Cub Football - Loyola takes care of business against St. Francis, 35-7, to notch first win
LOYOLA OVERCOMES PENALTY-PLAGUED EFFORT TO SECURE FIRST VICTORY OF SEASON It was not always pretty, but Loyola did what it had to do to notch a 35-7 victory over longtime rival St. Francis before an overflow crowd in La Canada on Friday night to secure its first win of the season.
The Golden Knights are ranked 267th in the CalPreps state prep football rankings, and they were overmatched on both sides of the ball by the bigger, faster Cubs.
Taking the luster off the win were the 14 penalties for 110 yards assessed against the Big Blue. Some of the infractions called were questionable, but nonetheless, going forward it is imperative that Loyola eliminate its penalty prone ways if it hopes to win more games.
In his first action of the season Cub All-American corner BRANDON LOCKHART intercepted a Golden Knights' pass on the third play of the contest to set Loyola up at the St. Francis 33 yard line.
On the Cubs' first offensive play, junior quarterback ASHTON PANNELL connected with junior receiver MARKUS KIER on a 33-yard touchdown strike. JACOB KREINBRING's PAT kick gave Loyola a 7-0 lead that it would never relinquish.
The Cub 'Wolfpack' defense swarmed St. Francis all night long. The Golden Knights' offense gained only 82 yards in the first half. Their six possessions before intermission ended with an interception and five punts, the last of which was blocked.
Loyola increased its lead to 14-0 at the 6:03 mark of the second quarter on another TD pass from PANNELL to KEIR that covered 12 yards, capping a seven-play, 45-yard drive.
On their second possession after halftime, the Cubs drove 63 yards on eight plays, scoring on a 14-yard pass from PANNELL to senior wide receiver ETHAN GALLARDO. KREINBRING's PAT kick upped Loyola's lead to 21-0 with 6:13 left in the third quarter.
Aided by a roughing-the-passer penalty following an incomplete pass on a third down play, St. Francis capped a five-play, 70 yard drive with a 15-yard TD pass to make the score 21-7 at the 4:33 mark of the third quarter.
The Cubs marched 70 yards on their next possession. The nine-play drive was capped by a 6-yard run to pay dirt by SEAN MORRIS II, increasing Loyola's lead to 28-7.
The Cub offense scored its final TD of the contest with 8:57 remaining in the fourth quarter. PANNELL hooked up with senior tight end SCOTT TAYLOR on a three yard TD aerial to cap an eight-play, 71-yard drive.
Loyola's 'Wolfpack' defense forced the Golden Knights to punt on eight of eleven possessions, and forced two turnovers. The front seven kept constant pressure on the St. Francis quarterback. Among the stalwarts up front were junior defensive linemen MAX MEIER and ZION SCRIVENS, who nabbed an interception. Linebackers HENRY CASANI and junior DAEQUAN JEFFES and Edge SCOTT TAYLOR brought the heat all night.
As usual, punt/kick returner DESI VALDES was outstanding.
The Cub offensive line (NATE TURK, SILAS NUR, SAMI PARK, NELSON PYE, LANGSTON GIBSON and ANDREW HILTON) provided excellent pass protection for PANNELL, who finished the contest with a stat line of 19/22 (86%) for 189 yards and four touchdowns in his best outing of the season.
SEAN MORRIS II rushed for 139 yards on 21 carries (6.6 yds. per carry).
Loyola wide receivers MARKUS KIER (2 TDs), ETHAN GALLARDO (1 TD), TK KNYAL and BRYCE COLEMAN shined.
The Cubs out-gained St. FRANCIS 338 yards to 182.
MATT SMITH HAS OFF-THE-CHARTS GAME AS LOYOLA SOPHOMORES ROLL IN 35-14 TAKEDOWN OF ST. FRANCIS
After a sluggish first half on the road at rival St. Francis, Loyola imposed its will after intermission en route to a 35-14 victory over the Golden Knights on Thursday afternoon.
Quarterback MATT SMITH had a hand in all five Cub touchdowns, passing for four and running for one. His numbers were off the charts (23/31 (74%), 14.5 yds. per completion, 10.8 yds. per attempt, 4 TDs, 3 carries for 30 yds. 1 TD). SMITH's TD tosses were caught by SAM FRIEND, LONDON GRAY, TYLER HARPER and TOBY THUSS. Tailback MATTHEW FINE rushed for over 100 yards.
Defensive linemen GREGORSON LAW, ANDREI LOPEZ and WESLEY SCHELLINGER and linebackers KANE CASANI and MERRICK DOTTS shined on the stop squad along with safety GAVIN MILLER.
Loyola (4-0) remains undefeated. The Cubs will play in the Spring Valley neighborhood of San Diego against Mount Miguel next Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in their final non-league contest. The sophomores have outscored their first four opponents 144-39. CUB FRESHMEN ROLL, REMAIN UNDEFEATED Loyola's freshman team kept its unbeaten streak alive on Thursday afternoon at Smith Field as the Cubs defeated rival St. Francis, 34-14, before a varsity-size crowd.
The Golden Knights completed a 78-yard scoring pass on their first offensive play to give the visitors from La Canada an early 7-0 lead.
The Cubs answered on the next series, covering 56 yards on two plays with the TD coming on a JOEY BOSKOVICH pass to QUINTIN WASHINGTON which covered 40 yards.
BOSKOVICH connected with wide receiver AADEN BRADY on a 47-yard aerial with 2:09 left before intermission to give Loyola a 13-7 lead.
The Cub 'Wolfpack' defense blocked a St. Francis punt on the first series of the second half. Loyola tailback JAYDEN ROGERS sprinted 28 yards on the first play to up the Cubs' lead to 20-7.
The Golden Knights closed the gap on a 34-yard scoring pass with 6:56 left in the third quarter to make the score 20-14.
At the 9:44 mark of the fourth quarter BOSKOVICH capped an eight-play, 47-yard drive with a three-yard run to pay dirt. After a blocked PAT attempt, Loyola had a 26-14 advantage.
A 15-yard TD pass from BOSKOVICH to a wide open BRADY followed by a two-point conversion run increased the Cubs' lead to 34-14. A late interception of a St. Francis pass by safety CADEN BRACKETT sealed the deal for Loyola, which improved its record to 4-0.
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
LEIGHTON LINE ‘23, DL, Cal Lutheran
CONNOR McDOWELL ‘21, DB, Angelo State
BLAKE NEITHART ‘20, DB, Carleton
TAHJ OWENS '22, DB, Princeton
RYAN QUINTANAR '20, LB, USC
ISAIAH SANDERS, ‘24, LB, UC Davis
PATRICK SODL ‘22, LB, Columbia
HENRY STICKLER ‘21, 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)
10-4 Serra (Home)*
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