Loyola Doesn’t Hurt Anymore

Forgetting their aches and pains and late-season misfortunes, Los Angeles Loyola High football players renewed a tradition Friday night of rising to their highest level in the playoffs.

Running back Bo Renaud rushed for 146 yards in 31 carries and scored two touchdowns and quarterback Adam Gonzalez completed 10 of 15 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns to help the Cubs defeat Rialto Eisenhower, 28-14, in a Southern Section Division I opener in Rialto.

It marks the 16th consecutive season Loyola (7-2-1) has reached the Division I quarterfinals. No one was more pleased than Coach Steve Grady, who had numerous players limping around and trying to play with pain.

“I’m very proud of this team,” Grady said. “We’ve had a rough year. We’re trying to guard guys twice as fast as us. It’s a great win for us.”

Eisenhower (8-3) had only lost to unbeaten Corona Centennial and Redlands, but the Eagles fell behind, 14-7, at halftime, then fumbled on their first two possessions of the second half and suddenly trailed, 28-7.

Quarterback Idris Moss of Eisenhower tried to rally his team. He completed 23 of 36 passes for 335 yards and one touchdown. But the Eagles were stopped three times on fourth down in the second half.

Loyola’s all-out effort was typified by the play of Renaud, a 192-pound junior who’d take the handoff and plow ahead with a relentless determination to gain yards.

“I just say, ‘Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead,”’ he said. “That was the attitude of the team.”

Linebacker Chad Slapnicka, who has played for weeks despite a groin injury, led a Loyola defense that was able to prevent Moss from escaping the pocket most of the night.

Gonzalez received strong protection from his offensive line and was able to find open receivers for long gains. He fired a 47-yard touchdown pass to Alex Koplin in the third quarter to give Loyola a 21-7 lead. Quintin Daniels caught four passes for 100 yards. Tight end Joe Killefer, known for his surfing besides making tough catches, set the tone for the Cubs by catching a five-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter in which he knocked down the umpire while landing in the end zone.

For 10 weeks, Loyola has been trying to adjust to life without Matt Ware, a freshman starter at UCLA. Last season, whenever the Cubs needed someone to catch a running back racing for a touchdown, Ware ran him down. Whenever the Cubs needed someone to ignite the offense, Ware delivered.

Replacing Ware’s speed and big-play skills has been Loyola’s season-long dilemma. But with the offensive line performing well and the defense shutting down Eisenhower’s running game, the Cubs earned the right to face Long Beach Poly next week in a rematch of last season’s Division I final.