Cub Football - Mass player departures dampen 2025 season prospects, why the exodus, looking back at the history of Loyola football
UNPRECEDENTED MASS EXODUS OF HIGHLY DECORATED STARTERS PORTENDS A CHALLENGING FALL CAMPAIGN
Following a drive to the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs last November Loyola was projected to be one of the top teams in the state in 2025, as more than 20 players who started and/or saw substantial playing time were expected to lead the team to lofty heights this fall.
In one of the most seismically stunning developments in the history of Cub Football, fifteen of the athletes who started last season and/or were projected to take first team and/or major rotational snaps in the 2025 campaign are no longer with the program. Fourteen transferred and one decided to stop playing.
What was anticipated to be a campaign to remember in 2025 has devolved into a significantly challenging upcoming season as fall practice got underway on July 28.
Over 3,500 yards of total offensive production following the conclusion of the 2024 campaign that was expected to return-and which had Cub fans filled with exited anticipation-has vanished.
FACING ADVERSITY, STRONG LEADERS WILL NEED TO EMERGE
Indeed, how the players who have returned handle the adversity dealt to them by the massive departures from the program will reveal the character of a group of athletes who face what is now by any measure a seriously daunting slate.
At the head of the list of top returnees are All-State/All-CIF/All-Mission League offensive tackle NATE TURK (6-4, 279), a rare team captain as a junior; All-State/All-Mission League Edge/defensive end MAX MEIER (6-6, 251); and rugged All-League three-year starting center, senior Student Body President NELSON PYE III (5-11, 272).
All three lead by example and are hard nosed football players with high end academic prowess. That is a great place to start on the leadership spectrum.
TURK is committed to Harvard while MEIER accepted a scholarship offer to play for Stanford University.
The offensive line is expected to be a team strength.
Other returning offensive players who saw substantial playing time last fall include senior offensive guard ANDREW HILTON (6-2, 270), sure handed junior wide receiver TOBIAS THUSS (6-0, 165), speedy senior wide receiver EVAN SANTOS (5-9, 155), strong senior tight end ZACHARY HARRISON (6-3, 215) and bruising senior fullback HOLDEN SMYSER (6-0, 210).
Senior tight end WES McMULLIN (6-4, 205) missed his junior campaign because of injury, but is poised for a breakout year. He will also aid the defensive effort at outside linebacker.
Junior offensive guard CHRISTIAN ZLIDENNY (6-3, 255) is another standout athlete who missed his sophomore season because of injury, but is expected to be a formidable competitor upfront. Junior offensive tackle ANDREI LOPEZ (6-0, 240) is an aggressive, through-the-whistle blocker.
The Cub ‘Wolfpack’ defense returns several starters in addition to big time Edge “MAD MAX” MEIER. Talented sophomore corner MALIQUE POLLARD (5-10, 160) already has garnered college scholarship interest following his impressive varsity debut as a freshman. Senior safety/nickel PETER SCIARRINO (6-0, 190) is a heat seeking missile and weight room warrior. Junior safety GAGE SANTOS (6-2, 185) has excellent range and might also see action as a wide receiver.
Other players who saw substantial playing time on the stop squad in 2024 include athletic junior RB/WR/DB and track star XAVIER WIMBLEY (6-2, 175), junior corner ZION PHELPS (6-0, 155) and hard hitting, tough inside linebacker KANE CASANI (6-0, 200).
Senior SAM MIDDLESWORTH (5-11, 170) has made the switch to the running back position and could also see playing time in the secondary.
Senior two-way lineman AL SANFORD (6-3, 290) has a chance to be a big contributor after not playing last season.
There are a number of talented juniors moving up from last season’s undefeated sophomore squad, including linemen NICK LAU (6-2, 200), BENJAMIN TORRES (6-2, 220), MICHAEL VOLMER-UNDERBRINK (5-11, 210) and GREGORSON LAW (6-5, 220), inside linebacker MERRICK DOTTS (5-11, 180), defensive end BRENDAN VANIS (6-1, 185), wide receiver SAM FRIEND (5-10, 170), running back MICHAEL VANIS (5-8, 160) and DB JAYCE DAWSON (6-0, 165).
All-CIF kicker, senior JACOB KREINBRING (6-0, 190), returns with a stronger leg.
Among other sophomores who could make an impact are big two-way lineman LONDON DIVENS (6-3, 300), gifted athlete BRANDON ALEXANDER (6-0, 170), linebacker JACK ENSON, and DB WALTER SIBSON.
A battle is brewing as to who will take the reins as the starting signal caller. Among the players competing at the quarterback position are junior GAVIN GRABE (6-2, 165), sophomore J.C. RISING and freshman TOMMY DERBYSHIRE.
WHAT IS MISSING
Eight All-Mission League honorees, including two All-State/All-CIF performers (one of whom was a three-time All American and USC commit) transferred out before the end of June.
The 2024 freshman MVP and another rising sophomore who started at safety in the last two 2024 varsity playoff games transferred along with the rising junior quarterback who helped lead Loyola’s sophomore squad to an undefeated season last fall and was the varsity’s starting field general in the last two playoff contests. And one of the best varsity linemen last season stepped away from football.
Here are starting/projected starting position losses which left gaping holes to fill:
OFFENSE (reported new schools in parentheses)
Starting All-League left guard (L.B. Poly)
Starting right tackle (stepped away from sport)
Projected starting offensiveineman (Notre Dame)
Starting All-League receiver (Crean Lutheran)
Starting All-League receiver (Orange Lutheran)
Starting All-League quarterback (L.B. Millikan)
Rising junior QB (started in two playoff games)(Villa Park)
Starting All-State/All-CIF/All-League running back, with 2,881 career rushing yards and less than 1,300 yards short of the Loyola all-time rushing record (Orange Lutheran)
DEFENSE
Starting All-League defensive lineman (L.B. Millikan)
Starting defensive lineman (Cathedral)
Starting All-League inside linebacker (Cathedral)
Starting All-American/All-State/All-CIF/All-League corner (Sierra Canyon)
Starting safety (Bishop Montgomery)
Projected starting safety/outside linebacker/wide receiver (freshman MVP) (Serra)
Projected rotational receiver (Notre Dame)
The only cogent response to the landslide of departures is the resounding question WHY?
Two of the players who left recently announced their acceptance of offers to pursue their collegiate studies and play football for Columbia and Princeton of the Ivy League, and a third has committed to Northwestern and had an offer from Yale. The gifted athlete who would have started at QB is being pursued by Ivy League universities. Certainly Loyola’s academic rigor did not play a role in their decisions to depart.
There is one unfortunate reality for those who have left the program. None of them will earn a Loyola diploma, the value of which has stood the test of time as a not insignificant lifelong benefit.
So what was the problem?
As can be imagined there is a lot of tense discourse about the cause, and there are myriad rumors as to the reasons. Indeed, the causes of such massive defections before a season which held so much promise deserve to be discovered. There are many parents, alumni and supporters who want answers.
One of most troubling aspects of the player exodus is that many of the young men who left started their prep careers at Loyola.
A common thread circulating is that the cliche “the grass is greener on the other side” does not apply in most of the defections, but rather that the grass was not seen as green in the first place. As many of the best players made the decision to leave, the flood gates opened.
This writer began supporting Loyola’s football program in 1965, just after the school won two CIF Souther Section AAAA titles (1962 and 1963) and made the finals in 1964 while setting a 35-game CIF Southern Section Large Schools record winning streak.
During the last 60 years until the recent disheartening developments, the two biggest events were the hiring of head coach Marty Shaugnessy in 1973 by then school President Patrick Cahalan, S.J.(Shaugnessy led the Cubs to a National Championship in just three years, and developed a incomparable culture which continued to flourish under his successor, Steve Grady ‘63, for three decades), and the second was the retirement of Grady (honored as a CIF Southern Section and State Hall of Fame prep head coach) in the spring of 2005 after 31 years on the varsity staff, and 29 seasons at the helm.
One thing that defined Cub Football in the 1960s through the early 2000s was the impressive warrior culture which was the program’s rock hard cornerstone.
The life lessons of commitment, relentless hard work, a team-first ethos, discipline, being held to the highest standards, loyalty, year-round commitment and accountability were imbued in legions of Loyola football players. And those lessons translated into an incredible record which included six CIF Southern Section Division I championships and five CIF Division I runner-up finishes.
The renowned physicality and discipline with which those Loyola teams competed was legendary.
Now there are questions to be answered and visions to be sought. A look back may be the best place to start as everyone hopes the players who remain will learn valuable life lessons on how to fight through adversity.
To raise spirits, below is an excerpt from a 2022 Cub Football news email about the remarkable history of the storied Loyola High School football program.
THE BEST LARGE SCHOOLS SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION COACHING RECORDS IN LOYOLA ANNALS
Here’s a look at the records of the best head coaches in Cub Football annals who were at the helm for five or more seasons from the 1930s to the present, all at the CIF major division (Large Schools, AAAA, Big Five Conference, Division I) level.
AL TASSI (1931-1936)*
Record: 31-12-2 (71% winning percentage)
Highlights:
Won California State Catholic Championship (1935)
Defeated L.B. Poly, the CIF Large Schools Champion (1936)
BILL SARGENT (1937-1938, 1943-1946)*
Record: 39-7-3 (83%)
Highlights:
1946 CIF Large Schools Runners-up (10-1, 1945-1946 running back Al Pollard two-time CIF Large Schools Player-of-the-Year
Catholic League Champs 1944, 1945, 1946
JACK BOUCHARD (1947-1951, 1953)
Record: 39-13-2 (76%)
Highlights:
1950 Catholic League Champs, CIF Large Schools semifinalists
LEW STUECK (1958-1962)
Record: 32-14-3 (68%)
Highlights:
1962 CIF AAAA Champs (12-0, outscored opponents 387-88), tailback Steve Grady named 1962 CIF AAAA Player-of-the-Year), Catholic League champs
1961 Catholic League Champs (9-2, tailback Paul Horgan 1961 CIF AAAA Player-of-the-Year)
MARIO DiMURO (1963-1970)
Record: 61-20-3 (74%)
Highlights:
1963 CIF AAAA Champions (12-0, Number 2 in the nation, outscored opponents 350-53, tackle Don Swartz 1963 CIF AAAA Player of the Year), Catholic League champs
1964 CIF AAAA Runners-up (11-1, the loss in the championship game ended a 35-game victory streak, which still stands as a CIF Southern Section Large Schools record)
Catholic League Champs 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969
STEVE GRADY (1976-2004)
Record: 269-77-6 (77%)
Highlights:
1990 CIF Division I Champs (12-2, linebacker Drew Casani 1990 CIF Div. I Defensive Player-of-the-Year)
2003 CIF Div. I Champs (11-3, quarterback Scott Deke 2003 CIF Div. I Player-of-the-Year, Steve Grady 2003 State Coach-of-the-Year)
1992 CIF Div. I Runners-Up (12-2)
2000 CIF Div. I Runners-up (12-2, 15th in nation, quarterback/safety Matt Ware 2000 CIF Div. I Player-of-the-Year)
1995 CIF Div. I Runners-up (11-3)
1996 CIF Div. I Runners-up (12-2, 1996 CIF Div. I Defensive Player-of-the-Year Antoine Harris)
League Champs 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991,1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004
In the last eighteen seasons as Loyola’s varsity head coach, Grady’s teams made it the semifinal round of the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs-or beyond-an incredible twelve times, including six trips to the championship game in the state’s highest Large Schools division.
*It is believed that there was not a formal Catholic league formed until the early 1940s
FORMER CUB STANDOUT RECALLS “MOON RIVER” TRADITION - ONE OF MANY IN CUB FOOTBALL LORE
Tim Johnson ‘67, a stellar Loyola defensive back, gave permission to share an email he wrote to a group of former Cub players from the 1960’s about an iconic coach and a song the team would sing on the bus rides back to The High from Friday night games. He also wrote a humorous post script about 1965 Loyola All-CIF tailback Phil Jebbia’s allergy to the grass on which he plied his all-star rushing skills.
The iconic song “Moon River” was written by famed songwriter Johnny Mercer and composed by the celebrated Henry Mancini for the 1961 movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s, starring Audrey Hepburn. One of the best renditions of the famed song was performed by Andrea Bocelli, and can be viewed on YouTube.
Here is Tim’s enjoyable story about one of the many great Cub Football traditions and the story behind it:
“Origin of "Moon River" tradition, sung by Loyola High football team in bus enroute back to Loyola following varsity football games.....
My recollection, starting on '64 team.....
Bill Lenihan was a ‘NEVER-CAN-FORGET’ line coach/history teacher, who commanded military discipline and precision in the classroom and on the field. A former player at Loyola, who will always be remembered for his 'only one GLARING/not smiling', in the team picture during his senior year, was married during the '65 season, engaged in '64. When you entered Coach Lenihan's classroom, you sat immediately, no slouching, and did not fidget or speak until the class concluded. No one dared to do otherwise, EVER.
A noticeable change came over Coach 'mean-faced' Lenihan once he fell in love.... he softened...actually giving my Junior class a presentation on love and romanticism, quite, QUITE unusual for Loyola and the times we lived in.
As a football legend, he was closely watched, and Moon River was mentioned as his favorite song, and very special to him and his wife.
Hence, in a tribute to Mr. Lenihan, on/about the '64 season, players began singing it during the following phase of the bus ride, usually as the bus was directed to circle the practice field in celebration. Quite a contrast, trespassing on the practice field whilst singing gleefully, on a field that we had given our blood, sweat and very being to, day after day during the long season.
Many tears were merged with sweat and players threw their arms around each other and swayed to the tune. It was special, VERY special; a time I will never forget. To this day, when I hear the song, I stop whatever I am doing and listen intently, forming some of the words myself. My heart fills with pride and beautiful memories of my teammates, my school, our traditions.
Of note: Head Coach, Mario DiMuro, was not an inspirational, rah-rah leader. Lenihan was not a spirited, in-your-face Lombardi. He simply glared...or barely cracked a smile, on rare occasions. That's all we needed.
After the bus trip, of course, we filed through a joyful, spirited gauntlet of devoted fans/parents/students/girlfriends into the Loyola Chapel (now aptly named the Clougherty Chapel), and connected with our God, giving thanks. Boy, did we have much to be thankful for.
An emotional, life-long memory of mind and spirit that will remain with me till I transition...Moon River, wider than a mile.....
Tim (#37) Johnson '67
PS
Another unforgettable 'bus ride memory' is sitting next to Phil Jebbia, tailback '65 season, who carried the offense/ball nearly 40 times a game. Despite his massive workload, Phil was ALLERGIC to GRASS!!! During the entire bus ride back to Loyola, Phil ("Flip"), sick and shaking, vomitted into his helmet...at one point, he opened the window and emptied his helmet contents and resumed his odious, startling stomach discharge. What a "Stud" I remember thinking. Simply cannot forget his dedication, loyalty, toughness.”
THOSE WERE THE DAYS, THOUGHT THEY WOULD NEVER END. . .
2025 LOYOLA VARSITY FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
8-22 Cathedral
8-29 @ Millikan (Long Beach)
9-5 Mount Miguel
9-12 @ Hamilton
9-19 St. Francis
10-3 @ Notre Dame*
10-10 @ Serra*
10-17 Bishop Amat*
10-24 @ Chaminade*
10-31 Sierra Canyon*
Denotes Mission League game