Cub Football - Decision time for Loyola as Mission League battles loom
LOYOLA MUST STEP UP AGAINST SERRA THIS FRIDAY
After a dismal ending to Loyola's non-league campaign last Friday against Vista Murrieta, in which the Cubs appeared lethargic and uninspired in a 37-21 home loss, the five-game Mission League slate gets underway at Smith Field on Friday night against the Serra Cavaliers, one of the conference title favorites.
If Loyola continues to play as it did in its non-league finale, it will not win a conference game. The team has proven it is capable of competing at a much higher level than it did against Vista Murrieta. and it must if it hopes to pull off some wins in what is generally considered the second toughest prep football league in California.
The Cubs opened the non-league portion of their schedule with a 38-0 demolition of woefully out-manned Playa del Rey St. Bernard. No one saw that outcome as a predictor of how Loyola would fare this season.
A trip to San Diego in week two ended with a wake up call in the form of a 42-5 beatdown at the hands of a good St. Augustine team. The Saints have a Mission League caliber roster.
In game three, the Cubs went toe to toe against a good Cathedral squad before falling, 17-13 on the road. Mistakes kept Loyola from notching a win, but significant progress was clearly made.
It looked like the Cubs had turned the proverbial corner in an impressive 29-14 road romp over Valencia two weeks ago. The Big Blue played inspired, tough football. Valencia got clobbered, 35-7, by Calabasas last Friday which took some of the luster off the victory over the Vikings who began the season as one of the Southland's top 25-ranked teams. Nonetheless, the Valencia triumph appeared to signal that the Big Blue had turned the proverbial corner.
The feeling heading into the final non-league contest against Vista Murrieta last Friday was that Loyola was building real momentum as the challenging Mission League slate awaited.
Any reason for optimism was soundly quashed as the Cubs suffered an embarrassing 37-21 home loss to the Broncos, which in reality was not as close as the final score might have indicated.
Which Loyola team will show up this Friday after a hot and cold non-league run is anybody’s guess. At the end of the day, the Cubs need to block and tackle better, eliminate mistakes and play with passion and purpose if they hope to have any success over the course of the next five contests.
FOUR OF FIVE MISSION LEAGUE OPPONENTS RANKED IN STATE TOP 30
Heading into last Friday’s games, four of Loyola’s Mission League opponents were ranked among CalPreps’ and MaxPreps’ California top 30 teams.
Serra (4-1) was ranked 12th, undefeated Alemany (5-0) 17th, Notre Dame (4-1) 27th and Bishop Amat (4-1) 28th.
Each of those squads is ranked in the Los Angeles Times’ top 25. The Cubs’ five Mission League foes finished non-league play with an impressive 19-6 (76%) cumulative record.
Suffice to say, the Cubs have their work cut out for them..
A LOOK AT THE SERRA CAVALIERS
Veteran head coach Scott Altenberg welcomed back a veritable embarrassment of riches to his 2019 Cavalier squad, including his top signal caller, running back, four starters on the offensive line and big time players on defense.
Three-year starting QB Doug Brumfield (6-5, 215), a University of Nevada Las Vegas commit, has been on fire this season. The senior standout is completing 64% of his passes and averages 7.6 yards per carry on the ground.
Brumfield has two big, fast and athletic wide receivers who lead a ridiculously talented group of pass catchers. Seniors Lavon Buckley-Shelton (6-0, 185) and Ronald Gilliam (6-1, 195) average over 15 yards per reception.
Senior running back Jaylon Armstead (5-11, 200) averaged over 23 yards per carry through Serra’s first three games. Junior running back Elijah Davis (5-10, 200, 449 yards rushing, 5.7 ypc) brings a combination of speed and power to the Cavaliers’ rushing attack.
After a dismal ending to Loyola's non-league campaign last Friday against Vista Murrieta, in which the Cubs appeared lethargic and uninspired in a 37-21 home loss, the five-game Mission League slate gets underway at Smith Field on Friday night against the Serra Cavaliers, one of the conference title favorites.
If Loyola continues to play as it did in its non-league finale, it will not win a conference game. The team has proven it is capable of competing at a much higher level than it did against Vista Murrieta. and it must if it hopes to pull off some wins in what is generally considered the second toughest prep football league in California.
The Cubs opened the non-league portion of their schedule with a 38-0 demolition of woefully out-manned Playa del Rey St. Bernard. No one saw that outcome as a predictor of how Loyola would fare this season.
A trip to San Diego in week two ended with a wake up call in the form of a 42-5 beatdown at the hands of a good St. Augustine team. The Saints have a Mission League caliber roster.
In game three, the Cubs went toe to toe against a good Cathedral squad before falling, 17-13 on the road. Mistakes kept Loyola from notching a win, but significant progress was clearly made.
It looked like the Cubs had turned the proverbial corner in an impressive 29-14 road romp over Valencia two weeks ago. The Big Blue played inspired, tough football. Valencia got clobbered, 35-7, by Calabasas last Friday which took some of the luster off the victory over the Vikings who began the season as one of the Southland's top 25-ranked teams. Nonetheless, the Valencia triumph appeared to signal that the Big Blue had turned the proverbial corner.
The feeling heading into the final non-league contest against Vista Murrieta last Friday was that Loyola was building real momentum as the challenging Mission League slate awaited.
Any reason for optimism was soundly quashed as the Cubs suffered an embarrassing 37-21 home loss to the Broncos, which in reality was not as close as the final score might have indicated.
Which Loyola team will show up this Friday after a hot and cold non-league run is anybody’s guess. At the end of the day, the Cubs need to block and tackle better, eliminate mistakes and play with passion and purpose if they hope to have any success over the course of the next five contests.
FOUR OF FIVE MISSION LEAGUE OPPONENTS RANKED IN STATE TOP 30
Heading into last Friday’s games, four of Loyola’s Mission League opponents were ranked among CalPreps’ and MaxPreps’ California top 30 teams.
Serra (4-1) was ranked 12th, undefeated Alemany (5-0) 17th, Notre Dame (4-1) 27th and Bishop Amat (4-1) 28th.
Each of those squads is ranked in the Los Angeles Times’ top 25. The Cubs’ five Mission League foes finished non-league play with an impressive 19-6 (76%) cumulative record.
Suffice to say, the Cubs have their work cut out for them..
A LOOK AT THE SERRA CAVALIERS
Veteran head coach Scott Altenberg welcomed back a veritable embarrassment of riches to his 2019 Cavalier squad, including his top signal caller, running back, four starters on the offensive line and big time players on defense.
Three-year starting QB Doug Brumfield (6-5, 215), a University of Nevada Las Vegas commit, has been on fire this season. The senior standout is completing 64% of his passes and averages 7.6 yards per carry on the ground.
Brumfield has two big, fast and athletic wide receivers who lead a ridiculously talented group of pass catchers. Seniors Lavon Buckley-Shelton (6-0, 185) and Ronald Gilliam (6-1, 195) average over 15 yards per reception.
Senior running back Jaylon Armstead (5-11, 200) averaged over 23 yards per carry through Serra’s first three games. Junior running back Elijah Davis (5-10, 200, 449 yards rushing, 5.7 ypc) brings a combination of speed and power to the Cavaliers’ rushing attack.
Defensively, Serra plays fast and physically. The big wrecking ball is senior linebacker John Houston (6-4, 190) who flies to the ball with uncommon speed and toughness. Senior Devyn King (6-0, 180) is the leader of a very good secondary.
Serra Record (4-1)
SERRA 41 Garfield 14
SERRA 26 ..Calabasas 20
SERRA 27 L.B. Poly 24
Narbonne 28 SERRA 21
SERRA 13 Cathedral 7
OUTLOOK
Loyola played one of its best games of 2018 at Serra in its final contest last fall. The Cubs were defeated 21-14 in a battle that went down to the wire. A late Loyola TD was called back on a controversial official's call.
The Big Blue is better this season and has the horses to compete with the Cavaliers. Loyola will need to run effectively and the Cub ’Wolfpack’ defense must keep big plays to an absolute minimum. Serra is ranked 13th in the state and eighth in the Los Angeles Times’ top 25. The two teams have one common non-league opponent. The Cavaliers downed Cathedral, 13-7, in their final non-league contest last Friday, and the Cubs fell to Cathedral, 17-13, in game three. Another battle to the end could be in store on Friday.
THE SERIES
Loyola and Serra first met in the old Catholic League in 1953. The Cubs won the first battle 13-6. Loyola leads the series 12-10-1.
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