Cub Football - What will Cubs do when the pundits say they have no shot?
LOYOLA TRAVELS TO CHATSWORTH ON FRIDAY TO TAKE ON TENTH-RANKED TEAM IN STATE - THE PROGNOSTICATORS SAY CUBS HAVE NO CHANCE
It is fair to expect Loyola to come into its road Mission League contest against Sierra Canyon on Friday with a sizable chip on its shoulder.
Virtually no one outside the Cub lair gives Loyola a chance against the Trailblazers.
If the Cubs play error-free football in Chatsworth they have the talent to secure an upset victory. Do they have the will? The answer will come starting at 7:00 p.m. Friday night.
The question of whether last Friday's dominant, 44-10, triumph over Chaminade will prove to be an inflection point in a season that has seen Loyola's win-loss record (4-4) not match its talent level might be answered over the course of the challenging contest against Sierra Canyon.
Bottom line, opportunity abounds. The press predicts that the Cubs' battle against Notre Dame at Smith Field on November 1 at Smith Field will decide third place in the Mission League with a CIF Southern Section playoff berth on the line. But what if . . . WHAT IF Loyola pulls off a victory this Friday?
A LOOK AT SIERRA CANYON
The one thing that head coach Jon Ellinghouse's Trailblazers have in abundance on both sides of the ball is speed. As they say, "speed kills."
For the Cubs to be competitive they will need to create some speed bumps to slow down Sierra Canyon on both sides of the ball.
The reason the Trailblazers are considered prohibitive favorites despite their 5-3 record is who they have played. Sierra Canyon's strength of schedule is elite. Its 55.9 rating by CalPreps is among the state's best.
Here is how the Trailblazers have fared through eight games: Punahou, ranked seventh in Hawaii (W, 30-7); JSerra, ranked seventh in California (L, 35-7); Oaks Christian, ranked 18th in California (W, 35-10); St. John Bosco, ranked second in California (L, 38-28); Orange Lutheran, ranked fourth in California (L, 33-26); Chaminade (W, 42-3); Notre Dame (W, 50-17); Bishop Amat (W, 38-0).
Sierra Canyon features a high octane, balanced offense (187 passing yards per game, 150 rushing yards per game). The passing game is led by senior Utah commit, QB WYATT BECKER (6-3, 180). The dual threat signal caller has completed 60% of his passes for 1,496 yards, 12.2 yards per reception, 12 TDs and five interceptions.
Becker's has a bounty of fast, sure handed wide outs at his disposal. Junior Massiah Mingo (5-11, 165) has caught 35 passes for 412 yards (11.8 avg.) and three touchdowns. Sophomore speedster Jaxsen Stokes (5-10, 175) has 227 yards receiving (11.7 avg,). Game breaker De'Markus Barnes (5-11, 185) takes the top off defenses with a 23.1 yards per catch average.
The Trailblazers' rushing attack is headlined by Jaxson Stokes (20/227, 381 yds., 10.0 yds. per carry, 5 TDs). Senior running back Dane Dunn (5-10, 190) has gained 362 yards (5.2 average) and scored eight touchdowns.
Becker is the squad's third leading rusher (207 yards, 7.7 avg.)
Sierra Canyon's defense flies to the ball. The Trailblazers' leading tackler is inside linebacker Ronen Zamorano (6-2, 220) who leads the stop unit with 68 tackles, including 45 solo stops. Physical free safety Myles Baker (6-1, 195) has made 45 tackles with 35 solos.
Senior strong safety/linebacker Nevada Miller (5-11, 185) is third on the tackle list (43/30), and junior defensive lineman Mikhal Johnson (6-2, 250) has 43 tackles, including 24 solo stops. He is tied for second in hurries and has four sacks. Six-foot-five inch, 255 lb. sophomore defensive lineman Richard Wesley leads the team in sacks with six and has five hurries.
The Sierra Canyon secondary is fast and physical. Junior corner Madden Riordan (5-11, 165) has picked off seven passes and averages 40.3 yards per interception return. Senior Jae'on Young (5-11, 155) has intercepted four passes and has successfully defended 10 passes.
GAME OUTLOOK
For Loyola to have a chance for a road upset, it needs to start fast and finish in the same manner.
The Cub offense will have to throw some curves, and the Loyola 'Wolfpack' defense will need to play its best game of the season.
Balance on offense for the Cubs will be key. Defensively, if Loyola can make the Trailblazers one dimensional, it will greatly aid the Cub cause. Loyola has to be wary of Becker on the run.
The only straight up comparative scores involved Chaminade and Bishop Amat. Sierra Canyon crushed Chaminade 42-3, while Loyola dispatched the Eagles 44-10. The Trailblazers trounced Bishop Amat, 38-0, and the Cubs downed the Lancers, 24-17.
An area to watch is Loyola's run defense. It needs to match what JSerra, St. John Bosco and Bidhop Amat did in shutting down Sierra Canyon's rushing attack, holding the Trailblazers to 42 yards (3.0 per carry), 74 yards (3.9 ypc) and 78 yards (3.5 ypc), respectively.
The Cubs will most likely need to score at least 30 points to have a shot at knocking Sierra Canyon off the trail. It is imperative that they cut down on costly penalties which have plagued them all season.
THE SERIES
The schools have never met on the gridiron. This is the Trailblazers' first season in the Mission League, and they are favored to win the title. Sierra Canyon only has a ninth grade through twelfth grade enrollment of 509, which means the male student population is about 255. Football is a clear priority at the school as nearly a third of the male enrollment is playing varsity football.
The school was founded in 1978.
EXTRA POINTS
It is troublesome that Chaminade canceled its JV game against Loyola which was scheduled last Thursday. The Eagles instead brought their JV team down to play the Cub freshman squad. The result was that the Loyola Sophs had no game and the Cub Frosh were beaten soundly by older players.
And the word is that Sierra Canyon will bring over its physical JV team to play the Cub freshman team at Smith Field on Thursday. Somehow none of that seems appropriate . . . Loyola's sophomore quarterback, MATT SMITH, has had an outstanding season thus far. In seven games, SMITH has completed 86 of 134 passes (64%) for 1.341 yards (15.6 yards per completion) and 20 touchdowns with just one interception. The highly skilled athlete has rushed for 219 yards on 18 carries (12.2 ypc). Without a doubt SMITH has a very bright future. He has helped lead the soph team to a 7-0 record . . . If the Cub varsity defeats both Sierra Canyon and Notre Dame on November 1 Loyola would end the regular season in no worse than a tie for first place in the Mission League . . . The Cubs has moved up in CalPreps' state rankings in the last three weeks, even after their close loss to Serra. Loyola is ranked 51st in the state and 33rd in the CIF Southern Section.
FRIDAY PRE-GAME
This week's tailgate pre-game location is Gus's BBQ. Cub supporters will meet there at 4:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon.
Gus’s BBQ 20179 Rinaldi Street Suite 150 Chatsworth 91326
2024 LOYOLA VARSITY FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
8-23 @ Cathedral (L, 16-13, 2OT)
8-30 Damien (L, 30-29)
9-13 @ Leuzinger (L, 40-30)
9-20 @ St. Francis (W, 35-7)
9-27 @ Mount Miguel (Spring Valley, San Diego) (W, 46-38)
10-4 Serra (Home)* (L, 42-35)
10-11 @ Bishop Amat* (W, 24-17)
10-18 Chaminade (Home)* (W, 44-10)
10-25 @ Sierra Canyon*
11-1 Notre Dame (Home)*
All games on Fridays @ 7:00 p.m. * Denotes Mission League game CUBS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Below is the list of Loyola graduates playing college football in 2024 according to published collegiate rosters:
CHAD BAILEY ‘20, DB, Bentley University
NICHOLAS BARR-MIRA ‘19, K, Mississippi State
COLIN CRUCE ‘22, OL, Bowdoin
JEFFREY JOHNSON ‘21, TE, Cal
LUKE HARRISON ‘24, OL, University of San Diego
ANDREW KOZHAYA ‘21, OL, Grinnel
SHAWN LIN '22, DL, Columbia
LEIGHTON LINE ‘23, DL, Cal Lutheran
CONNOR McDOWELL ‘21, DB, Angelo State
BLAKE NEITHART ‘20, DB, Carleton
TAHJ OWENS '22, DB, Princeton
JACK PARIS '23, DL, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
RYAN QUINTANAR '20, LB, USC
ISAIAH SANDERS, ‘24, LB, UC Davis
PATRICK SODL ‘22, LB, Columbia
HENRY STICKLER ‘22, WR, SMU
JACK SUSNJAR ‘23, OL, USC
JOE TATUM ‘22, QB, Texas
EVAN THOMAS ‘20, DB, UCLA
RYAN TURK ‘24, OL, Dartmouth
ALEX WHITMAN ‘22, WR, Notre Dame
CHAMP WESTBROOKS ‘24, OL, Arizona State
CEYAIR WRIGHT ‘21, DB, Nebraska
SAM YOON ‘22, OL, UCLA
LOYOLA GRADS IN THE NFL
MYLES BRYANT '16, corner, Houston Texans
ALEX JOHNSON '19, corner, New York Giants (practice squad)
DAVID LONG, JR., corner, Indianapolis Colts (practice squad)
COLEMAN SHELTON '13, center, Chicago Bears