Cub Football - Big plays, turnovers doom Cubs in 35-14 loss to Leuzinger
LOYOLA VICTIMIZED BY LEUZINGER BIG PLAYS AND TURNOVERS IN LOSS TO OLYMPIANS
The Cubs outscored a big, fast and strong Leuzinger team, 14-6, and rolled up 261 yards of total offense in the second half of their third non-league contest on Friday night at Smith Field. Unfortunately, Loyola's second half effort was not nearly enough to overcome the Olympians' 29-point onslaught before intermission which was punctuated by a pick six with just 35 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
The Cub 'Wolfpack' defense held Leuzinger to just two yards on the visitors' first possession of the game. A shanked punt and a personal foul infraction assessed against the Olympians set Loyola up at the Leuzinger 28 yard line. The Cubs could not capitalize on the excellent field position, and turned the ball over on downs. It was a portent of what was to come.
Leuzinger's talented running back showed off his tremendous speed on Leuzinger's first play, sprinting up the middle for a 77-yard touchdown at the 6:11 mark of the first quarter.
Loyola's recipe for success going into the contest was to slow down the Olympians' high powered rushing attack and to run the ball effectively on offense. The Cubs were unable to do either. According to MaxPreps, Leuzinger finished the game with 303 rushing yards to Loyola's 90.
The first of five interceptions on the night was thrown on the first play of the Cubs' ensuing possession. The Olympians' lightening fast QB exploded for a 73-yard TD run on the second scrimmage play following the pick. A successful two-point conversion gave Leuzinger a 15-0 lead with 3:57 left on the first quarter clock.
After the teams exchanged punts, Loyola again had good field possession at its 45 yard line and was marching toward pay dirt when the Olympians picked off their second Cub pass. Leuzinger then put together a 10-play, 89 yard scoring drive which was kept alive by a 22-yard catch and run on a fourth-and-19 play and followed by a one yard jaunt to put the Olympians up 21-0 with just 52 seconds remaining before halftime. Seventeen seconds later Leuzinger scored on a long distance pick six. That was the dagger that put Loyola in a 29-0 hole heading into the locker room.
The Cubs drove 75 yards, scoring on a 35 T. K. KNYAL pass to running back JUSTIN SMITH with 6:42 left in the game. A.J Schultz's PAT kick made the score 29-7. KNYAL hit WR KHALIL CUEVA in full stride for a 37-yard touchdown with 2:51 left in the contest to make the score 29-14. The second of two failed onside kicks put Leuzinger on a short field. A 33-yard Olympian touchdown run with 1:17 left on the clock made the final score 35-14.
Among the positives for Loyola was the play of junior corner BROCK BOJORQUEZ, who had an interception and fumble recovery; the defense holding the Olympians three times on fourth down plays; and some big plays by RB JUSTIN SMITH and WR KHALIL CUEVA.
The road gets no easier for the Cubs (1-2) as they will travel to West Hills next Friday to take on Chaminade (2-2), which routed Cathedral 31-14 last night.
HOW LOYOLA'S FUTURE FOES FARED THIS WEEK
(In order)
CHAMINADE 31, Cathedral 14
The Eagles (2-2) trailed Cathedral at halftime, 7-3, but the Mission League team outscored the Phantoms 28-7 after intermission.
OAKS CHRISTIAN
Did not play (2-1)
ST. FRANCIS 45, Pius X-St. Mathias 14
Angelus League contenders (3-1) returned to their high-scoring ways.
ST. PAUL 42, West Ranch 7
Swordsmen (2-1) continue to show their mettle as Angelus League title aspirants.
North Torrance 35, CRESPI 13
The Celts (1-3) are fighting to improve under new coaching regime.
PARACLETE 10, Westlake 7
The undefeated Spirits (4-0) are determined to be a factor in the Angelus League race.
Chaminade 31, CATHEDRAL 14
Phantoms (1-3) could not keep pedal to the metal against the Eagles.
2023 LOYOLA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE/RESULTS
August 25 @ Damien (L 35-14)
September 1 Culver City (W 24-6)
September 8 Leuzinger (L, 35-14)
September 15 @ Chaminade
September 22 Oaks Christian
September 29 @ St. Francis*
October 6 St. Paul*
October 13 @ Crespi*
October 20 Paraclete*
October 29 @ Cathedral*
(* denotes Angelus League game)
CUBS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Thirty-four Loyola grads are competing on college football teams this fall at schools from Storrs, Connecticut to Los Angeles; Northfield, Minnesota to New York City; Fort Worth, Texas to Princeton, New Jersey; Grinnel, Iowa to Berkeley; and Austin, Texas to Chicago.
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)
JP BAUTISTA (Pasadena College)
NICHOLAS BARR-MIRA ‘19, K (Mississippi State)
GEORGE CARATAN '18 , P (Connecticut)
JAC CASASANTE ‘18, LS (USC)
COLIN CRUCE ‘22, OL (Bowdoin)
JORDAN HEWITT '23 (UCLA)
ALEX JOHNSON '18, DB (UCLA)
JEFFREY JOHNSON '21, TE (Cal)
JACOBY KELLY ‘22, WR (Cerritos College)
ANDREW KOZHAYA ‘21, DL (Grinnel)
LEIGHTON LINE '23, DL (Cal Lutheran)
CARTER LINK ‘20, LB (SMU)
SHAWN LIN ‘22, DL (Columbia)
CONNOR McDOWELL ‘21, DB (Angelo State)
JUSTIN MURRAY '22, LB (Santa Monica College)
BLAKE NEITHART ‘20 DB (Carleton)
TAHJ OWENS ‘22, DB (Princeton)
JACK PARIS '23, OL (MIT)
RYAN QUINTANAR ‘20, LB (TCU)
XAVIER RICE '23, QB (Duquesne)
DAKOTA SMITH '18, LB (Minnesota State)
PATRICK SODL ‘22, LB (Columbia)
ZAKHARI SPEARS ‘21, DB (Connecticut)
HENRY STICKLER '21, WR (SMU)
JACK SUSNJAR '23, OL (USC)
JOE TATUM ‘22, QB (Texas)
EVAN THOMAS ‘20, DB (UCLA)
WILKE WILES '23, WR (University of Chicago)
HOLMES WORMALD '23, TE (Merchant Marine Academy)
CEYAIR WRIGHT ‘21, DB ( USC)
SAM YOON ‘22