Scouting Warren @ Loyola Academy
Warren (8-2) at Loyola Academy (9-1)
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Last week: No. 6 Warren def. No. 11 Chicago Curie,49-7; No. 3 Loyola Academy def. No. 14 St. Patrick, 30-0.
Playoff experience: Warren is back in the playoffs for the third straight year and 10th time in the last 11 seasons. The Blue Devils won their Class 8A playoff opener last year, downing York, 21-9, before falling 55-21 to Schaumburg. ... Loyola is making its seventh straight playoff appearance and fourth under coach John Holecek, a former NFL linebacker with Buffalo, San Diego and Atlanta. Loyola defeated Warren, 23-3, in the first round of the playoffs two years ago. They haven't advanced past the second round since they won the Class 6A title in 1993 under coach John Hoerster.
Skinny: Warren has a chance. Loyola has Chance. And it's a big Chance. The Ramblers' rough, tough and stingy defense boasts 6-foot-4, 250-pound lineman Chance Carter, who recently committed to Northwestern. He started on varsity as a sophomore and helped Loyola end Warren's season. "After seeing him as a sophomore in our previous playoff game, it is like seeing kid grow up," Warren coach Dave Mohapp said. "He is an outstanding athlete. Her's a big kid that can run and now he is very physical and a great technique player."
Loyola has a whole lot more on defense, too. Senior linebacker Patrick Dougherty (5-11, 190) leads a unit that has yielded only 69 points and just 21 in Loyola's last five games. Dougherty has a team-best 90 tackles, including 8 sacks. He gets ample support from Carter (56 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception), James Bonner (67 tackles), Thomas Kelly (68 tackles), Kyle Guziec (75 tackles, 4 sacks), Mark Sullivan (45 tackles, 3 sacks) and James Ford (3 interceptions).
Loyola is a very good team. The Ramblers' task is obvious: Stop Warren's 1-2 punch of running backs Greg Kennedy and Tom Lindal. The 5-6 Kennedy leads all Lake County rushers with 1,734 rushing yards (8.3 per carry) and 21 touchdowns (23 total). The 6-foot Lindal, meanwhile, is up to 816 yards and 15 rushing TDs. As a team, Warren has 49 touchdowns, and Kennedy and Lindal have 40 of them. The Blue Devils have thrown just 4TD passes - 2 to Lindal, 1 to Kennedy and 1 to tight end Caleb Haley. ... Defensively, Warren allows an average of 19 points per game. Matt Goad (89 tackles, 4 sacks), Jon Duncan (69 tackles, 2 sacks), Gary Eppinger (67 tackles, 3 sacks), Taylor Stahl (581/2 tackles, 2 interceptions), Darryl Padgett (42 tackles) and Addison Clark (321/2 tackles, 4 sacks, 2 interceptions) have to contain a Loyola offense that scores 29 points per game. The Ramblers feature senior quarterback William Forsyth (5-11, 170), junior running back Addison Perry (5-10, 190) and senior wide receiver Joseph Gross (6-2, 190). Forsyth has completed 53 percent of his passes for 1,021 yards and 7 TDs (2 interceptions), with Gross (21 catches, 3 TDs) being his main target. Perry has rushed for 810 yards and has a team-best 12 TDs. Forsyth has gained 383 yards and scored 6 touchdowns. "For us to win we need to be very patient," Mohapp said. "They have an outstanding defense. We need to find some way to get Kennedy and Lindal going. We may only get a couple of chances and need to be able to take advantage of them. Our defense needs contain the spread offense. We need for this to be a four-quarter game." ... Loyola's only loss came to Providence Catholic, 10-3, in Week 3. That cost the Ramblers the Chicago Catholic Blue title. Likewise, Warren's only divisional loss - to Stevenson, 26-14, in Week 9 - cost the Blue Devils a share of the North Suburban Lake crown.
Up next: Winner gets No. 10 Mt. Carmel.