Cub Football - Loyola has two teams named among state's all-time best - Sophs and Frosh throttle Bishop Amat
LOYOLA'S 1975 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SQUAD ON LIST OF CAL-HI SPORTS' TOP 70 All-TIME CALIFORNIA PREP FOOTBALL TEAMS, 1963 CIF AAAA TITLE TEAM NAMED AMONG ADDITIONAL 40 ALL-TIME GOLDEN STATE SQUADS
Cal-Hi Sports came out with its list of the 70 best all-time California football teams this week.
Loyola's 13-0 CIF Southern Section AAAA championship team, which was crowned National Champions by the National Sports News Service, was 44th on the list.
Among the many great players on that team were QB KEVIN MUNO (Notre Dame), RB GORDON BANKS (Stanford/ New Orleans Saints/ Dallas Cowboys), OL ROD BUTLER (Colorado), WR KAZELL PUGH (Colorado), LB BOB WOOLWAY (Harvard), DE MELVIN SANDERS (Washington State), All-CIF running back PATRICK NOMURA and tight end HENRY WORKMAN (Cal).
The 1963 CIF Southern Section AAAA championship squad was named among an additional 40 all-time memorable state squads.
It was surprising that 12-0 1962 team, led by CIF AAAA Player-of-the-Year, Hall of Fame single wing tailback STEVE GRADY (USC), which outscored its opponents 387-88, did not make the list.
The 1963 12-0 squad, paced by ALL-CIF single wing tailback MIKE BERGDAHL, and CIF AAAA Player-of-the-Year lineman DON SWARTZ (Stanford), outscored the opposition 350-53 and finished ranked second in the nation behind St. Rita of Chicago.
LOYOLA SOPHS TAKE DOWN BISHOP AMAT, REMAIN UNDEFEATED
Thursday at Smith Field the Cub sophomore team rolled to a 26-14 win over long time arch rival Bishop Amat. Loyola overcame four uncharacteristic fumbles to take down the Lancers.
Linebacker KANE CASANI was all over the field for the Cub 'Wolfpack' defense, stuffing multiple plays, recording tackles for loss and delivering bone jarring hits. His aggressive play as a fullback on offense was also outstanding.
Quarterback MATT SMITH put on an aerial show. He completed 10 of 17 passes for 236 yards and three touchdowns to TOBY THUSS (21 yards), SAMMY FRIEND (11 yards), and TYLER HARPER (11 yards). With just 21 seconds left in the first half and 80 yards to cover, Smith was masterful, completing a 69-yard pass to HARPER and an 11-yard TD toss to FRIEND with no time left on the clock.
Loyola shut out Bishop Amat in the second half. GAVIN MILLER and DASHEL VALDES each had interceptions for the Cubs. Defensive ends BRENDAN VANIS and GREGERSON LAW stood out, as did defensive tackle LUKE MICHAUD in his first start.
Tight end DANIEL SULLIVAN also had an excellent outing.
The victory over the Lancers improved the Cubs' record to 7-0.
It was announced after the game that Chaminade cancelled its JV game with Loyola next Thursday, so the Cubs will hope to find a replacement contest.
LOYOLA FRESHMEN ROUT BISHOP AMAT 41-9
The Cubs freshmen dominated Bishop Amat in La Puente on Thursday, winning by a score of 41-9 to improve their record to 6-1.
VARSITY STAT LEADERS AFTER SIX GAMES (PER MAXPREPS)
OFFENSE PASSING ASHTON PANNELL 89 completions out of 156 passes (57%), 1,093 yards, 12.3 yards per completion, 15 TDS, 5 interceptions
RUSHING SEAN MORRIS II 127 carries for 713 yards, 5.6 yards per carry, 7 TDs
RECEIVING MARKUS KIER 35 receptions for 462 yards, 13.2 yards per reception, 6 TDs
BRYCE COLEMAN 14 receptions for 270 yards, 19.3 yards per reception, 4 TDs
SEAN MORRIS II 15 receptions for 171 yards, 11.4 yards per reception, 2 TDs
DEFENSE TACKLES HENRY CASANI (LB) 80, 18 solo
DAEQUAN JEFFES (LB) 64, 24
DESI VALDES (S) 55, 21
ZION SCRIVENS (DL) 50, 16
SCOTT TAYLOR (Edge/OLB) 48, 14
SACKS MAX MEIER (Edge/ DE) 4.0
ZION SCRIVENS (DL) 3.5
SCOTT TAYLOR (Edge/OLB) 3.5
HURRIES SCOTT TAYLOR (Edge/OLB) 19
MAX MEIER (Edge/ DE) 8
INTERCEPTIONS BRANDON LOCKHART (Corner) 2
HENRY CASANI (LB) 1
ZION PHELPS (Corner) 1
ZION SCRIVENS (DL) 1
DESI VALDES (S) 1
TODAY'S PRE-GAME
Come out and pre game with Loyola parents, alumni and supporters at the Lazy Dog Cafe in West Covina starting at 5:00 p.m. this afternoon.
Lazy Dog Cafe 1440 Plaza Drive West Covina 91790.
CUBS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Below is the list of Loyola graduates playing college football in 2024 according to published collegiate rosters:
CHAD BAILEY ‘20, DB, Bentley University
NICHOLAS BARR-MIRA ‘19, K, Mississippi State
COLIN CRUCE ‘22, OL, Bowdoin
JEFFREY JOHNSON ‘21, TE, Cal
LUKE HARRISON ‘24, OL, University of San Diego
ANDREW KOZHAYA ‘21, OL, Grinnel
SHAWN LIN '22, DL, Columbia
LEIGHTON LINE ‘23, DL, Cal Lutheran
CONNOR McDOWELL ‘21, DB, Angelo State
BLAKE NEITHART ‘20, DB, Carleton
TAHJ OWENS '22, DB, Princeton
JACK PARIS '23, DL, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
RYAN QUINTANAR '20, LB, USC
ISAIAH SANDERS, ‘24, LB, UC Davis
PATRICK SODL ‘22, LB, Columbia
HENRY STICKLER ‘22, WR, SMU
JACK SUSNJAR ‘23, OL, USC
JOE TATUM ‘22, QB, Texas
EVAN THOMAS ‘20, DB, UCLA
RYAN TURK ‘24, OL, Dartmouth
ALEX WHITMAN ‘22, WR, Notre Dame
CHAMP WESTBROOKS ‘24, OL, Arizona State
CEYAIR WRIGHT ‘21, DB, Nebraska
SAM YOON ‘22, OL, UCLA
2024 LOYOLA VARSITY FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
8-23 @ Cathedral (L, 16-13, 2OT)
8-30 Damien (L, 30-29)
9-13 @ Leuzinger (L, 40-30)
9-20 @ St. Francis (W, 35-7)
9-27 @ Mount Miguel (Spring Valley, San Diego) (W, 46-38)
10-4 Serra (Home)* (L, 42-35)
10-11 @ Bishop Amat*
10-18 Chaminade (Home)*
10-25 @ Sierra Canyon*
11-1 Notre Dame (Home)*
All games on Fridays @ 7:00 p.m. * Denotes Mission League game