Photo By: Jackson Baca

In their third game of the season and second game on their home field, Loyola hosted Cathedral High School. The stands were filled as a result of the Bring Your Little Brother to the Game event, and the sea of white t-shirts belonging to Freshman was vibrant throughout the game. 

Loyola received the first kick off from Cathedral. The Cubs started off their drive with two runs, resulting in a total loss of 5 yards. Ending their drive in a punt, the Cubs raced to the other side of the field to stop Cathedral’s punt returner. In Cathedral’s first drive, Hunter Ballard and Steven Ariano worked in unison on two run plays to quickly stop Cathedral’s running back. Loyola’s defensive line held their own throughout the game, and on Cathedral’s fifth play of the drive, Loyola’s Marcus Aguilar sacked the runner for a loss of 2 yards. Loyola’s defensive line maintained pressure on Cathedral as well, forcing the quarterback to throw incomplete passes.  Because of this pressure, Cathedral’s quarterback fumbled the play on third down, resulting in Loyola possession. Running back Hunter Ballard trudged his way through Cathedral’s defensive line on Loyola’s second drive. However, Cathedral regained possession on their own 28 yard line and ran to Loyola’s 18 yard line. As the sun was setting and Loyola fans were anticipating a Cathedral touchdown, Loyola’s defense stopped them from scoring before the first quarter ended. 

 In the second quarter of the game, Cathedral started by scoring a nine yard touchdown pass to open the scoreboard. Loyola’s defense rushed the quarterback because of their close proximity to the end zone, but Cathedral’s quarterback was able to complete the pass, resulting in 7 points after the kick. Running back Hunter Ballard quickly ran to the thirty yard line for Loyola, and also ran for a gain of 10 more yards, resulting in first down on the forty yard line for Loyola. As the night settled in and the lights started to shine, Loyola’s audience started to get frustrated due to the Cubs not being able to capitalize on good field position. With six minutes left in the second quarter, Cathedral’s Dante Reilly scored a touchdown pass of over twenty yards, resulting in a 13 point lead. Loyola’s running back Hunter Ballard answered by scoring a 94 yard touch down off of the kick off by Cathedral. Ballard dodged multiple defenders on his way to the end zone, and on the fifty yard line, outran Cathedral’s last defender, resulting in a touchdown. Ballard coasted thirty yards, hands held high, before entering a sea of cheering Freshman. 

Opening the second half of the game was Cathedral starting on Loyola’s forty yard line. Cathedral could not convert on their first two passing plays. Running back Hunter Ballard chased down Cathedral’s quarterback for a loss of one yard on the play. However, Cathedral’s kicker heightened their lead by 9 points, scoring a twenty yard field goal. On Loyola’s first drive of the second half, quarterback Nathan Priestly threw a direct pass to a Cathedral defender. Following the interception, Cathedral’s quarterback threw a 25 yard touch down pass to put Cathedral up by 16 points. The receiver caught the ball in the end zone while being tackled by a Loyola defender as Cathedral audience erupted in excitement.  On Loyola’s next drive, Cathedral forced a fumble on the nineteen yard line. The Cathedral defender picked up the football, which was previously in Nathan Priestly’s hands, and ran the remaining ten yards to the end zone untouched as the Cathedral audience continued to celebrate. 

Opening the last quarter of the game was Loyola. They slowly moved the ball with many passes throughout their first drive of the quarter, and on fourth down, the Cubs through the ball across the field to a Loyola wide receiver. The receiver tried to hold on to the ball as he was being tackled by a Cathedral defender, but was unable to contain it. Loyola was not able to score in the fourth quarter, and the final score was 30-7.

Hunter Ballard said, “I definitely could have done a better job converting on the offense. There were times when we had good field position and were not able to make a play or score. Next week that is something that we need to do.”

Coach Ric Pedroarias ’84 said, “We did not make big plays when we had to. I have to do a better job of using our strengths to our advantage. However, we would always self-destruct at some point and we have to fix that. Im not going to stop working for them, and I am not going to stop believing in them. Every day is an opportunity to get better, and that is what we strive for.”