Football: Loyola’s defense faces big test

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Loyola junior running back Anthony Barr has piled up 403 yards in his first two games this season, but the most impressive number in the Cubs’ fast start might be 3.5.

That’s the average number of points Loyola has allowed in victories over Mira Costa and Palos Verdes. The Cubs, ranked No. 17 in the Southland by The Times, shut out Palos Verdes, 34-0, on Saturday.

‘It’s really been a shining spot,’ Loyola Coach Jeff Kearin said.

First-year defensive coordinator Drew Casani, who played on the Cubs’ 1990 Southern Section championship team, will face a far more daunting challenge Saturday at Glendale High when the Cubs play host to Northern California power Concord De La Salle.

The Spartans routed Loyola, 55-14, last year and opened the 2008 season with a 29-28 victory over San Mateo Serra in which they needed a two-point conversion midway through the fourth quarter to avert their first loss to a Northern California opponent since 1991.

‘They have added a throwing component to their game over the last few seasons that really balances them out,’ Kearin said of De La Salle.

--Ben Bolch