Calvert Hall and Loyola have produced some classic showdowns on the football field during their long rivalry, but yesterday's 75th meeting between the teams at Memorial Stadium was not one of those gems.
The bigger, faster and stronger Loyola Dons kept their mistakes to a minimum and took what Calvert Hall would give them en route a 37-14 Thanksgiving Day victory. The win increased the Dons' lead in the series that began in 1920 to 37-30-8.
"I've been at this a long time and I remember getting our brains beat in by Calvert Hall for seven straight years [1978-1983], and I would go home and wonder what we did wrong, but the bottom line was they had more talent," Loyola coach Joe Brune said shortly after watching his Dons win their sixth straight over the Cardinals. "The talent runs in cycles, and right now we have the athletes."
That was apparent from the outset.
No. 10 Loyola (6-3) came out pumped, held Calvert Hall to 1 yard on its opening series and then moved the ball 34 yards on four plays before Henry Stehlik recovered a fumble for the Cardinals at his 14-yard line.
Junior tailback Donald Davis improved Calvert Hall's field position on the next play as he raced 49 yards before being run down by a Loyola defensive back. Once inside Dons territory, the Cardinals became their own worst enemy. Three illegal-procedure penalties forced them to attempt a 37-yard field goal,which Chris Phelps kicked just short.
The Dons would not be denied on their next possession. With Calvert Hall's defense keying on running back Scott Brown, Loyola went to the air and enjoyed immediate success.
Senior quarterback Brian Nicholas connected with Ryan Burch on a 19-yard pass and then threaded one one through a pair of defenders to Benjamin Fortkamp, who caught the ball in stride for the 58-yard touchdown. Nicholas, who completed five of six passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns, found Matt Smith alone in the end zone for the two-point conversion to give the Dons an 8-0 lead with 2:37 left in the first quarter.
Calvert Hall (2-8) fumbled away the ball on the first play of its ensuing drive, and seven plays later, the Dons were ahead 14-0 after a 2-yard run by Smith.
The Cardinals had an opportunity to put some points on the board in the waning seconds of the first half, but an intentional grounding penalty and a dropped pass in the end zone halted that drive at the 6.
"We gambled a little bit on defense today," said Calvert Hall coach Lou Eckerl. "We expected them to go to Brown more and by keying on him we gave up the pass over the middle. They're a well-coached team and they made the right adjustments."
Another perfect pass from Nicholas to Fortkamp worked for a 42-yard touchdown and Nicholas' two-point conversion run gave the Dons a 22-0 lead with 8:44 left in the third.
An interception by Ed Brown helped set up Calvert Hall's first touchdown -- a 3-yard run by Davis -- but Loyola answered with a 12-play, 76-yard scoring drive, capped by a 29-yard run by Damien Austin.
Smith ran for another touchdown for the Dons from 41 yards late in the fourth quarter, and Calvert Hall quarterback Nick Muro provided the final margin on a keeper from 5 yards.
"The talk around town was that we were supposed to lose by 50 points, so I knew we were in for a tough game," said Eckerl. "We knew we had to play exceptionally well today to beat Loyola and we needed them to make mistakes, and they didn't make enough of them."