LOYOLA WILL HOST NEWBURY PARK ON FRIDAY AT SMITH FIELD AFTER SURPRISING SELECTION AS AN AT-LARGE PARTICIPANT IN THE CIF SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION 5 PLAYOFFS

The CIF Southern Section released the playoff brackets for its 14 football divisions on Sunday, and Loyola surprisingly was tabbed as an at-large team in Division 5, and even more surprisingly was seeded fourth. The Cubs, 4-6 overall and 1-4 in the Mission League, presumably were selected based on their strength of schedule calculated by hsratings.com, whose ratings are utilized by the Southern Section in selecting playoff teams under the competitive equity system which determines divisional placement following the conclusion of the regular season.

While the Southern Section typically selects only at-large teams which have .500 or better records, Loyola’s strength of schedule was apparently the deciding factor for its inclusion in the playoff field.

Regardless of the reasons for being placed in the Division 5 playoffs, the Cubs have the good fortune to continue to compete as they will host Newbury Park, the third place squad from the Cornejo Coast League, on Friday at Smith Field.

Newbury Park has a 6-4 overall record (5-5 on the field as their season opening loss to Millikan was changed to a forfeit win after several Millikan players were declared to be ineligible for providing false information in their transfer paperwork), and finished 3-2 in the Conejo Coast League.

There is no question that Loyola is battle tested for its first round playoff tilt this Friday after competing in the Mission League which is considered one of the top interscholastic conferences in California.

Five of the six Mission League squads will be participating in the CIF Southern Section playoffs.

Sierra Canyon is the number four seed in the eight-team Division 1 bracket, Chaminade is the fifteenth seed in Division 2, Bishop Amat is the top seed in Div. 3, and Notre Dame is the fifth seed in Division 3, while Loyola is the number 1 seed in Division 5.

LOYOLA MAKES 52nd TRIP TO CIF SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS WHERE IT HAS WON SIX TITLES AND WAS FINALIST SEVEN TIMES

This marks the Cubs’ 52nd trip to the CIF Southern Section playoffs.

Loyola won CIF AAAA championships in 1962, 1963 and 1975, and captured Division I titles in 1990, 2003 and 2005

The Cubs were Large Schools runners-up in 1946, AAAA finalists in 1964, and Division I runners-up in 1992, 1995, 1996 and 2000. Loyola was a Division 4 finalist in 2019.

A LOOK AT FIRST ROUND OPPONENT NEWBURY PARK

Fifth year Head Coach Joe Smigiel’s Panthers won the CIF Southern Section Division 2 championship last season before falling to San Diego Lincoln in a down-to-the-wire battle in the CIF State 1-AA regional. Newbury Park finished its impressive 2024 campaign with a 14-1 record and was ranked 11th in the state in the final MaxPreps top 25.

The Panthers were highly ranked going into this season largely because of the return of the head coach’s son, Brady Smigiel, who earned All-CIF and All-State honors as Newbury Park’s quarterback last fall.

Unfortunately for the Panthers, their other returnees did not quite live up to huge expectations this fall and their 6-5, 215 lb. University of Michigan-bound QB suffered a season-ending knee injury in their sixth game.

Newbury Park’s regular season game results were as follows:

Lost to Millikan, 49-20; beat Arroyo Grande, 28-27; lost to Oxnard Pacifica, 56-35; fell to St. Pius X, 46-41; outscored Ventura, 43-28; downed Santa Barbara, 31-21; trounced Calabasas, 46-14; was beaten by undefeated (10-0) league championship Westlake in double overtime, 29-23; lost to league rival Thousand Oaks, 17-7; and demolished Rio Mesa, 49-7.

Junior Tyler Mayer (5-11, 175) took the reins behind center after Smigiel’s injury. He has completed 59% of his passes for 507 yards (10.3 yard completion average) and thrown for six touchdowns with four interceptions.

The Panthers feature a prolific pass-first offense, and a trio of outstanding receivers allow the aerial attack to flourish at a high level. Senior speedster Matthew Curry (5-9, 145) has caught 60 passes for 716 yards (11.9 yard per reception average) and scored seven TDs. Senior Devin Olmande (6-1, 180) is the second leading wideout (51/615, 12.1 avg., six TDs). Big senior target Vincent Carner (6-4, 205, 21/353, 16.0 avg., five TDs) is tough to cover.

Bruising running back Tyler Stromsoe (5-10, 200) has rushed for 480 yards on 86 carries (5.6 average) and scored two touchdowns.

Newbury Park’s top defender is senior linebacker Carter Taylor (5-10, 200) who has tallied 106 tackles, including 40 solos, 14 tackles for loss, six sacks and nine hurries. Sophomore linebacker Simon Mekari (6-1, 195, 45 tackles, nine TFLs, three sacks and three hurries) is a thumper.

LOYOLA VS. NEWBURY PARK FIRST ROUND CIF DIVISION 5 FIRST ROUND GAME OUTLOOK

In the first ever meeting between the schools on the gridiron, the Cubs will have to generate some productive offense, which they have been challenged to accomplish all season.

Loyola’s offense averaged a meager eight points per game in their five Mission League contests and 14 points per outing on the season. The Cubs average only 209 yards of total offense per game. In their last two games they were held to 119 and 79 yards of total offense, respectively.

If Loyola cannot substantially increase its scoring output, it will be tough to notch a win.

Meanwhile, the Panthers have scored an average of 32 points per contest and have averaged 383 yards of total offense over the course of 10 regular season games.

Newbury Park’s defense has relinquished an average of 33 points per outing, so there is a real chance the Cubs can get their offense untracked.

Loyola’s passing game, which has scored only three touchdowns and had 11 passes intercepted, will need to take a big step up on Friday.

Senior Cub kicker/punter JACOB KREINBRING could play a big role in the outcome.

The only comparative scores were the Panthers’ 49-20 loss to Millikan and Loyola’s 35-25 victory over the Rams.

The Cubs will need to play flawlessly in all three phases of the game in the first round playoff battle to notch a victory and advance to the quarterfinal round.

The prediction here is that the game will be a close one.

THE CIF DIVISION 5 PLAYOFF BRACKET

The teams in the CIF Division 5 playoff bracket are not among the upper tier of CIF squads, and the race for the Division 5 title appears to be wide open. Here is the CIF Southern Section Division 5 playoff bracket:

Torrance* (10-0) No. 1 seed

Redondo (6-4)

St. Paul* (3-7)

Etiwanda (5-5)

Northview* (8-2)

Bonita (6-4)

LOYOLA* (4-6) No. 4 seed

Newbury Park (6-4)

Aliso Niguel* (7-3) No. 3 seed

Millikan (3-7)

La Serna* (7-3)

Lakewood (6-4)

Thousand Oaks* (8-2)

Rio Hondo Prep (10-0)

Troy (9-1)* No. 2 seed

Orange (6-4)

*Denotes home team

LOYOLA STAT LEADERS (10 games)

The top three Loyola rushing leaders are:

Junior KANE CASANI (6-0, 200, 74 carries/522 yards, 7.1 yards per carry, 5 TDs)

Junior XAVIER WIMBLEY (6-2, 190, 71/296, 4.2 ypc, 5 TDs)

Soph JAYDEN ROGERS (5-11, 165, 48/229, 4.8 ypc, 2 TDs)

The top two Cub receivers are junior TOBY THUSS (6-0, 160, 20 receptions, 288 yards, 14.4 yards per reception, 2 TDs) and soph BRANDON ALEXANDER (6-2, 180, 18/183, 10.2 ypc).

Among Loyola’s top defenders statistically are linebacker KANE CASANI (123 total tackles/ 44 solo, 12 tackles for loss, one sack, 10 hurries, one interception, seven passes defended), senior linebacker HOLDEN SMYSER (6-1, 225, 97 tackles/28 solo, nine TFLs, five hurries, three interceptions) senior Edge MAX MEIER (6-6, 255, 80 tackles/62 solo, 14 TFL, 9.5 sacks, 27 hurries), sophomore corner MALIQUE POLLARD (6-0, 160, two interceptions, 10 passes defended, one fumble returned 59 yards for TD), junior corner ZION PHELPS (5-11, 155, nine passes defended), senior safety PETER SCIARRINO (6-0, 190 eight passes defended)

Complete stats are published by MaxPreps.com

CUBS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Below is the list of Loyola graduates on college football teams in 2025 according to published collegiate rosters:

JAKE ARELLANO '24, DB, Bentley University

CHAD BAILEY ‘20, DB, Bentley University

BROCK BOJORQUEZ ‘25, DB, Johns Hopkins

COLIN CRUCE ‘22, OL, Bowdoin

KHALIL CUEVA ‘24, WR, University of San Diego

JEFFREY JOHNSON ‘21, TE, Cal

LUKE HARRISON ‘24, OL, University of San Diego

CONNOR KLEIN ‘25, LB, Cornell

SHAWN LIN '22, DL, Columbia

LEIGHTON LINE ‘23, DL, Cal Lutheran

JOSHUA LONG ‘21, TE, Eastern Michigan

TAHJ OWENS '22, DB, Princeton

JACK PARIS '23, DL, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

RYAN QUINTANAR '20, LB, USC

XAVIER RICE ‘23, QB, Duquesne

ISAIAH SANDERS, ‘24, LB, UC Davis

PATRICK SODL ‘22, LB, Columbia

ZAKHARI SPEARS ‘21, DB, Idaho

HENRY STICKLER ‘22, WR, SMU

JACK SUSNJAR ‘23, OL, USC

JOE TATUM ‘22, QB, Texas

SCOTT TAYLOR '25, LB, UCLA

RYAN TURK ‘24, OL, Dartmouth

DESI VALDES ‘25, DB, Pasadena City College

CHAMP WESTBROOKS ‘24, OL, Arizona State

ALEX WHITMAN ‘22, WR, Notre Dame

CEYAIR WRIGHT ‘21, DB, Nebraska

SAM YOON ‘22, OL, UCLA

2025 LOYOLA VARSITY FOOTBALL SCHEDULE AND RESULTS (4-6)

8-22 Cathedral (L 36-14)

8-29 @ Millikan (Long Beach) (W 35-25)

9-5 Mount Miguel (L 21-0)

9-12 @ Hamilton (Los Angeles) (W 42-21)

9-19 St. Francis (W 9-3)

10-3 @ Notre Dame* (L 35-10)

10-9 @Serra* at SoFi Stadium (W 13-10)

10-17 Bishop Amat* (L, 30-14)

10-24 @ Chaminade* (L, 52-0)

10-31 Sierra Canyon* (L, 52-3)

CIF SOUTHERN SECTION DIV. 5 PLAYOFFS

11-7 Newbury Park

*Denotes Mission League game