Stevenson doesn't like new Loyola look

When it needed to be, the "new Loyola," as senior Lucas Ruske called his high school football team, looked a lot like the old one.

And there's certainly nothing wrong with that for the Ramblers.

Coming off a nine-win season and facing a veteran Stevenson squad that is expected to be one of the best in Lake County this fall, Loyola Academy won 14-6 in the two teams' season opener in sunny Wilmette on Saturday.

The game was the first played on Loyola's new artificial surface.

While the Ramblers unveiled their new shotgun-spread offense, they helped cement their victory the old fashioned way by grinding out a 15-play drive that began late in the third quarter at their own 4-yard line. When Stevenson finally forced a punt with six minutes left in the fourth, Loyola's James Ford recovered a muff at the Patriot 16, allowing the Ramblers to retain possession of the ball.

"We got the new field, the new offense, everything," said Ruske, the new quarterback, who replaced the graduated Peter Badovinac. "But we showed a little bit of old-school grit there from the (Chicago) Catholic League (in the fourth quarter). That's how they breed us over in this Catholic League."

Stevenson's offensive returnees include all-area quarterback Zach Wujcik, all-area wide receiver Mike Bilton and Western Michigan-bound tackle Ben Samson, but the Patriots managed only 37 rushing yards for the game and 1 first down in the second half.

Wujcik, who missed about a week of preseason practice with mono, completed 13 of 27 passes for 174 yards. His 5-yard touchdown toss to Nate Johnson with two minutes left before halftime accounted for the Patriots' only score. The PAT, attempted by female Hanna Monson, was blocked.

"We definitely thought we were going to score more points on them," Wujcik said. "We had a good game plan. (Loyola) just had a good defense. We had a tough time running the ball, we had a couple of drops, and I missed a couple of reads. They're a good team."

While Wujcik completed just less than 50 percent of his passes, coach Bill Mitz wasn't blaming his QB for the offense's lack of productivity.

"Too many dropped balls," Mitz said. "If we want to throw the ball, we got to be able to catch it, too."

Stevenson's defense, which also returns several veterans, was victimized by Ruske's 85-yard touchdown run in the opening quarter. A defensive back had a great chance to tackle Ruske near the Stevenson 30, but Ruske shook him with a stiff arm.

Ruske finished with 138 rushing yards (19 carries) and was 5 of 11 passing for 64 yards. He fired a 31-yard TD pass to Jack Begley late in the third, one play after Patrick Dougherty recovered a fumble forced by Matthew Hinkamp's hard hit on Wujcik in the backfield.

"We didn't get to show as much passing as we like today," Ruske said. "But we found something that was working so we stuck with it."

Stevenson's offense didn't get on the field in the fourth quarter until there was only 3:48 left on the clock. The Patriots went three-and-out.

"I think it was a little bit of lack of execution on everybody," said Johnson, who was a bright spot for Stevenson with 5 catches for 85 yards. "We got a nice mix of juniors and seniors. We were trying to get in the flow in our first game, but we didn't execute well."