Cub Football - Loyola holds off Damien in 16-14 road victory
CUBS DOWN STATE-RANKED DAMIEN TO NOTCH FIRST WIN
It wasn’t pretty, but as they say, a win is a win, and that is what Loyola came away with in La Verne on Thursday night as the Cubs recovered a late on side kick to seal a 16-14 victory over a Damien team ranked 17th in the Southland by the Times and 23rd in the state by Max Preps.
Both teams made critical mistakes, but the Spartans made more than Loyola, and that ultimately was the difference in the outcome of a contest which did not have much in terms of aesthetic qualities.
On the Big Blue’s second offensive possession, after recovering a Damien fumble on the Spartans’ 26-yard line, junior quarterback XAVIER RICE connected with junior wide receiver BAYLIN BROOKS on an eight yard touchdown pass. Senior JACKSON SHEA’s PAT kick put the Cubs up. 7-0, at the 11:48 mark of the second quarter.
Shortly thereafter, Loyola’s punt coverage special teams unit blocked a Damien punt and recovered the ball at the Spartans’ six-yard line. The Cubs were moved back by two penalties before RICE completed a 16-yard scoring strike to senior wide receiver JACOBY KELLY with 8:03 remaining in the second quarter. After a blocked PAT kick attempt the score was 13-0 in favor of Loyola. At that point it felt as though the Cubs might pull away. But Damien quickly answered on a 70-yard TD run just a minute later to narrow the score to 13-7.
Calamity one again befell the Spartans on their ensuing possession as their punter mishandled the long snap, and Loyola recovered the ball at the Damien 39-yard line. SHEA drilled a 32-yard field goal with just 12.7 seconds left before intermission to put the Cubs up 16-7.
Unfortunately, the 6-4 left-handed RICE was forced to leave the game because of injury, and his status for next Friday’s home tilt against Culver City is not known. RRICE’s absence behind center hurt Loyola in the second half. The Cubs had five offensive possessions which ended in three punts, an interception and a kneel down before time expired.
Senior safety JACKSON SHEA, who handles punting and kicking responsibilities, deserves praise for a very solid night punting, his 32-yard field goal, and capable patrol of the back end of the ‘Wolfpack’ defense.
Meanwhile, the Spartans dropped a wide open deep TD pass, missed a chip shot field goal attempt after driving over 80 yards before finally giving Loyola a scare, driving 79 yards and scoring on a 19-yard pass with 1:34 left in the game to pull within two points.
Fortunately, the Cubs recovered the ensuing on side kick on the Damien 49-yard line, and escaped from La Verne with a 16-14 win. The victory may not cause Loyola to move up much in the rankings but it nonetheless came against the number one ranked team in the San Gabriel Valley.
There remain significant areas for improvement for a Cub squad which still is long on potential, but has yet to put all the pieces together.
Loyola will host Culver City at Smith Field at 7:00 p.m. next Friday, September 3.
It wasn’t pretty, but as they say, a win is a win, and that is what Loyola came away with in La Verne on Thursday night as the Cubs recovered a late on side kick to seal a 16-14 victory over a Damien team ranked 17th in the Southland by the Times and 23rd in the state by Max Preps.
Both teams made critical mistakes, but the Spartans made more than Loyola, and that ultimately was the difference in the outcome of a contest which did not have much in terms of aesthetic qualities.
On the Big Blue’s second offensive possession, after recovering a Damien fumble on the Spartans’ 26-yard line, junior quarterback XAVIER RICE connected with junior wide receiver BAYLIN BROOKS on an eight yard touchdown pass. Senior JACKSON SHEA’s PAT kick put the Cubs up. 7-0, at the 11:48 mark of the second quarter.
Shortly thereafter, Loyola’s punt coverage special teams unit blocked a Damien punt and recovered the ball at the Spartans’ six-yard line. The Cubs were moved back by two penalties before RICE completed a 16-yard scoring strike to senior wide receiver JACOBY KELLY with 8:03 remaining in the second quarter. After a blocked PAT kick attempt the score was 13-0 in favor of Loyola. At that point it felt as though the Cubs might pull away. But Damien quickly answered on a 70-yard TD run just a minute later to narrow the score to 13-7.
Calamity one again befell the Spartans on their ensuing possession as their punter mishandled the long snap, and Loyola recovered the ball at the Damien 39-yard line. SHEA drilled a 32-yard field goal with just 12.7 seconds left before intermission to put the Cubs up 16-7.
Unfortunately, the 6-4 left-handed RICE was forced to leave the game because of injury, and his status for next Friday’s home tilt against Culver City is not known. RRICE’s absence behind center hurt Loyola in the second half. The Cubs had five offensive possessions which ended in three punts, an interception and a kneel down before time expired.
Senior safety JACKSON SHEA, who handles punting and kicking responsibilities, deserves praise for a very solid night punting, his 32-yard field goal, and capable patrol of the back end of the ‘Wolfpack’ defense.
Meanwhile, the Spartans dropped a wide open deep TD pass, missed a chip shot field goal attempt after driving over 80 yards before finally giving Loyola a scare, driving 79 yards and scoring on a 19-yard pass with 1:34 left in the game to pull within two points.
Fortunately, the Cubs recovered the ensuing on side kick on the Damien 49-yard line, and escaped from La Verne with a 16-14 win. The victory may not cause Loyola to move up much in the rankings but it nonetheless came against the number one ranked team in the San Gabriel Valley.
There remain significant areas for improvement for a Cub squad which still is long on potential, but has yet to put all the pieces together.
Loyola will host Culver City at Smith Field at 7:00 p.m. next Friday, September 3.
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