Ware Brings Loyola Back for 24-16 Win Over Hart

There was a desperate plea made by a Newhall Hart High assistant coach Saturday night as Loyola’s Matt Ware began to twist and turn, stop and go, juke and dive.

“Jump on his back if you have to!” Dean Herrington shouted to Hart defensive players.

Ware, a UCLA-bound senior, almost single-handedly rallied the Cubs to a 24-16 victory over Hart at Glendale High.

“Loyola didn’t beat us--Matt Ware beat us,” said Mike Herrington, Hart’s head coach. “He was a one-man wrecking crew.”

Ware rushed for 117 yards in 15 carries, passed for 75 yards, intercepted a pass and simply refused to let his team quit after trailing, 16-3, at halftime.

It was almost an identical comeback performance to a game last season against Alemany, when Ware helped the Cubs overcome a 21-0 halftime deficit to win, 26-21.

“This one beats the Alemany comeback by a whole lot,” Ware said.

Loyola (5-0) was making little progress toward overtaking Hart (3-2) until Ware took control late in the third quarter. He completed a 33-yard pass to Greg Kavulich on third down, then ran 43 yards for a touchdown with 3:02 left, pulling the Cubs to within 16-10.

Loyola got the ball back with 11:46 to play, and Ware started running left, right, up the middle, anywhere and everywhere. He guided the Cubs on an 80-yard, 13-play drive. There were runs of 22, 13 and nine yards. When Rafael Rice scored on a one-yard run with 5:27 left and Nathan Dukes added the conversion kick, Loyola had the lead for good, 17-16.

“We came out and pounded them,” Ware said of the Cubs’ offensive line.

Hart still had an opportunity to put together a final drive, but quarterback Kyle Matter’s fourth-down pass was intercepted by Ware and returned 44 yards the the Hart 10 with 3:35 left. Rice scored again from the one.

“This is a great comeback against a quality team,” Loyola Coach Steve Grady said.

Hart scored all its points in the second quarter, taking a 6-3 lead on Keith Howell’s eight-yard touchdown reception.

Josh Christensen’s interception on the Loyola 24 gave the Indians another scoring opportunity. Matter quickly connected with Robert Mercado for a 24-yard touchdown.

Safety Matt Moore contributed another interception with 1:45 left before halftime, setting up Josh Cummings’ 37-yard field goal.