Cub Football - Loyola faces must-win situation against Chaminade
LOYOLA’S PLAYOFF HOPES ON THE LINE THIS FRIDAY
Loyola will be fighting for a potential at-large CIF Southern Section playoff berth this Friday when it travels to West Hills to take on Mission League foe Chaminade, which came from behind to defeat Gardena Serra, 37-27, at El Camino College in Torrance on Friday.
The Cubs (4-4, 1-2) are coming off a 30-16 defeat at the hands of arch rival Bishop Amat, which put them in a must-win situation against the Eagles if they hope to even their Mission League record at 2-2 and guarantee themselves a no worse than .500 regular season ledger needed for Southern Section playoff at-large consideration. Yes, Loyola does have one more Mission League contest on October 31st against Sierra Canyon, but a victory over the Trailblazers (8-0, 3-0), whose closest game this season was by a 30-0 score, would be a minor miracle.
So, effectively, it is all on the line this week against Chaminade, and despite conventional wisdom projecting a decisive Eagle victory, the Cubs have a real shot at an upset triumph for good reason.
Loyola unveiled a new offensive scheme against Bishop Amat which allowed the Cubs to outscore the Lancers 14-10 in the second half. It is reasonable to expect some favorable offensive schematic tweaks to be made in practices this week, which, if successfully executed on Friday, could lead to a huge upset.
A LOOK AT THE CHAMINADE EAGLES
Chaminade overcame a 17-point deficit to prevail in its Mission League battle with Serra on Friday to improve its overall record to 4-4 and its conference slate to 2-1.
Head Coach David Machuca’s Eagles, ranked 39th in the state by MaxPreps, have played a tough schedule (39.4 strength of schedule rating by Max Preps compared to Loyola’s 18.4) with games against four teams currently in the Los Angeles Times’ Southland top 25 rankings. Chaminade’s most impressive win was a 35-0 demolition of Bishop Amat on October 5.
The Eagles opened their campaign with a 42-27 victory over Oaks Christian. They fell to Valencia, 34-20; were routed by Servite, 46-3; lost to Beaumont, 27-14; defeated Cathedral, 35-28; crushed Bishop Amat, 35-0; were dominated in a 45-14 loss to Sierra Canyon; and overcame Serra, 37-27.
Against Serra, Machuca called on freshman quarterback Jeremy Mellalieu (6-0, 175) to lead the Eagles’s offense, and the precocious first year signal caller acquitted himself well. He has completed 19 of his 34 passes (56%) for 252 yards (13.3 yards per completion), two touchdowns and two interceptions. Junior QB Cameron Pooley (6-2, 190, 64/118 (54%), 1,022 yards, 15.0 avg. per completion, 9 TDs, 5 interceptions) only threw two passes against the Cavaliers. It is not clear which of the two signal callers will line up behind center on the first snap against the Cubs.
Senior running back Ronnell Hewitt went beast mode against Serra. The 6-1, 220 lb. runner scored three TDs, including a 51-yard sprint. On the season Hewitt has tallied seven touchdowns and averages 6.6 yards per carry.
Junior Shilo Beavers (5-9, 180) has carried the ball 74 times for 337 yards (4.6 yds. per carry) and scored three TDs. Junior RB Marquis Jones (5-9, 180, 51/250, 4.9 ypc. 2 TDs) is also a tough runner.
Chaminade has a trio of fast, productive receivers, Junior Andrew Cordero (6-1, 175, 30/487, 16.7 yds. per catch, 1 TD), senior Beau Lindus (6-3, 195, 15/306, 20.4 ypc, 2 TDs), and junior Elijah Williams (5-11, 185, 14/262, 15.7 ypc, 4 TDs).
Two big, fast athletes dominate on the Eagle defensive platoon, senior DE Michael Bonnett (6-3, 250, 40 tackles, 8 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, 7 hurries) and junior DE Hudson Manning (6-3, 225, 38 tackles, 4 sacks, 10 TFL, 12 hurries).
Junior safety Josiah Rand (6-3, 205) is a rangy ball hawk who has recorded 37 tackles. Senior DB Yashar Neal (5-10, 175) leads the team with two interceptions.
Powerful defensive lineman Harout Agazaryan (6-3, 255) has forced 11 hurries.
Chaminade averages 25 points per game and has relinquished an average of 29 points per outing.
GAME OUTLOOK
By comparative score analysis the Eagles would appear to be prohibitive favorites to handily defeat Loyola. Chaminade destroyed Bishop Amat 35-0, while the Cubs were handled by the Lancers 30-16. Loyola was routed by Cathedral 36-14 in its season opener, while the Eagles beat the Phantoms 35-28. The Cubs beat Serra 13—10, while Chaminade defeated the Cavaliers, 37-27.
Among other reasons for Loyola to be optimistic is its new found offensive identity and its second half play in its last two games. This week it will need to take care of business in all four quarters.
Last Friday Serra raced out to a 27-10 lead against the Eagles, before the Cavaliers surrendered 27 unanswered points.
The blueprint for the Cubs will include no turnovers, getting off to a strong start offensively and putting together 48 minutes of intensely physical play. A couple of takeaways would help as well. While the computers pick the Eagles, this game has the distinct feel of a pending upset.
Loyola will probably need to score at least 24 points to pull off a victory, a scoring total it has not achieved except in two contests thus far.
With their backs against the wall, it is expected that the Cubs will fight with ferocity.
THE LOYOLA - CHAMINADE SERIES
The series began in 2006 with a 14-10 Cub victory, followed by a Loyola wins in 2007 (17-7) and 2009 (42-3). Since then the Eagles won seven straight before last fall. They lead the series 7-4.
In 2023 the Cubs took it down to the wire in West Hills before losing 42-35.
Last season, Loyola played its best game of the 2024 campaign in routing Chaminade, 44-10, at Smith Field.
LOOKING AT LOYOLA LEADERS
Junior inside linebacker KANE CASANI has firmly established himself as Loyola’s probable Most Valuable player. He leads the defense with 89 tackles. He has 11 tackles for loss, one sack, one interception and 10 hurries. As a part-time running back, CASANI leads the team with 428 yards on 59 carries (7.3 yards per carry) and is tied for the squad lead with 5 TDs.
Stanford-bound Edge MAX MEIER is another standout certain to achieve post season honors. In addition to 60 tackles, MEIER leads the defense with 13 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks and 26 hurries.
Both of those players will play big roles on Friday night.
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* (L 35-10)
10-9 @Serra* at SoFi Stadium (W 13-10)
10-17 Bishop Amat* (L, 30-14)
10-24 @ Chaminade*
10-31 Sierra Canyon*
*Denotes Mission League game