September 2, 2023

Cub Football - Loyola defense stymies high scoring Culver City, Cub offense has big first half

LOYOLA TAKES STEP UP WITH 24-6 WIN OVER CULVER CITY
On a humid night with intermittent raindrops before a large home crowd, Loyola (1-1) cruised to a 24-6 victory over Culver City on Friday at Smith Field in the Cubs' home opener. A fast, pressure fueled effort by Loyola's 'Wolfpack' defense and a potent Big Blue aerial assault led to a 21-0 Cub halftime lead. For all intents and purposes the contest was over at intermission.

The win took the bad taste of the season-opening loss to Damien out of the mouths of the Cubs and demonstrated the considerable potential of this 2023 squad, which starts 15 underclassmen, including seven sophomores.

The Centaurs (1-1) had amassed 600 yards of total offense and scored 72 points in their opener against San Jacinto last Friday, but a fired up Loyola defensive platoon made Culver City's offense look surprisingly anemic.

Senior edge IKE SANDERS, sophomore defensive lineman MAX MEIER, senior D-lineman CHAMP WESTBROOKS, junior outside linebacker SCOTT TAYLOR, soph outside linebacker/safety PETER SCIARRINO, junior inside linebacker HENRY CASANI, sophomore inside linebacker RONEN ZAMORANO, junior corner BROCK BOJORQUEZ, soph corner BRANDON LOCKHART, senior DB CHAZ AUSTIN, junior safety DESI VALDES, and senior safety JAKE ARELLANO all contributed to Loyola's suffocating defensive effort. The Centaurs' only score came on a short field after the Cub punter's knee hit the turf on the Cubs' 21 yard line in the third quarter.

Loyola junior QB T. K. KNYAL turned in an impressive performance. He hit junior WR DUKE GIARRAPUTO in stride on a perfectly thrown slant that went for a 61-yard TD at the 5:24 mark of the first quarter. Senior A. J. SCHULTZ's PAT kick gave the Cubs a 7-0 lead they never relinquished. KNYAL threw a seven-yard fade to senior KHALIL CUEVA, who made a great catch in the left corner of the end zone, to cap a three-play 54-yard drive with 6:38 left before intermission to increase Loyola's lead to 14-0.

Sophomore running back SEAN MORRIS bulled into the end zone from two yards out to up the Cubs' lead to 21-0 with 2:03 left on the first half clock.

DESI VALDES returned the second half kickoff 99 yards for an apparent score, sending the home crowd into a frenzy, but an odd personal foul call brought the ball all the way back deep inside Cub territory. That unfortunate turn of events seemed to hamstring the Big Blue offense for most of the second half.

Loyola's punt miscue led to the Centaurs' only score, a seven-yard TD pass at the 7:46 mark of the third quarter, which narrowed the Cubs' lead to 21-6. Loyola's final drive of the game started on the Cubs' 20 yard line and culminated with a 29-yard SCULTZ field goal with 3:51 left on the game clock to make the final score 24-6.

Among the other highlights of the contest for the Cubs were GIARRAPUTO's multiple catches for over 100 yards, a 39-yard catch and run by tight end SCOTT TAYLOR, a fantastic 35-yard reception by soph wideout JOSH GALLAGHER, and an interception by DESI VALDEZ. SEAN MORRIS again showed power as a runner. It is just a matter of time before he has a big time break out game. KNYAL threw for 211 yards on the night.

The level of competition ratchets up significantly next week as Loyola will host a big, fast Leuzinger team, which posted an impressive 40-19 win over Ayala on Friday. Loyola did take a big step up on Friday, and the good news is that there is still plenty of room left for improvement as the tough non-league schedule continues.
 

2023 LOYOLA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE/RESULTS

August 25          @ Damien (L 35-14)
September 1      Culver City (W 24-6)
September 8      Leuzinger
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 will be 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, OL (UCLA)