October 27, 2022

Cub Football - Loyola’s freshman team demolished St. Francis, 61-8, to win Angelus League title and complete first undefeated campaign in 44 years

LOYOLA FRESHMEN COMPLETE HISTORIC SEASON - 61-8 ROUT OF ST. FRANCIS CAPS FIRST UNDEFEATED CUB FRESHMAN CAMPAIGN SINCE 1978
Magical is a word to describe the Loyola freshman squad’s undefeated 2022 campaign, but that is really not a sufficient description of the 9-0 season that culminated with a dominant display of power and athleticism in the final contest of the season, a 61-8 demolition of long time rival St. Francis at the Golden Knights’ home field in La Canada on Thursday afternoon.

The right word is historic. For the large group of former players in attendance from the last Cub freshman squad to go undefeated in 1978, along with a huge varsity-game sized crowd, it was not only a nostalgic trip back to the halcyon days of Cub Football, but it was also a riveting view of the potential for the future of Loyola’s gridiron success.

The Cubs played with great physicality for nine games, showcased an uncommon group of superior play-making athletes and demonstrated team chemistry that was off the charts. This group has created a tremendous culture. The final Triple-L of this special sojourn was at once deafening and defining. The future for this group of Cub Football players is unlimited.

Oh, and as a side note, Loyola won the Angelus League championship, outscoring the four freshman/frosh-soph/JV teams it played in conference competition by the cumulative score of 217-24. That is an average victory tally of 54-6.

The contest against the Golden Knights started with the Cub ‘Wolfpack’ defense forcing a three-and-out on the home team’s opening possession. Loyola’s balanced offense went to work immediately, driving 52 yards in five plays and scoring on a six-yard SONNY VILLEGAS run at the 7:53 mark of the first quarter. The PAT try was missed but the Cubs’ 6-0 lead was just the beginning of an epic onslaught.

Loyola scored touchdowns on each of its possessions, except its last, which ended as time expired. The Cubs gained 402 yards of total offense and held St. Francis to a paltry 95 yards, including minus-three yards in the second half, most of which was played with a running clock.

Loyola averaged 15.5 yards per play. Suffice to say the level of domination by the Big Blue was seismic.  Cub quarterback JACK THOMAS threw a 55-yard TD pass to wide open tight end RONEN ZAMORANO on Loyola’s second possession, connected with wide receiver JOSH GALLAGHER for a 17-yard score on the Cubs’ third possession, tossed an 18-yard TD strike to PETER SCIARRINO on Loyola’s next possession and completed a 22-yard pass to wide out JACKSON NELSON on the Cubs final possession of the first half. THOMAS completed 7 of 10 passes (70%) for 165 yards (23.6 yards per completion) in just one half of play.

The Golden Knights’ lone score came with 52 second left in the first half on an 80 yard pass play. St. Francis mustered a meager 15 total yards on its other 28 scrimmage plays. The Big Blue led 34-8 at intermission.

JOSH GALLAGHER raced 85 yards with the second half kickoff to increase Loyola’s lead to 40-8. A three-yard SONNY VILLEGAS dash at the 6:22 mark of the third quarter upped the Cubs’ advantage to 47-8.

Running back CASH GINSBERG sprinted 55 yards to pay dirt with 1:35 left in the third quarter to increase Loyola’s lead to 54-8, and blazing fast QB MASYN HARVEY turned on the jets on a 65-yard TD run with 6:21 left in the game to make the final score 61-8.

Every team member got on the field for the season finale.

LOYOLA FRESHMAN GAME SCORES
LOYOLA  27, Damien  0
LOYOLA  51, Culver City JV  14
LOYOLA  42, Chaminade  8
LOYOLA  21, Inglewood JV  6
LOYOLA  70, St. Paul  8
LOYOLA  16, Bishop Amat JV  14
LOYOLA  45, Paraclete JV  0
LOYOLA  41, Cathedral JV  8 
LOYOLA  61, St. Francis  8

HATS OFF TO FRESHMAN COACHING STAFF
A tremendous coaching effort was turned in by the outstanding Loyola freshman staff: Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator LAMONT FREEMAN, Defensive Coordinator and secondary coach GIFFORD IRVINE, offensive line coach STEVE BARRAGAN, defensive line coach RICARDO CAMACHO, linebacker coaches STEVE ARELLANO and ANDREW ALTMAN and special teams coach ANGELO WILLIAMS.

EXTRA POINTS
Defensive Coordinator GIFFORD IRVINE ‘82 was a member of the last Loyola freshman team to go undefeated. IRVINE was an All-CIF receiver for the Cubs in 1981 and went on to play at UCLA.

Among the many members of that ‘78 Frosh squad in attendance at the game on Thursday were  C.J. RAMIREZ, quarterback ROB SMITH, who also played at UCLA, and RAMON SAMANIEGO, who ended up being an elite international rugby player after his career at Cal. He will be heading up Loyola’s new rugby program.

Anxiously receiving text updates was All-CIF defensive lineman JOHN FOUTS, who also played at UCLA, and himself coached two unbeaten freshman teams at Clayton Valley High School in Concord, California. Fouts is now one of the elite track and field throws coaches in the nation.  

It was amazing to see so many members of the Class of 1982 in attendance at the game. Cubs For Life.

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS
The sky is the limit for this big, athletic group of freshmen. If they hit the weight room hard, look out for the damage they are sure to do down the road. It would not be at all surprising if a large number of the Class of 2026 players move up to the Cub varsity next fall.

LOYOLA SOPH TEAM ENDS SEASON ON HIGH NOTE
The Cub sophomore team routed St. Francis, 49-14, at home on Thursday to end its 2022 campaign. It was an up and down season, but the teams the sophs competed against were JV squads that included varsity players.

Kudos to head coach ANTHONY HOLLY ‘87  and his staff for building the sophs into a competitive squad. HOLLY, an All-CIF nose guard on the 1986 Loyola team, was one of the toughest players to ever take the field for the Cubs.

SENIOR NIGHT THIS EVENING
Loyola’s varsity seniors will be honored tonight at Loyola’s final regular season home game against St. Francis at Smith Field. Kickoff is at 7:00 p.m.