Cub Football - Penalties, turnovers play role in Loyola loss to St. Francis in league opener
LOYOLA CAN'T PULL OFF LAST SECOND COMEBACK IN DISHEARTENING LOSS TO RIVAL ST. FRANCIS
Before an overflow, standing-room/only crowd in La Canada on Friday night, Loyola's potential game winning pass into the St. Francis end zone with one second remaining on the game clock was just over the hands of a Cub receiver, and the Golden Knights partisans erupted in jubilation as St. Francis held on to win 26-21 thriller in the Angelus League opener for both teams.
The disheartening loss dropped Loyola's record to 1-5, and puts the Cubs in must-win mode for next Friday's battle against St. Paul (3-3, 1-0) at Smith Field.
Recurring problems-penalties, turnovers and difficulty running the ball-plagued Loyola yet again in a very winnable contest. The Cubs were flagged 10 times for 85 yards, which was more than their rushing total. Many of the infractions aided St. Francis scoring drives. Loyola turned the ball over three times on two interceptions and a fumble. One of the interceptions was at the Golden Knights' one yard line.
KHALIL CUEVA caught a short pass from T.K. KNYAL on the game's third play from scrimmage and turned on the jets en route to a 63-yard touchdown. MARK HYAN's PAT kick gave the Cubs a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the first quarter.
An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was assessed against Loyola after the TD, forcing the Cubs to kick off from the 25 yard line. Aided by a costly personal foul called against Loyola, St. Francis drove 58 yards in 11 plays, scoring on a two yard run to tie the score, 7-7.
The Golden Knights capped a 61 yard drive on a nine-yard run at the 2:20 mark of the second quarter. St. Francis missed the PAT kick, making the score 13-7.
The Cubs ran a hurry-up offense, going 86 yards on 10 plays with DUKE GIARRAPUTO scoring on a 22-yard pass from KNYAL with 10 seconds remaining in the first half. HYAN's PAT kick gave Loyola a 14-13 lead going into intermission.
After the teams traded punts to start the second half, St. Francis mounted a 92-yard march, aided by a face mask penalty against the Cubs following a long pass completion, which was culminated by a nine-yard quarterback keeper for a score. The Golden Knights' two-point conversion failed, making the score 19-14 in favor of the hosts with 1:04 left in the third quarter.
Following a Loyola punt, St. Francis seemingly put the game on ice with a two-play 47 yard scoring drive, capped by a two-yard run. The PAT upped the Golden Knights' lead to 26-14 mid-way through the fourth quarter.
Before an overflow, standing-room/only crowd in La Canada on Friday night, Loyola's potential game winning pass into the St. Francis end zone with one second remaining on the game clock was just over the hands of a Cub receiver, and the Golden Knights partisans erupted in jubilation as St. Francis held on to win 26-21 thriller in the Angelus League opener for both teams.
The disheartening loss dropped Loyola's record to 1-5, and puts the Cubs in must-win mode for next Friday's battle against St. Paul (3-3, 1-0) at Smith Field.
Recurring problems-penalties, turnovers and difficulty running the ball-plagued Loyola yet again in a very winnable contest. The Cubs were flagged 10 times for 85 yards, which was more than their rushing total. Many of the infractions aided St. Francis scoring drives. Loyola turned the ball over three times on two interceptions and a fumble. One of the interceptions was at the Golden Knights' one yard line.
KHALIL CUEVA caught a short pass from T.K. KNYAL on the game's third play from scrimmage and turned on the jets en route to a 63-yard touchdown. MARK HYAN's PAT kick gave the Cubs a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the first quarter.
An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was assessed against Loyola after the TD, forcing the Cubs to kick off from the 25 yard line. Aided by a costly personal foul called against Loyola, St. Francis drove 58 yards in 11 plays, scoring on a two yard run to tie the score, 7-7.
The Golden Knights capped a 61 yard drive on a nine-yard run at the 2:20 mark of the second quarter. St. Francis missed the PAT kick, making the score 13-7.
The Cubs ran a hurry-up offense, going 86 yards on 10 plays with DUKE GIARRAPUTO scoring on a 22-yard pass from KNYAL with 10 seconds remaining in the first half. HYAN's PAT kick gave Loyola a 14-13 lead going into intermission.
After the teams traded punts to start the second half, St. Francis mounted a 92-yard march, aided by a face mask penalty against the Cubs following a long pass completion, which was culminated by a nine-yard quarterback keeper for a score. The Golden Knights' two-point conversion failed, making the score 19-14 in favor of the hosts with 1:04 left in the third quarter.
Following a Loyola punt, St. Francis seemingly put the game on ice with a two-play 47 yard scoring drive, capped by a two-yard run. The PAT upped the Golden Knights' lead to 26-14 mid-way through the fourth quarter.
St. Francis picked off a Cub pass at its one yard line on Loyola's ensuing possession, but fumbled it back to the Cubs at the Golden Knights' 14 yard line. With 3:24 left in the game, KNYAL threw a three-yard TD pass to GIARRAPUTO. HYAN's extra point kick closed the gap to five points, 26-21.
Loyola forced a three and out, and had possession at its own 38 yard line with just over two minutes left in the contest. The Cubs quickly moved the ball deep into St. Francis territory. With one second remaining on the clock, KNYAL's pass was just over the hands of GIARRAPUTO in the end zone, ending a bid for a miracle comeback.
The Golden Knights' QB accounted for 200 yards (50 yds. rushing, 150 passing) of St. Francis's 246 yards of total offense. Some big pass completions and critical runs were keys to the St. Francis victory.
Loyola's inability to run the ball consistently hurt the Cubs. KNYAL completed 23 of 40 passes for 206 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. The Cub 'Wolfpack' defense held the Golden Knights top running back to 46 yards on 18 carries (2.6 yards per carry).
The Cubs host St. Paul at Smith Field next Friday. Loyola needs to put the pain of the loss to St. Francis behind it in a hurry.
In other Angelus League games on Friday, St. Paul (3-3) beat Crespi (2-4) 48-7, and Paraclete (6-0) defeated Cathedral (2-4) 21-7
LOYOLA LOWER DIVISION SQUADS TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS AGAINST ST. FRANCIS
The Cub sophomores defeated St. Francis 31-13 on Thursday. Among the players who stood out were quarterback BINFORD ROHMER (two TD passes), running back CADIN FETTERS and WR/DB SAM MIDDLESWORTH. Former Loyola All-CIF nose guard ANTHONY HOLLY '87 is the soph head coach.
Loyola's freshmen beat St. Francis 35-7. The Cubs led 35-0 at halftime, and the reserves played almost all of the second half. Among the players mentioned by Loyola alumnus head coach STEVE ARELLANO as having good performances were QB MATT SMITH, inside linebacker KANE CASANI, linebacker MERRICK DOTTS, DE/TE RANDALL SANDERS, WR LONDON GRAY, DE BRENDAN VANIS, OL WILL BROCKERMEYER, K/LB EVAN CORBETT, DB JAYCE DAWSON, DB ZION PHELPS, WR/DB GAGGE SANTOS and DB PATRICK VAN TUYLE.
2023 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE/ RESULTS
August 25 @ Damien (L 35-14)
September 1 Culver City (W 24-6)
September 8 Leuzinger (L 35-14)
September 15 @ Chaminade (L 42-35)
September 22 Oaks Christian (L 31-14)
September 29 @ St. Francis* (L 26-21)
October 6 St. Paul*
October 13 @ Crespi*
October 20 Paraclete*
October 29 @ Cathedral*
(* denotes Angelus League game)
Thirty-four Loyola grads are competing on college football teams this fall at schools from Storrs, Connecticut to Los Angeles; Northfield, Minnesota to New York City; Fort Worth, Texas to Princeton, New Jersey; Grinnel, Iowa to Berkeley; and Austin, Texas to Chicago.
Here is the current list of Cubs participating in college football (in alphabetical order):
NICK ANDERSON ‘20, OL (Denison)
SINJUN ASTANI ‘17, DL (USC)
CHAD BAILEY ‘20, DB (Tulane)
JP BAUTISTA (Pasadena College)
NICHOLAS BARR-MIRA ‘19, K (Mississippi State)
GEORGE CARATAN '18 , P (Connecticut)
JAC CASASANTE ‘18, LS (USC)
COLIN CRUCE ‘22, OL (Bowdoin)
JORDAN HEWITT '23 (UCLA)
ALEX JOHNSON '18, DB (UCLA)
JEFFREY JOHNSON '21, TE (Cal)
JACOBY KELLY ‘22, WR (Cerritos College)
ANDREW KOZHAYA ‘21, DL (Grinnel)
LEIGHTON LINE '23, DL (Cal Lutheran)
CARTER LINK ‘20, LB (SMU)
SHAWN LIN ‘22, DL (Columbia)
CONNOR McDOWELL ‘21, DB (Angelo State)
JUSTIN MURRAY '22, LB (Santa Monica College)
BLAKE NEITHART ‘20 DB (Carleton)
TAHJ OWENS ‘22, DB (Princeton)
JACK PARIS '23, OL (MIT)
RYAN QUINTANAR ‘20, LB (TCU)
XAVIER RICE '23, QB (Duquesne)
DAKOTA SMITH '18, LB (Minnesota State)
PATRICK SODL ‘22, LB (Columbia)
ZAKHARI SPEARS ‘21, DB (Connecticut)
HENRY STICKLER '21, WR (SMU)
JACK SUSNJAR '23, OL (USC)
JOE TATUM ‘22, QB (Texas)
EVAN THOMAS ‘20, DB (UCLA)
WILKE WILES '23, WR (University of Chicago)
HOLMES WORMALD '23, TE (Merchant Marine Academy)
CEYAIR WRIGHT ‘21, DB ( USC)
SAM YOON ‘22, OL ( UCLA)
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