victory over St. Paul put an exclamation point on the evolving Loyola aerial arsenal.

RICE completed 76% of his passes against St. Paul in his best outing of the season. The Cub rushing attack is still a work in progress with four new running backs carrying the pigskin.

On the defensive side of the ball, stopping the run has been an issue. Rushing effectively and stopping the run are two areas that must improve significantly if Loyola is to make a run at its third Angelus League title in as many years.

The Cubs will be favored in their next two games against Crespi Carmelite and Paraclete of Lancaster, both of which are a combined 0-12 on the season. If Loyola uses those two games to significantly enhance its proficiency level in the areas that need the most improvement, it may be able to compete well in its league-ending games against against a very good Cathedral (5-1, 1-0) squad and high scoring St. Francis (3-3, 1-0).

The Cubs (2-4, 1-0) cannot afford to take their next two Angelus League opponents lightly, though. They must seize upon the opportunity to ratchet up their caliber of play.

As outlandish as it may sound, Loyola could play ten more games this season. If it makes it to the CIF Southern Section playoffs and wins a CIF title, wins a state regional playoff game and competes for a state championship, the team would have played 16 games. That should be the squad’s goal.

In 2019, Loyola finished the regular season with a 3-6 record, but was invited to participate in the CIF Southern Section Division 4 playoffs, where it played for the title against San Juan Hills, and came one play away from winning the championship contest.

Under the recently employed CIF competitive equity playoff system, teams are not assigned to playoff divisions until after their final regular season games.

If the Cubs were fortunate enough to secure a CIF playoff invitation, they could be placed in a playoff division in which they could make some noise. Suffice to say there is plenty for which to play going forward, as the Big Blue focuses on its battle with Crespi at Smith Field this Friday at 7:00 p.m.

A LOOK AT CRESPI CARMELITE
Crespi does not publish its statistics and did not submit its list of top players to CalPreps before the season, so there is little intel on the Celts other than the abysmal results of their first six contests. The six losses were to Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, 45-7; Westlake Village Westlake, 50-7; Newbury Park, 63-6; Chaminade, 59-7; Venice 43-14; and Cathedral, 40-14. The average score of their six losses is 50-9. 

GAME OUTLOOK Bottom line, the Celts are struggling badly. If the Cubs come to play, and play with purpose, passion and a determined desire to improve, Loyola will have a good chance to secure its second Angelus League win.  Cathedral completed 79% of its passes against Crespi on Friday for 319 yards. The Cubs should have an opportunity to improve their passing game.

THE SERIES
Loyola has dominated the series, holding a commanding 29-9-1 advantage in the win-loss ledger. The most memorable game in the rivalry, which dates back to 1973, was played in 1987 at Lake Balboa Birmingham before a standing-room-only, overflow crowd. Both team were ranked in the national top ten by USA Today.

The Cubs’ ‘Wolfpack’ defense held Crespi’s All-American tailback Russell White to 19 net rushing yards in Loyola’s 15-8 triumph. The Cubs have won their last three contests against Crespi by scores of 17-0, 54-6 and 45-20, respectively.

EXTRA POINTS - CUB FRESHMEN DOMINANCE
In the undefeated Loyola freshman team’s record-setting 70-8 demolition of St. Paul on Thursday, the Cub defense relinquished an average of a mere 1.6 yards per play, while Loyola’s offense averaged an incredible 14 yards per play. And those metrics were achieved with every player seeing action.

The freshmen (5-0) are expected to be tested on Thursday when they travel to La Puente to take on a tough Bishop Amat frosh squad. 

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)