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34 | August 23, 2018 | The highland park landmark Football Preview Guide 2018
hplandmark.com
Loyola reloads after second-place finish
Neil Milbert, Freelance Reporter
While a massive building
project is going on adjacent to
Loyola Academy’s football field,
coach John Holecek is trying to
construct another powerhouse
on the gridiron.
“As usual, we don’t have a lot
of returnees (who were starters)
but the seniors have stepped up,”
said Holecek, who is starting his
13th season with the Ramblers
and holds the school record with
135 victories. “A lot of guys
have matured; they look the part.
We have some weapons.
“We’re excited about the first
game. With our schedule, the
first month of the season we’ll
know right away how good we
are.”
The first game of the season
will be played in Michigan
against Rockford, a traditionally
strong team from north of
Grand Rapids. Then Loyola
will return to the North Shore to
meet New Trier in the Trevians’
newly remodeled stadium. That
will be followed by the home
opener against Chicago Catholic
League rival Mount Carmel,
which is one of only three home
games on the schedule.
The encounter at New Trier
should be interesting. Last season,
in the first round of the
playoffs, when the teams clashed
for the first time since 2006, the
27th-seeded Trevians scored 22
unanswered points in the final 10
minutes, 12 seconds, throwing a
scare into the sixth-seeded Ramblers,
who held on to win 35-32.
Offense
The second half of that game
marked the varsity debut of
Loyola’s Trevor Cabanban and
the little running back made a
great first impression, going on
a 39-yard touchdown run and
finishing the afternoon with 84
yards in 10 carries. He continued
to excel in the next two playoff
games but his season came to an
end when he was injured in the
quarterfinal game at Marist.
Rory Boos catches a pass during Loyola’s state title game against
Lincoln-Way East Nov. 25 in DeKalb. 22nd Century Media File Photo
Now, Cabanban is back for
his junior season and his 308
net yards in 47 carries for a team
best 6.6-yard rushing average,
suggesting he will be one of the
Ramblers’ most exciting offensive
players.
Senior running back Michael
Gavric and junior Tyler Flores
both got a significant amount of
playing time last year and figure
to make an impact.
“Michael adds a different element
with his power,” Holecek
said. “He’s a slasher with speed.”
Although last season’s quarterback,
Quinn Boyle, led
Loyola in both passing and rushing
— amassing 3,020 yards and
accounting for 29 touchdowns
— Holecek doesn’t believe replacing
him will be a problem.
Jack Fallon inherits the starting
job after throwing five touchdown
passes as Boyle’s backup
and his understudy, fellow senior
Matt Schiltz, also has some varsity
experience.
“Jack and Matt are talented
and have done a good job this
summer,” he said.
Fallon spent the summer trying
to get faster and stronger so
he too can be effective as a runner.
“With me being able to run
the ball it opens up the offense,”
he said. “Quinn was one of the
greatest and filling his shoes will
be hard but I’ve got some great
receivers.”
Foremost among the receivers
is senior Rory Boos, Fallon’s
grammar school teammate
at Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
Last season, he was the team
leader in receiving yardage (825
yards on 45 catches) and touchdowns
(11).
“I’m working on being more
Key returns
WR Rory Boos - 45 catches, 825 receiving yards, 11
touchdowns
RB Trevor Cabanban - 47 carries, 308 rushing yards, three
touchdowns
FS Jake Gonzalez - 94 tackles, two interceptions
OLB Armoni Dixon - 64 tackles, 8.5 TFL
Key losses
QB Quinn Boyle - 3,020 total yards, 29 total touchdowns
LB Anthony Rodriguez - 94 tackles, 11.5 TFL, four sacks
LB Christopher Kelly - 90 tackles, 7 TFL
OL Charlie Gross - Gross, now at Fordham, helped pave the way
for a tough rushing attack.
of a leader and improving my
blocking downfield and route
running,” Boos said.
Another senior, Noah Jones,
had his 2017 playing time curtailed
because of injuries but he
too is a dynamic pass catcher.
Holecek thinks two other seniors,
wide receiver Artie Collins
and slot receiver Jared Lombardi,
also have what it takes to
make things happen when the
Ramblers throw the football.
“Jared has had a terrific summer,”
Holecek said. “He’s very
talented.”
The inexperienced offensive
line suffered a setback when
6-foot-2-inch, 250-pound junior
tackle Christo Kelly was sidelined
because of an offseason
injury, a torn anterior cruciate
ligament (ACL).
However, 6-2, 255-pound senior
guard Joe Naselli is back
after missing almost all of last
season because of a torn ACL in
his left knee that was sustained
in the second game.
Holecek is not a proponent of
two-way football but this season
he plans to have Naselli and senior
end Conor Hough go both
ways.
Defense
In the forefront on defense is
senior free safety Jake Gonzaez,
the leading tackler last season.
According to Gonzalez, “the
underclassmen (on defense) are
coming along and those of us
who are older guys are using
losing the state championship
game (to Lincoln-Way East) as
motivation.”
Holecek was a linebacker in
college and in the NFL, so it’s
not surprising that his Ramblers
are known for having outstanding
players at that position. This
season he has a solid corps of senior
returnees: Patrick Daniels,
Armoni Dixon, Sam Scheirloh
and Mike Kadus.
Last year Daniels moved into
the starting lineup after Peter
Kennedy suffered a season-ending
injury in the opener.
“It gave me a lot of reps and
familiarity with the defenses,”
he said. “I’m feeling a lot more
confident than I did at the beginning
of last year.”
Senior cornerbacks Jack
Burke and Michael Byrne have
won vacated starting jobs after
being second-stringers last season
and in Holecek’s opinion
“they both are playing well (in
practice).”
Also moving up from the second
unit is senior strong safety
Nicholas Pomey.
Special Teams
Expected to play prominent
roles on the special teams as
kickers are sophomore Nathan
Van Zelst and senior Eddie
Auer and Holecek is predicting
that “Lombardi and Cabanban
should be really exciting” on
kickoff returns.