Loyola Athletics... From: Jacobs, J.Patrick First campus home game in 65 years follows Loyola demolition of Lakewood, Cubs display power in 42-6 romp over Lancers Loyola took another step up last Friday at Los Angeles Valley College in a dominating 42-6 victory over Lakewood in the second non-league game of the season. The suffocating play of the Cubs Wolfpack defense for a second consecutive week holds promise for the remainder of a campaign that from Friday’s game through the conclusion of the regular season may be the most challenging in Cub Football annals. On the other side of the ball, Loyolas offensive line bulldozed a big, physical and athletic Lancer front. Running backs DAVID COOPER, DANIEL TOLBERT and DRAKE BEASLEY took full advantage of the physical play of their teammates up front, including right tackle JOE BOLIN, guards ANTHONY VALDEZ, KEVIN QUISUMBING and AARON CASTILLO, center KAMDEN DARNEY and left tackle TYLER NICHOL. Nichol had another outstanding game at defensive end as well, and safety JORDAN RIORDAN hit Lakewoods quarterback with such ferocity early on that it seemed to adversely affect the vaunted Lancer signal callers level of play for the remainder of the contest. If Loyola continues competing as it has thus far, it could end up being a banner campaign. While the lopsided wins over Harvard-Westlake and Lakewood were impressive - the Cubs led at halftime of those games by scores of 41-0 and 28-0, respectively - the comparative caliber of the opposition was not. That being said, Loyola did not play down to the level of its opponents, which of course is a good sign. Among the teams the Cubs will face in coming weeks are the seventh (Gardena Serra), eighth (Alemany), and ninth (Chaminade) ranked teams in California. Notre Dame has scored 126 points in its first two games, and Bishop Amat barely lost to highly regarded Santa Margarita and blew out Aledo, the top ranked 5A team in Texas, in the Lone Star state last Friday. Fridays foe, St. Augustine of San Diego, is a state top 40 team, and next weeks final non-league opponent, Salesian, is loaded with major college prospects. Cubs and Saints renew old rivalry in historic battle Friday It has been 64 years since Loyola last played St. Augustine of San Diego and 86 years since the Jesuit and Augustinian college preparatory schools first met on the gridiron in 1928. What makes Fridays game particularly special is that It is the first varsity football game played on the Loyola campus in 65 years. Could it signal the impetus for a permanent home football stadium? There are many alumni and supporters who hope so. A look at Friday’s opponent: St Augustine Saints San Diego Section powerhouse has talent in every area The reigning CIF San Diego Section Division II champion St. Augustine Saints nearly knocked off perennial San Diego County and state power Oceanside in their first contest of the season on the road. Despite losing a nail-biter to the Pirates, 34-28, St. Augustine made a statement in that game that it will be a team to be reckoned with not only in San Diego, but also at the state Div. II level. Against Oceanside, the Saints turned the ball over five times and just missed on two potential game-winning passes into the end zone late in the fourth quarter of a back and forth battle. Last season, St. Augustine was blasted by Oceanside, 47-28, in its opener, but came back to finish the season 11-2 and capture the CIF San Diego Section Div. II title in dominating fashion, outscoring its three playoff foes by the combined score of 146-19. And that was with a young squad. On Friday St. Augustine will bring a still young, but battle tested, unit to Bob Smith Field in the historic meeting with the Cubs. Coach Richard Sanchez has had great success leading St. Augustine since his arrival as the Saints’ head mentor six years ago. In addition to last season’s CIF San Diego Section championship, the Saints were Division II finalists in 2012 and have amassed a 49-13 overall record under Sanchez’s leadership. This may be Sanchez’s best team yet. Headlining a group of special athletes is senior wide receiver/defensive back Frank Buncom IV. The 6-2, 190 lb. team captain is one of the top-ranked prep defensive backs in the nation. The ball hawking defender has a long and impressive scholarship offer list. Junior running back Elijah Preston (5-5, 170) might be the best runner the Cubs face this fall. As a sophomore in 2013, the diminutive but powerful, blazing fast Preston rushed for 1,481 yards and scored 17 touchdowns while averaging an incredible 9.31 yards per carry. St. Augustine’s offensive line is big, very strong and plays with great intensity. Paving the way up front are behemoths Chris Gesell (6-4, 280), a highly recruited senior center, and junior tackle Michael Alves (6-4, 310). Junior lineman Danny Ramirez was also named on preseason honor lists. Two-way trench man, senior Thomas Browne (6-4, 210), is another tough Saint big man. Senior Tommy Goodridge (5-10, 160) leads a balanced offense behind center. St. Augustine’s defense is loaded. In addition to national recruit Buncom, St. Augustine has a bevy of ferocious defenders especially at the linebacker and secondary positions. Junior inside linebacker Quinn Seau (6-0, 202) brings not just a familiar surname to the field, but also uncommon toughness to his linebacker post. Senior linebacker Francoise Sims II (6-0, 230) is in a word, ferocious. Sophomore Tariq Thompson (5-10,170) is among the best cover corners in San Diego County. The underclass athlete is also a talented wide receiver. The Cubs definitely have their work cut out for them on Friday evening against a Saints squad that compares favorably to the teams in the über competitive Mission League. One of the keys for Loyola will be slowing down Preston. The Cubs’ passing game will be need to click as the Saints are expected to focus on stopping the Loyola run game. There is no question that Friday’s contest is worthy of the pageantry surrounding it. The level of competition will be exponentially higher than what the Cubs faced in their first two games. The Series Loyola and St. Augustine first played in 1928, with the Saints recording a 25-0 shutout of coach Larry Devlin’s Cubs. The 1928 Loyola team’s lone loss was to St. Augustine. The Cubs overall record in ‘28 was 7-1-2. In each of the ensuing six contests Loyola defeated its Augustinian rival, which is located near Balboa Park in San Diego. Entering tonight’s contest, the Jesuit school in Los Angeles holds the bragging rights with a 6-1 series lead. In 1945, head coach Bill Sargent’s Cubs shut out the Saints 26-0. The ‘45 Loyola team finished the campaign with a 7-1-1 record, which included an impressive 27-13 victory over state power Bakersfield. St. Augustine forfeited the 1946 game for reasons unknown. Bill Sargent’s ’46 Loyola squad, led by CIF Large Schools Player-of-the-Year Al Pollard, dubbed by the Los Angeles sporting press as the Loyola Express, completed the season with a 10-1 record and made it to the school’s first CIF Large Schools championship game, before bowing, 7-6, to Alhambra. It was Sargent’s last year as Loyola’s head coach. His four-year record was an impressive 25-5-2 (81%). In 1947, first-year head coach Jack Bouchard’s Loyola squad downed St. Augustine 27-6 in game four. In his second year at the helm of Cub Football in 1948, coach Bouchard guided his Cub team to a 27-18 win over the Saints. Loyola finished the ’48 campaign with an 8-1 record. The Cubs won the 1949 contest 35-0 in game four, and in 1950 Loyola’s CIF Large Schools semifinalist club de-canonized the Saints, 25-13, in the fifth contest of the season. Bouchard’s overall record in his six years as the Cub head man was 39-13-2 (74%). There is a big connection between Loyola and St. Augustine, as the president of St. Augustine, Ed Hearn, was a well-respected and beloved football coach, teacher and administrator at Loyola from 1971 through 1991, before he moved on to take over the job as principal at Garces Memorial High School in Bakersfield and later at Brophy College Preparatory, a Jesuit secondary school in Phoenix. Coach Hearn made an indelible mark on Cub Football. Among many of his contributions, he began the Loyola Samurai weightlifting program in 1981. In each of the years Loyola has played St. Augustine, the Cubs finished with a winning record. So win or lose Friday, the contest with the Saints augurs well for Loyola, whose overall record in the seven seasons the Cubs have played the Saints is 52-10 (84%).
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 19:20:00 +0000
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