WB_110917

30 | November 9, 2017 | The wilmette beacon sports
wilmettebeacon.com
Boyle shines in Loyola playoff rout
Neil Milbert
Freelance Reporter
Equaling the revered
John Hoerster’s school
record of 133 victories
wasn’t what Loyola coach
John Holecek had on his
mind following the sixthseeded
Ramblers’ 28-7
conquest of 11th-seeded
Hinsdale Central on Saturday
in the second round of
the Class 8A playoffs.
His primary concern
was keeping his team at
the high level it performed
against the Red Devils after
an exasperating fourth
quarter in the previous
week’s opening round victory
over New Trier.
He saw a lot of good
things on offense and defense
as the Ramblers (10-
1) took charge in the first
quarter and maintained a
comfortable lead throughout
the contest in their
friendly confines.
Next up is a quarterfinal
road game Saturday at
third-seeded Marist (11-0),
the team that Loyola overwhelmed
41-0 in the 2015
Class 8A championship
game. Marist advanced to
the quarterfinals by virtue
of a 37-14 victory over
Curie.
Quarterback Quinn
Boyle was the player most
responsible for Loyola’s
second-round triumph.
“I can’t imagine a better
quarterback for this team,”
Holecek said. “Quinn has
had a terrific year. He’s a
terrific leader. He has done
everything we could ask.”
The senior scored on
touchdown runs of two
and four yards and threw
touchdown passes of 8
and 30 yards—connecting
with Rory Boos in the end
zone on the first and finding
Noah Jones in the end zone
on the second.
Boyle’s scoring runs
came in the first and third
quarter and both of his
scoring passes were in the
second quarter.
The Red Devils (8-3)
fell behind by three touchdowns
before quarterback
Matthew Rush pegged a
33-yard TD pass to Garrett
Oakey late in the third
quarter but the Ramblers
immediately answered by
driving 65 yards in four
plays for their final touchdown.
Prefacing Boyle’s
trip to the end zone, senior
Hamid Bullie produced 32
of the yards on two carries
and sophomore sensation
Trevor Cabanban rushed
twice for 29 yards
While Boyle received
good protection, Rush’s
protection frequently
broke down, forcing him
to scramble, and he was
thrown for 33 yards in
losses. Nevertheless, Rush
managed to complete 14 of
20 passes for 137 yards.
On the ground, the Red
Devils had a hard time
making headway with an
average of 1.8 yards.
“They tried to run right
through us but we stopped
them,” said nose guard
Nick Murphy, who played
another strong game on the
interior.
Also making significant
contributions on defense
were senior linebacker Anthony
Rodriguez and defensive
back Hugh Kelly.
Boyle was the focal point
of the offense. Showing
no after effects from the
shoulder injury he suffered
against New Trier, he completed
9 of 14 passes for
133 yards and ran 13 times
Loyola’s Quinn Boyle runs for a touchdown in the third
quarter against Hinsdale Central Saturday, Nov. 4, in
Wilmette. Carlos Alvarez/22nd Century Media
for 68 yards.
“He’s the toughest player
I’ve ever seen,” Jones said.
“He takes all those hits and
gets right back up to make
another play. He motivates
everyone and makes them
want to do their best. When
he said he was playing today
I knew he was going to
play well.”
Complementing Boyle’s
performance on offense
were the running of Bullie
(19 carries for 145 yards)
and the pass-catching of
tight end Charlie Gilroy
(four receptions for 44
yards) and James Joyce
(three receptions for 51
yards).
Bullie’s season has been
one of rehabilitation after
his stellar junior year ended
because of a torn anterior
cruciate ligament and a torn
meniscus he sustained in the
last regular season game.
“Hamid was great today,”
Holecek said. “He
needs another year and
he’d be a terrific college
player. There’s still not the
explosiveness we saw last
year but he’s a lot stronger.”
Bullie praised the offensive
line for opening the
holes that he and Boyle and
Cabanban (nine carries for
41 yards) dashed through.
“Our O-line was able to
block those quicker and
smaller guards very well,”
he said. “When they open
holes the way they did we
want to reward them by going
on long runs.
“Trevor is learning on
the fly. Coming up from
the sophomore team (to the
varsity as Bullie also did as
a sophomore) is a lot different.
The signal calling is
different; there are different
plays. Trevor is making the
most of his opportunity.”
Boyle, likewise, is impressed
with what he has
seen from Cabanban, who
made his varsity debut in
the first playoff game.
“I remember watching
his (sophomore team) highlights
and thinking: ‘Wow,
this kid can play!’’’
Boyle and Holecek also
pointed out Gilroy’s importance.
“He’s a big target and
we’ve been waiting to use
him (as an impact player)
for a long time,” Boyle
said.
Because of injuries to interior
linemen earlier in the
season, Gilroy was shifted
to offensive tackle for a few
games and he went into the
Hinsdale Central game
with only three catches for
41 yards.
“Charlie is a great
blocker and a great teammate,”
Holecek pointed
out. “Today he made key
third down catches. He’s
a Division I (quality) tight
end.”
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