GL_111518

42 | November 15, 2018 | The glenview lantern sports
glenviewlantern.com
Loyola faces rematch with Lincoln-Way East
Neil Milbert
Freelance Reporter
After avenging its loss
to the team that defeated
Loyola Academy in
the 2016 Class 8A state
championship contest in
a quarterfinal road game
on Saturday, Nov. 10, the
Ramblers will return home
on Saturday, Nov. 17, for
a semifinal encounter in
which they will try to bring
down the team that beat
them in the 2017 Class 8A
state title game.
The No. 19 Ramblers
went into the quarterfinal
at No. 6 Maine South as
the underdogs, but they
were dominant from start
to finish in every statistical
category in recording a
17-0 victory that stretched
NORTH SHORE
Loyola Academy versus Maine South
1 2 3 4 F
LA 3 0 7 7 17
MS 0 0 0 0 0
Top Performers
1. Loyola defense — allowed 71 total yards
2. Jake Gonzalez, LB — 1 INT
3. Jake Fallon, QB — 131 passing yards,1 TD
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Loyola Academy’s Trevor Cabanban runs the ball
against Maine South on Saturday, Nov. 10, in Park
Ridge. Margo Grogan/22nd Century Media
their winning streak to six
games.
Now, Loyola (9-3) must
challenge No. 2 defending
champion Lincoln Way
East (12-0), which was a
landslide 50-14 winner in
a quarterfinal home game
against No. 23 Edwardsville
(8-4) that extended its
two-season winning streak
to 26 games.
In 2016, the Ramblers
flaunted a 30-game winning
streak that ended when
they last met Maine South
and lost 27-17 in the championship
game, making the
payback in the quarterfinals
all the more sweet for the
seniors.
“It was in the back of our
heads,” center Joe Naselli
said. “Great win for us and
the guys who fell to them
in 2016 — great win for
our program, especially on
their home field. The defense
played great and the
offense came on strong in
the second half when we
needed it.”
The only other loss for
the Hawks (10-2) was by
three points against Barrington
in the third week
of the regular season. They
went into the quarterfinal
game averaging 37.2 points
per game and they had
scored 21 points or more in
every outing.
Loyola wasn’t one bit intimidated.
Instead the Ramblers
bullied their highly
regarded opponents — recording
17 first downs to
the Hawks’ three, piling up
256 net yards to the home
team’s 71 and controlling
the football for 30 minutes,
46 seconds, of the 48
minutes. The winners were
9-for-18 in third down conversions,
while the losers
were 0-for-10.
The Ramblers penetrated
to the Maine South 28 during
their first possession
and the home team’s 44 on
their second possession.
The third time they had the
football they got down to
the 10 before being forced
to settle for Nate Van
Zelst’s 27-yard field goal
with 74 seconds to play in
the opening quarter.
They began the third
quarter by going on a 13-
play touchdown drive that
covered 70 yards. The
touchdown came on Rory
Boos’ just-inbounds end
zone catch of a 10-yard
pass from Jack Fallon and
the big play en route was
Matt Mangan’s 23-yard
catch of Fallon’s pass in a
third-and-seven situation at
the Loyola 33.
On the Ramblers’ first
possession of the fourth
quarter, they padded their
lead when Michael Gavric
rammed over from one yard
out and Van Zelst kicked
his second extra point.
“The second touchdown
was very important and
after the third [quarter] we
felt very good,” Loyola
head coach John Holecek
said. “When they are going
to have to score three times
against our defense with
that kind of pass rush it’s
going to be very hard to do.
“It was a very satisfying
win. Our pass rush did a
great job. When they were
open our pass rush got
there so the quarterbacks
couldn’t find the receivers.
We tried to take away their
best player No. 2 (wide receiver
Ryan Kilburg); we
had to double-cover him (in
limiting him to three receptions
for 23 yards).”
Online content
For the photo gallery from
this game, visit Glenview
Lantern.com.
The shutout was the
second of the season for
Loyola with the first coming
in a 22-0 triumph the
previous Saturday against
hitherto undefeated second
round opponent Oswego.
Holecek lauded defensive
lineman Conor Hough
and linebackers Mike Kadus
and Sam Schierloh.
“Conor is a determined
smart kid who works his
butt off,” he said. “Mike
and Sam are very smart
and they’re so consistent;
if they make mistakes they
correct them immediately.”
The Hawks’ starting
quarterback, Cole Dow,
completed only two of his
10 passes, and when he
tried to elude the oncoming
Ramblers, he netted only
seven yards in seven carries.
After Loyola scored
the touchdown that increased
its lead to 10-0 the
harried Dow was relieved
by fellow senior Bobby
Inserra with over five minutes
left to play in the third
quarter.
The highly regarded son
of Maine South head coach
Dave Inserra began the
season as the starting quarterback
but was sidelined
with a leg injury in Week
2 against Mount Carmel
and didn’t return until the
last regular season game
against Niles West.
When he entered the
quarterfinal contest, his
passing and scrambling
runs immediately activated
the dormant Hawks’
offense and they drove to
the Loyola 21 before being
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