LOYOLA SEASON OPENER AROUND THE CORNER, ASSESSING TEAM STRENGTHS
Loyola head coach DREW CASANI ‘91 took his first team to the CIF Southern Section Division 4 title contest in 2019 and led the Cubs to back-to-back Angelus League championships in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 campaign and the 2021 season.

Each of Casani’s first three squads featured some very talented players, the most celebrated of whom have graduated. The Loyola head man is undaunted by the loss of a large number of prime time athletes. He is optimistic as he prepares his fourth team for fall practice which commences on August 8 and first 2022 game on August 26 against La Verne Damien at Bob Smith Field.

Loyola will be led on offense by 6’ 4”, 200 lb. left handed senior quarterback XAVIER RICE. Rice suffered a serious knee injury which required surgery in the second game of the 2021 campaign. Fortunately, the strong armed senior worke tirelessly on post-surgery rehab and is fully healed. The FBS scholarship candidate showed off his special talent in off-season 7 on 7 competitions.

While Rice’s best receivers from last fall’s squad have gone on to college, a group of hungry pass catchers is looking forward to making its mark. The group is spearheaded by talented senior WILKE WILES  (6-0, 173, 4.5 40), who is being courted by most of the Ivy League schools. Junior KHALIL CUEVA (5-11, 173) is a speed merchant who stretches defenses. Junior ZANE ZUR (6-4, 171) is beginning to reach his potential. Senior ALESSANDRO MONTOYA (6-0, 178) has emerged as sure handed pass catcher, and freshman speedster KLYLE ROBERTSON (5-9, 155) can take the top off a defense. Junior GABRIEL “ALI” CAMPBELL (5-10, 171) is making a move. Sophomore CROWLEY SULLIVAN (5-11, 170) is also expected to contribute.

The burning question with the graduation of team MVP, All-State/All-CIF tailback TAHJ OWENS (Princeton) is who will carry the ball for Loyola this season. It may end up being a committee effort comprised of seniors ZACH BOWLES (5-11, 205) and CLAY WINNEK (5-9, 178) and sophomore DESI VALDES (5-8, 169) who showed off considerable running talent on last fall’s freshman team.

The Cub offensive line is projected as a team strength. While the top player, SAM YOON, from the 2021 crew is now a scholarship lineman at UCLA, four of the other starters from last season’s squad, return. And they are all big, physical players. Senior All-Angelus tackle JACK SUSNJAR (6-6, 313) anchors the right side. Junior right guard RYAN TURK (6-4, 282) has bulked up after a very strong off-season in the weight room and is drawing attention from multiple universities. Senior MATT POHL (6-3, 281) returns as a solid center, and junior left guard RASHAD “CHAMP” WESTBROOKS ( 6-4, 261) is being recruited by FBS programs. Juniors LUKE HARRISON (6-4, 262) and WILLIAM FERGUSON (6-3, 263), along with senior LEIGHTON LINE (6-4, 261), who returned to Loyola after playing in Texas for the last two years, will fight it out for the fifth starting position.

The Cub secondary is also considered a team strength. Three year varsity starter JORDAN HEWITT (5-10, 180) brings All-League credentials to the corner position. A large group of athletic players will be competing for playing time, including senior KYLE SOMERVILLE (5-11,180), junior ELIJAH BRADLEY (6-1, 172), senior CHAZ AUSTIN (5-9, 161), junior JAKE ARELLANO (5-10, 175), seniors CLAY WINNEK (5-9, 178),  LUKE CRONTHALL (5-11,185), and DARON ELAM (5-11, 165) and freshman BRANDON LOCKHART (6-3, 171). Lockhart’s athleticism and ball-hawking skills are already turning heads.

Keep an eye on returning starting defensive lineman KEENAN TARBET (6-4, 210), sophomore outside linebacker SCOTT TAYLOR (6-3, 215) and junior defensive lineman ISAIAH SANDERS( 6-4, 217). Each of those players are expected to make big impacts this fall.

CALPREPS PRESEASON RANKINGS
CalPreps.com recently put out its initial California football rankings. 

Loyola was ranked 53rd. The Cubs’ ten opponents were ranked (in ranking order) as follows:
Chaminade (32)
Damien (44)
St. Francis (84)
Oaks Christian (105)
Crespi (115)
Culver City (126)
Cathedral (150)
St. Paul (167)
Pasadena (247)
Paraclete (431)

Those rankings are supposed to be updated after August 11 as rosters (including transfers) are finalized. It is anticipated that long time rival St. Francis will make a big jump with several high profile incoming transfers, including a running back from the reigning Texas State championship squad.

CIF DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF PLACEMENT NOT DETERMINED UNTIL CONCLUSION OF REGULAR SEASON
Many Loyola alumni have groused about the Cubs’ placement in lower divisions. Many do not know that no Southern Section team begins the season in any division. Not until the regular season concludes are teams assigned a division for playoff purposes. The competitive equity playoff placement procedure was implemented four years ago.

LOYOLA FRESHMAN NUMBERS WAY UP
There are 144 Loyola freshman who have signed up to play football. It is the largest number of first year students to come out for football in a long time, and possibly ever. As many as three freshmen may play for the varsity this fall.

CUBS SIXTH ON CALIFORNIA ALL-TIME FOOTBALL VICTORY LIST
CalHi Sports updated its all-time high school football win list, and Loyola came in sixth behind Bakersfield, L. B. Poly, Dos Palos, Palo Alto and Berkeley

UPDATE: MULTIPLE ALUMS REPRESENTING LOYOLA ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL ROSTERS
As colleges and universities begin unofficial organized team activities in football, former Cub  players populate collegiate rosters from Brunswick, Maine to New Orleans, from Chicago to Seattle, from Austin, Texas to Northfield, Minnesota, from San Diego to Fort Worth, from San Angelo, Texas to New York City, from Athens, Georgia to Dallas, from Princeton, New Jersey to Glenville, Ohio, from South Bend, Indiana to Waco, Texas and from Berkeley to Los Angeles.

UPDATED CUB PLAYERS AND COACHES IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL LISTS
Here is the current list of Cubs participating  in college football (in alphabetical order):
NICK ANDERSON ‘20, OL (Denison)
STEVE ARELLANO ’20, LB (University of Chicago)
SINJUN ASTANI ‘17, DL (USC)
CHAD BAILEY ‘20, DB (Tulane)
NICHOLAS BARR-MIRA ‘19, K (UCLA)
JAC CASASANTE ‘18, LS (USC)
COLIN CRUCE ‘22 (Bowdoin)
RAMAN ENIGBOKAN ‘22 (Morehouse)
MIKE GRAVES ‘19, DB (Notre Dame)
JACOBY KELLY ‘22, WR (San Diego State)
ANDREW KOZHAYA ‘21, OL (Grinnel)
ALEX JOHNSON, ‘18, DB (UCLA)
JEFFREY JOHNSON ‘21, TE (Cal)
CARTER LINK ‘20, LB (SMU)
SHAWN LINN ‘22, DL (Columbia)
TY MAHER ‘18, OL (Colby)
CONNOR McDOWELL ‘21, DB (Angelo State)
BLAKE NEITHART ‘20 DB (Carleton)
TAHJ OWENS ‘22, RB/DB (Princeton)
NATHAN PRIESTLEY ‘19, QB (Georgia)
RYAN QUINTANAR ‘20, LB (TCU)
PATRICK SODL ‘22, LB (Columbia)
ZAKHARI SPEARS ‘21, DB (Washington)
JOE TATUM ‘22, QB (Texas)
EVAN THOMAS ‘20, DB ( UCLA)
BRAYDEN UTLEY ‘18, DL (Baylor)
CEYAIR WRIGHT ‘21, DB ( USC)
SAM YOON ‘22, OL (UCLA)

If any players were not included who should have been, please advise.

UPDATE: FORMER CUB FOOTBALL PLAYERS IN COLLEGIATE FOOTBALL COACHING
There are several Loyola graduates currently engaged in coaching collegiate football. In alphabetical order, the list of grads currently on college coaching staffs is as follows:

MIKE BEARDEN ‘18
A back-up signal caller at Loyola, Bearden served as a student-assistant on the staff at Northwestern University. Bearden recently joined the coaching staff at UCLA as a graduate assistant.

LIBRADO BORACIO ‘10
A defensive back for the Cubs who played at UCLA, Boracio is a defensive grad assistant under head coach Jim Mora at the University of Connecticut.

RYAN NELSON ‘07
A member of the quarterback room at Loyola in 2006, who played at Northern Arizona University, Nelson is the offensive coordinator at Southwestern College, an NAIA program in Winfield, Kansas. Nelson previously coached at Lindenwood University (MO.), Santa Barbara Community College and Tabor College (KS).

JERRY NEUHEISEL ‘11
Neueisel was a two-year starter as a Loyola quarterback, and continued his football career at UCLA. He currently serves as UCLA’s wide receivers coach.

ADAM PILAPIL ‘14
Pilapil was a starting safety for the Cubs, and followed up with a standout career as a safety and linebacker at the University of Wyoming. After coaching stints at Kansas State and Montana State, he is currently coaching linebackers at Colorado State.

ROB QUIGLEY ‘96
An All-CIF offensive guard on Loyola’s 1995 CIF Division I finalist squad, Quigley played with distinction at Georgetown University. After a brief tenure in the commercial real estate field, the continued lure of football led him into coaching. Currently the Associate Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, Quigley is in his twentieth season on the Bears’ staff.

DAVID TOLBERT ‘16
A defensive back on the 2015 Cub team which finished its campaign ranked 17th in the state, Tolbert had an outstanding career in the secondary at the University of San Diego. He is now a grad assistant defensive backs coach at Shippensburg University in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.

KODI WHITFIELD ‘12
Whitfield was an All-CIF Pac-5 safety in 2011 and was a three-year varsity starter for Loyola for whom he also was an outstanding receiver. He went on to have a standout career at Stanford from which he earned an engineering degree. Whitfield was a grad assistant at UCLA before joining the staff at Sacramento State where he is currently coaching safeties.