LOYOLA SUFFERS ANOTHER HISTORIC SETBACK WITH 52-3 LOSS TO SIERRA CANYON IN FINAL REGULAR SEASON CONTEST

Before the smallest home crowd seen in decades, Loyola suffered its second worst loss in program history on Friday night at Smith Field as the visiting Sierra Canyon Trailblazers demolished the Cubs, 52-3, in an exhibition of stunning offensive prowess and defensive domination that was truly breathtaking in both style and the manner of execution.

Just like the week before in the worst loss in Loyola football annals (52-0 at the hands of Chaminade), the second half was played with a running clock after Sierra Canyon scored on every one of its possessions before intermission to take an overwhelming 42-0 lead.

The Trailblazers (10-0, 5-0) showcased an incredible array of fast, skilled athletes in its precision, fast tempo, no-huddle offense and suffocating shut down defense, demonstrating why Sierra Canyon is a legitimate contender for the CIF Southern Section Division I championship.

Make no mistake about it, the Cubs did not lay down. They were simply overwhelmed by an exceptionally well coached and much more talented team. It is immensely clear that, for the administrators at Sierra Canyon, football matters in a big way at a school that only has approximately 260 young men enrolled in ninth through twelfth grades. Having won multiple CIF titles and state championships at many divisional levels since its first senior class graduated in 2009, it was easy to see the reason for such remarkable success on Friday night.

The Trailblazers’ defense held Loyola’s offense to 11 yards of total offense in the first two quarters, while their offense piled up 282 yards and scored five TDs on each of its first half possessions. Sierra Canyon’s other score during the first two quarters came on a 62-yard return of a blocked Cub field goal attempt.

Loyola’s senior All-CIF kicker JACOB KREINBRING nailed a 45-yard field goal attempt at the 11:02 mark of the fourth quarter which was set up by junior KANE CASANI’s 34-yard run on the first play of a 48 yard, five-play drive, which made the score at that point. 45-3.

The Trailblazers’ reserves hammered the proverbial nail into the Halloween coffin with a 13-yard sprint to pay dirt with 5:46 remaining in the contest to cap a 52 yard, four-play drive, making the final score 52-3.

Cub linebacker HOLDEN SMYSER, who has had a brilliant senior season, picked off a Sierra Canyon pass in the first quarter and returned it 21 yards to the Trailblazers’ 22 yard line, but four plays later Loyola’s 38-yard field goal try was blocked and returned for a touchdown to increase Sierra Canyon’s lead to 21-0, and just like that the rout was on with 3:13 left in the first quarter.

NOW WHAT?

Myriad questions abound, and it is not at all clear where Cub Football goes from here. This marked the second consecutive campaign in which Loyola finished the regular season with a 4-6 record.

OTHER MISSION LEAGUE NEWS

Three Mission League teams have earned automatic CIF Southern Section playoff berths, Sierra Canyon (league champion, 10-0, 5-0), Chaminade (tied for second, 5-5, 3-2), and Bishop Amat (tied for second, 6-4, 3-2).

The other league finishers are as follows: Notre Dame (fourth place, 5-5, 2-3), Loyola (tied for fifth place, 4-6, 1-4), and Serra (tied for fifth place, 4-6, 1-4).

Notre Dame has a good shot at securing an at-large berth after its surprising 27-21 upset victory over Chaminade on Friday, and Bishop Amat, by virtue of its 24-7 win against Serra, likely eliminated any hope the Cavaliers had for an at-large invitation.

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 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)

*Denotes Mission League game