Is it wise to play Loyola just after the Dons have lost? Ask Severn, which was humbled, 17-8, in yesterday's first rematch of teams that played for the 1990 Maryland Scholastic Association A Conference championship.

Loyola won that title game, 11-4. Yesterday, the host Dons had 11 goals in the first 17 minutes, 24 seconds, as they broke to an 11-1 lead and all but eliminated Severn from any chance of a playoff berth.

The No. 5 Admirals fell to 12-4 overall and 1-4 in league play. They must win their last five MSA games while hoping for a collapse by two of the other three teams in Division II -- Boys' Latin, St. Paul's or Calvert Hall.

Top-ranked Loyola, which lost its first game Tuesday at Boys' Latin, 7-6, improved to 4-1 (league and overall) and opened a one-game lead over St. Mary's (3-2) in Division I. Tuesday's defeat was the key to yesterday's runaway, said midfielder and co-captain Mike Vaughan.

"It definitely helped. It gave us the incentive to do our best instead of just playing," said Vaughan, who scored one goal, assisted on two others and was the major factor in his team's 21-7 command of faceoffs.

Vaughan helped Loyola win 14 of the first 15 draws. That was critical in denying the ball to Severn's potent offense, which was shut out until Jason Wade scored in an unsettled situation four seconds before halftime.

"We have a good offense, but if they don't have the ball, they can't do much. You don't lose 14 of 15 faceoffs to a team like this and still win," Severn coach Peter Trau said. "They did it to us last year with a quick 8-0 lead. Zip, it happened again today."