Cub Football - Formidable Mission League slate commences this Friday in Sherman Oaks
LOYOLA WILL BE CHALLENGED BY TOUGH MISSION LEAGUE SCHEDULE BEGINNING WITH ROAD GAME AT NOTRE DAME ON FRIDAY
Loyola (3-2) is projected to be an underdog in each of its five Mission League contests beginning with its battle against long time rival Notre Dame (3-2) on Friday night in Sherman Oaks.
Sierra Canyon (5-0) is the heavy favorite to run away with the league title, and the competition to secure second and third place finishes in the conference will be nothing short of fierce. Only three league teams will be guaranteed CIF Southern Section berths in the divisional playoffs which get underway on November 7.
The Southern Section does not include teams with less than .500 records for at-large playoff berth consideration. Accordingly, the Cubs would need to finish the season with no worse than a 5-5 record to be eligible for CIF playoff consideration.
A 5-5 ledger would require Loyola to win at least two Mission League battles, and the computers do not favor that outcome. So the Cubs will need to perform at levels above those of their non-league efforts to make them eligible for possible post-season action.
Last season Loyola tied for third place in the Mission League with a 4-6 regular season record, but the Cubs earned a guaranteed spot in the CIF playoffs by winning a coin toss to determine the third place loop representative.
A LOOK AT THE NOTRE DAME KNIGHTS
Notre Dame head coach Evan Yabu leads a squad that is much better from both a talent and performance standpoint than its 3-2 record might suggest.
The Knights lost their opener, 24-21, to a solid Downey team (ranked 16th by the L.A. Times) and fell to Servite (ranked 10th by the Times and one of the state’s best squads), 29-23. None of the teams Loyola played in non-league contests were of Servite’s or Downey’s caliber.
Notre Dame trounced Bishop Alemany, 42-0; overwhelmed St. Francis, 49-12; and dominated a solid Culver City team last Friday, 57-14.
The Knights’ average game score is 38-16. Notre Dame averages 202 rushing yards and 155 passing yards per outing. Against Culver City the Knights amassed 498 yards of total offense, including 343 through the air.
The centerpiece of Notre Dame’s prolific offensive arsenal is quarterback Wyatt Brown (6-4, 195), a senior transfer from Santa Monica. The skilled dual threat athlete has multiple FBS and Ivy League offers, and there are good reasons why. He has completed 68% of his passes for 753 yards with a 12.8 yards completion average and has thrown for eight touchdowns with just one interception. Brown is also a talented runner with 504 yards on 41 carries (12.3 ypc) and 11 TDs to his credit.
Sophomore running back Noel Washington (6-0, 170) averages 7.2 yards per tote and has scored six touchdowns.
The Knights best receiver, USC-bound Luc Weaver (6-3, 210) was an All-CIF pass catcher in 2024, but was sidelined with an injury during fall camp. He will make his season debut this Friday. Making an already outstanding receiving corps even more dangerous was the decision by the nation’s reputed number-one prep basketball prospect, Tyran Stokes (6-8, 250), to become a member of the football squad. In his first appearance last Friday, Stokes had two receptions for 58 yards.
Super fast sophomore receiver Emmanuel Pullins (6-0, 175) has caught 14 passes for 266 yards (19 ypc).
ND’s offensive line is big and strong as usual.
On the defensive side, senior safety Maxwell Martin-Beckmann (6-0, 180) leads the stop unit in tackles with 39, including 25 solos.
Physical senior middle linebacker Ben Shpilski (6-0, 195) is a mauler with 35 tackles, including 29 solo stops.
Senior corner Preston Webb (5-11, 165) is the Knights’ third leading tackler (32/29). Speedy sophomore DB Tahj Skinner (5-11, 175) leads a stingy defensive platoon with three interceptions.
LOYOLA - NOTRE DAME GAME OUTLOOK
Notre Dame, the L.A. Times’ 25th-ranked team, has an array of outstanding offensive weapons.
If quarterback Wyatt Brown continues running the ball for big yards against the Cubs, it likely will be a long night for Loyola.
The Cubs will need to run the ball effectively and hit some big chunk pass plays to stay in the hunt.
The teams’ only comparative scores were against St. Francis. The Knights trounced the Golden Knights by 37 points, 49-12, in their third contest, while Loyola eked out a 9-3 overtime victory against St. Francis on September 19.
Suffice to say, a Cub victory would constitute an upset of seismic proportion.
THE LOYOLA - NOTRE DAME SERIES
Loyola leads the series with Notre Dame 33-21. The schools first met on the gridiron in 1950. Head coach JACK BOUCHARD’s Cubs routed Notre Dame, 37-14.
Loyola’s most lopsided victory (46-0) came in a Catholic League battle under head coach MARIO DiMURO in 1963. The Cubs went onto a second consecutive undefeated CIF Southern Section AAAA title campaign that season.
Last fall Loyola lost to the Knights, 35-34, at Smith Field following a failed two-point conversion at the end of a hotly tested contest.
CUB FOOTBALL ALUMNI UPDATES
COLEMAN SHELTON ‘13 continues to shine as the starting center for the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams . . . Nickel back MYLES BRYANT ‘16 was elevated to the active squad of the NFL’s Houston Texans . . . DESI VALDES ‘25 is having a banner campaign as a corner for Pasadena College. He is also a dangerous long distance kick returner who recently had a 90-yard return to pay dirt . . . UCLA center SAM YOON ‘22 is excelling for the Bruins . . . 2024 All-CIF linebacker SCOTT TAYLOR ‘25, a true freshman who is a special teams starter at UCLA, saw his first defensive action last week for the Bruins and was lauded by interim head coach Tim Skipper.
LOYOLA STAT LEADERS (through five games)
OFFENSE
PASSING
JOHN-CARL RISING (soph.) 93 attempts,43 completions 534 yards 46% 12.4 avg. 2TDs 4 int.
RUSHING
XAVIER WIMBLEY (jr.) 60 carries 284 yards 4.7 yards per carry 5 TDs
KANE CASANI (jr.) 22 195 8.9 3 TDs
JAYDEN ROGERS (soph.) 20 121 6.1 2 TDs
HOLDEN SMYSER (sr.) 5 64 12.8 1 TD
RECEIVING
TOBY THUSS (jr.) 10 receptions 172 yards 17.2 avg. 2 TDs
BRANDON ALEXANDER (soph.) 9 132 14.7
SAM FRIEND ( jr.) 9 77 8.6
JAYDEN ROGERS (soph.) 6 63 10.5
DEFENSE
TACKLES
KANE CASANI (jr.) 64 total/23 solo
HOLDEN SMYSER (sr.) 43/11
MAX MEIER (sr.) 40/10
MERRICK DOTTS (jr.) 27/4
GAGE SANTOS (jr.) 25/8
JAYDEN ROGERS (soph.) 24/11
TACKLES FOR LOSS
KANE CASANI 10.0
MAX MEIER 10.0
JAYDEN ROGERS (soph.) 1.0
HOLDEN SMYSER (sr.) 1.0
SACKS
MAX MEIER 7.0
ZACH HARRISON 1.0
KANE CASANI (jr.) 1.0
HURRIES
MAX MEIER 21
KANE CASANI 9
ZACH HARRISIN 9
MERRICK DOTTS 6
INTERCEPTIONS
HOLDEN SMYSER (sr.) 2
KANE CASANI (jr.) 1
WILL MACK (soph.) 1
MALIQUE POLLARD (soph.) 1
JAYDEN ROGERS (soph.) 1
GAGE SANTOS (jr.) 1
PASSES DEFENDED
MALIQUE POLLARD (soph.) 6
ZION PHELPS (jr.) 4
BRANDON ALEXANDER 3
KANE CASANI (jr.) 3
JAYDEN ROGERS (soph.) 1
PETER SCIARRINO (sr.) 2
LOYOLA TO PLAY AT SoFi STADIUM ON OCTOBER 9
It was announced this week that Loyola will play its Mission League game against Gardena Serra at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, the home of the Rams and Chargers, on Thursday, October 9 at 5:00 p.m.
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
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*
10-9 @Serra* at SoFi Stadium
10-17 Bishop Amat*
10-24 @ Chaminade*
10-31 Sierra Canyon*
*Denotes Mission League game