LOYOLA FORCES FOUR TURNOVERS, TWO OF WHICH LED TO SCORES, IN 17-14 WIN OVER NEWBURY PARK IN FIRST ROUND OF CIF DIVISION 5 PLAYOFFS

In a first round CIF Southern Section Division 5 playoff game at Smith Field on Friday, Loyola forced four turnovers, two of which led to touchdowns, enabling the Cubs (5-6) to defeat the third place team in the Conejo Coast League, Newbury Park, 17-14, and advance to the quarterfinal round next Friday to take on Bonita, a 31-19 victor over Northview, in La Verne.

Once again, Loyola was hampered by an overall unproductive offensive performance (158 total yards), which included a fumble and interception, but the Cubs did take advantage of enough of their opportunities, and were aided by a stalwart effort by their ‘Wolfpack’ defense and an outstanding performance by All-State kicker/punter JACOB KREINBRING to notch the playoff win.

On the sixth play of the contest’s opening series, Loyola junior free safety GAGE SANTOS returned a Panther fumble 52 yards for a touchdown. KREINBRING’s PAT kick gave the Cubs a 7-0 lead at the 8:12 mark of the first quarter.

After the Cub defense forced a turnover on downs, Loyola threw an interception on the first play of its ensuing possession, and Newbury Park took immediate advantage in just three plays, scoring on a 45-yard run to cap a 49-yard drive to tie the score, 7-7, with 1:56 remaining in the first quarter.

The Cubs then marched 59 yards in eight plays before KREINBRING nailed a 33-yard field goal less than four minutes into the second quarter to increase Loyola’s lead to 10-7.

The Panthers answered with a seven play, 80 yard drive, culminated by a three-yard scoring run at the 5:21 mark of the second quarter to give the visitors a 14-10 lead.

Disaster then struck for Newbury Park when its punt returner fumbled a soaring KREINBRING punt, giving the ball to the Cubs at the Panthers’ 24 yard line. Six plays later Loyola junior running back KANE CASANI ran the ball for a six-yard TD with 16 seconds left in the first half. Loyola’s 17—4 lead would hold up, as neither team scored after intermission.

Among the Cub highlights of the second half were senior defensive lineman ANDREW HILTON’s recovery of a Newbury Park fumble at the Loyola 22 yard line to thwart a Panther scoring threat, and sophomore corner MALIQUE POLLARD’s interception of a Newbury Park pass at midfield. KREINBRING had huge punts of 61 and 58 yards in the second half to put the Panthers in unfavorable field possession.

Unofficially, Loyola was only able to generate 158 of total offense, while Newbury Park gained 266 yards. Newbury Park finished its season with a 6-5 record while the Cubs improved to 5-6.

Loyola will need to make marked improvement offensively when they travel to Bonita next Friday for their quarterfinal bout with the Bearcats.

THE CIF DIVISION 5 PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND RESULTS

Torrance* 14

Redondo 21

St. Paul* 38

Etiwanda 19

Northview* 19

Bonita 31

LOYOLA* 17

Newbury Park 14

Aliso Niguel* 7

Millikan 6

La Serna* 7

Lakewood 0

Thousand Oaks* 34

Rio Hondo Prep 50

Troy (9-1)* 49

Orange 27

*Denotes home team

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 (5-6)

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 (W, 17-14)

*Denotes Mission League game