September 29, 2022

Cub Football - NEWSWORTHY performance by outstanding Loyola freshman team, which destroyed undefeated St. Paul Frosh team 70-8

LOYOLA FRESHMEN DOMINATE - ROUT ST. PAUL 70-8 The old adage that defense wins championships may end up proving true for what may ultimately be a generational Loyola freshman team, as on Thursday afternoon at Smith Field the undeniably uber talented Cub ‘Wolfpack’ defense held a good, undefeated St. Paul frosh team to five consecutive three-and-outs, forced an interception on the Swordsmen’s sixth possession, held the visitors on an unsuccessful fourth down try on their seventh possession, forced another four-and-out on St. Paul’s eighth possession and held them to no positive yards on the Swordsmen’s last possession of the first half.  St Paul’s fist half total yards gained: 23.

Meanwhile, Loyola’s offense and special teams combined to make the half time score 49-0. The final score was 70-8, the largest margin of victory by a Cub freshman team in history. Adding to the good news is that every squad member played multiple downs.

Back-up players began getting snaps midway through the first quarter. The Swordsmen came into the game with impressive victories against Downey (35-0) and Garden Grove Pacifica (36-6).

The contest was expected to be competitive. It wasn’t.

JOSH GALLAGHER returned St. Paul’s first two punts of the game for 55 and 50 yard touchdowns, the second of which was scored at the 7:52 mark of the first quarter.

Quarterback JACK THOMAS  completed a 29-yard pass to PETER SCIARRINO on the second play of the Cubs’ first offensive possession to give Loyola a 21-0 lead.

CASH GINSBERG raced 18 yards to cap a seven-play 52 yard drive on Loyola’s next possession to up the lead to 28-0 with 38 seconds left in the first quarter.

Following a fumbled Swordsmen punt snap recovered at the St. Paul 11 yard line, THOMAS completed his first pass of the series for six points to wide receiver JACKSON NELSON with 10:44 left in the second quarter. An 11-yard sack by 6’ 3” outside linebacker WES McMULLIN set up the punting situation.

With 3:07 left on the first half clock THOMAS connected with tight end LUCA MARUCCI on a 39-yard touchdown pass. KIAN FAHID’s PAT kick made the score 42-0.

Running back SONNY VILLEGAS motored 40 yards with one minute before intermission to put the Cubs in the lead, 49-0.

Loyola started the second half with a 65-yard, seven-play drive, capped by an 11-yard run by CHASE HELLIE at the 7:00 minute mark of the third quarter to increase Loyola’s lead to 56-0.

HELLIE took the ball 38 yards for a TD with 4:52 left in the third quarter to put the Cubs up, 63-0.

A 17-yard TD run by SOONY VILLEGAS with 9:44 left in the contest completed the scoring onslaught for Loyola which upped the tally to 70-0.

A late TD by St. Paul against the Big Blue reserves made the final score 70-8. On Loyola’s final offensive possession HELLIE raced 58 yards deep into Swordsmen territory, after which the Cubs took a knee on four consecutive plays.

The Loyola freshman team is an absolute force to be reckoned with. The Cubs will travel to long time arch rival Bishop Amat next Thursday to take on a strong Lancer team.

More and more Loyola alumni, fans and supporters are showing up to watch a frosh squad that has outscored its first five opponents, including a JV team and a frosh-soph squad, by a combined score of 211-36.

VARSITY SUPPORTERS TO MEET AT MAGGIE’S PUB TO PRE-GAME BEFORE ST. PAUL GAME
Loyola parents, alumni and supporters will be meeting at Maggie’s Pub, 11900 Telegraph Road, Santa Fe Springs tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. before the Angelus League opener against St. Paul.