October 30, 2023

Cub Football - Loyola has great chance to make a run in CIF playoffs - A look at Cubs' first round CIF playoff opponent

LOYOLA GOALS CAN BE ACHIEVED WITH TEAM ON THE RISE
A big win over Cathedral last Friday, coupled with St. Paul's upset victory over St. Francis, catapulted Loyola into a tie for the Angelus League championship and earned the Cubs' the number one seed in Division 4 of the CIF Southern Section playoffs which get underway this Friday.

Loyola (5-5) will host one-loss Norte Vista (9-1) of Riverside, the River Valley League champions, this Friday at 7:00 p.m. at Smith Field in a first round battle.

It may seem unusual for two league champions to be pitted against one another in a first round game, but the competitive equity system employed by the Southern Section in seeding playoff teams since 2016 is the reason why. Each of of the 14 CIF Southern Section playoff divisions are filled based on teams' positions in CalPreps' computer rankings.

While under the prior format a number 16 seed such as Norte Vista, would never be a league title winner, such a placement is possible under the competitive equity format. Division 4's number two seed is La Serna (7-3) of Whittier, the three seed is Ayala (6-4) of Chino Hills, and the four seed is Corona Del Mar (5-5).

This marks the 78th time the Cubs have earned a berth in the CIF Southern Section playoffs. If Loyola wins each of four games in the 16-team single elimination Division 4 playoff field, it would earn its seventh CIF title, and would then have the opportunity to play in a state regional and state championship game. So those are the goals for an ascending Cub squad which is playing its best football of the season.

A LOOK AT THE NORTE VISTA BRAVES
Veteran head coach Ken Batdorf is in his 30th season as the leader of the Norte Vista football program. His teams have won 209 games. Batdorf is currently the longest tenured head man in the CIF Southern Section.

Batdorf-coached squads are known for their physical brand of football and punishing ground attack. The Braves are 9-1 overall and were undefeated in the River Valley League.

From 2018 to date, Norte Vista has compiled an impressive 52-9 record (85%). The Braves lost their opener to Capistrano Valley of the tough South Coast League, 31-14; blasted Shadow Hills, 49-6; trounced Rancho Mirage, 45-15; pummeled Granite Hills, 38-6; downed Muir, 33-20; routed Hillcrest, 42-14, dismantled La Sierra, 48-13; annihilated Arlington, 49-3; got by Patriot, 28-24; and defeated Ramona, 31-10.

Norte Vista likes to run the ball, and they do it extremely well, averaging 311 rushing yards per contest. The Braves pound the rock 76% of the time. Senior speedster Taejon Henderson (5-10, 165) has carried the ball 50 times for 947 yards. He averages an astounding 18.9 yards per carry. His batterymate, sophomore tailback Dreddie Allison (5-10, 175), has gained 1,205 yards (7.7 ypc), and scored 21 touchdowns.

While Norte Vista dominates in the run game, its passing attack keeps defenses honest. Junior quarterback Seth Bolender, a 6-0 thrower, has completed 63% of his passes for 1,184 yards and thrown for 13 TDs. He is also a threat as a runner.

Bolender's top targets are Henderson (31/648, 18.9 yards per reception) and senior Eli Martinez (6-1, 178) (20/307, 15.4 yards per catch). The Braves' offensive line is a big reason why the offense averages 38 points per game.

Norte Vista's defense has given up more than 14 points just twice this season. It relinquishes an average of 14 points per contest.

Physical senior linebacker Juan Garcia leads the stop unit with 90 tackles. Damon Iosefa (6-2, 230) has made 72 tackles, recorded two sacks and two interceptions. Senior DB Julio Reyes (5-9, 160) leads a secondary, which has 15 interceptions on the season, with five picks. Senior safety Eli Martinez has four pass thefts to his credit.

GAME OUTLOOK The blueprint for a Loyola victory is to stifle the highly productive Norte Vista ground attack and establish a strong run game of its own. 

The Cubs cannot afford to take the Braves lightly, as Norte Vista is well coached and will travel to Smith Field from Riverside with the intention of upsetting the division's number one seed.

Friday's first round playoff match-up will be the first meeting between the schools on the gridiron.

LOYOLA STAT LEADERS (10 GAMES)
OFFENSE
Rushing
SEAN MORRIS (Soph.) 175/969, 5.5 avg., 8 TDs
JUSTIN SMITH (Sr.) 63/284, 4.5 avg., 3 TDs

Passing
THOMAS "T.K." KNYAL (Jr.) 130/222, 1,523 yds., 59%, 11.7 avg., 15 TDs, 10 Int.

Receiving
KHALIL CUEVA (Sr.) 46/499, 10.8 avg., 5 TDs
DUKE GIARRAPUTO (Jr.) 38/496, 13.1 avg., 5 TDs
SEAN MORRIS (Soph.) 13/186, 14.3 avg.
SCOTT TAYLOR (Jr.) 6/112, 18.7 avg., 2 TDs

DEFENSE
Tackles
HENRY CASANI (Jr.) 90 total, 21 solo
RONEN ZAMORANO (Soph.) 89, 21
JAKE ARELLANO (Sr.) 73, 22
DESI VALDES (Jr.) 67, 16
SCOTT TAYLOR (Jr.) 57, 17

Sacks/ Hurries
IKE SANDERS (Sr.) 6.5, 27
SCOTT TAYLOR (Jr.) 4.0, 22
HENRY CASANI (Jr.) 3.5, 3

Interceptions
JAKE ARELLANO (Sr.) 1
BROCK BOJORQUEZ (Jr.)1
BRANDON LOCKHART (Soph.) 1 (90 yd. TD return)
DESI VALDES (Jr.) 1

SPECIAL TEAMS
PAT
MARK HYAN (Sr.) 19/19
A.J. SCHULTZ (Sr.) 12/12

FG
MARK HYAN (Sr.) 4/4
A.J. SCHULTZ (Sr.) 1/1

GAME TICKETS
Tickets for Friday's first round CIF playoff game against Norte Vista may be purchased at GoFan.co. No tickets will be sold at the gate.

Because it is a CIF sponsored contest, those with season passes must purchase tickets for playoff games.

FRIDAY PRE-GAME
Loyola parents, alumni and supporters will meet at El Cholo on Western Avenue at 4:30 p.m. on Friday before the Cubs' first round playoff contest against Norte Vista.

2023 LOYOLA SCHEDULE - RESULTS

August 25             @ Damien (L 35-14)
September 1        Culver City (W 24-6)
September 8         Leuzinger (L 35-14)
September 15      @ Chaminade (L 42-35)
September 22      Oaks Christian (L 31-14)
September 29      @ St. Francis* (L 26-21)
October 6              St. Paul* (W 25-11)e
October 13           @ Crespi* (W 45-28)
October 20           Paraclete* (W 36-7)RG
October 29           @ Cathedral* (W 27-6)          
November 3            Norte Vista (First Round CIF)

(* denotes Angelus League game)

CUBS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Thirty-four Loyola grads are 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; South Bend, Indiana to Starkville, Mississippi; and Austin, Texas to Chicago.

Here is the current list of Cubs on college football rosters (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)
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)
ALEX WHITMAN '22, WR (Notre Dame)
WILKE WILES '23, WR (University of Chicago) 
HOLMES WORMALD '23, TE (Merchant Marine Academy)
CEYAIR WRIGHT ‘21, DB ( USC)
SAM YOON ‘22, OL ( UCLA)