For about three hours yesterday, the Loyola football team moved the ball on No. 3 Calvert Hall more effectively than just about any other team this season, controlling the time of possession and gaining nearly 300 yards of total offense.
On a bitterly cold morning at Ravens Stadium, however, it was what the Dons could not do -- cash in on those opportunities -- that made the biggest difference in the Cardinals' 21-10 win before a series-record 14,097 in the 83rd annual Turkey Bowl.
"No one's been able to run the ball on us very successfully all year, and they did," Calvert Hall coach Jay Robinson said. "But we made the plays when we had to. We bent some, but we didn't break."
On six occasions, Loyola drove into Calvert Hall territory only to come up empty. Those drives included three that ended inside the Cardinals' 30, the last of which sealed the game's outcome.
Trailing 14-3 late in the third quarter after a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback Andrew Goldbeck to speedy wide-out Dan Spriggs, Loyola embarked on a 13-play drive that drove the ball to the 5.
On fourth-and-goal, however, quarterback Brady Smith tried a bootleg to his right, reversed his field and was tackled at the 2 by defensive backs Bobby Cremen and Matt Eckerl.
"It seems like with our defense this year that as soon as people get closer and inside the 30, we just tighten up," Eckerl said. "It's like a personal battle against everybody."
The momentum swing was huge as Calvert Hall then took the ball right back downfield, with running back Marques Thompson gaining 51 of his game-high 154 yards on five straight carries.
On the next play, Nick Williams busted a trap play up the middle, breaking a tackle at the 15 before stumbling into the end zone for a 47-yard touchdown run, extending the lead to 21-3 with 8:27 left.
"It's hard sometimes to come out defensively after you don't punch it in," said Loyola coach Brian Abbott, in his first season after the 35-year tenure of Joe Brune. "It really hurts."
It was the third straight win in the series for Calvert Hall (10-1), which prior to that had lost 11 straight to the Dons. Loyola leads the all-time series, 42-33-8.
"It's significant to win three in a row," Robinson said. "You're playing a great football program in Loyola."
It was by no means an easy victory.
Loyola (5-6) -- which has suffered five of its losses to teams with a combined record of 45-4 -- gained 275 yards in total offense, led by senior running back Terrence Morin (25 carries, 91 yards). The Dons played without injured starting defensive backs Tim Pataki and Paul Quayle for the second straight game, and the defense's inability to stop Calvert Hall determined its fate.
Thompson gained 19 yards on the first offensive play for the Cardinals, who racked up 346 yards in the game. Three plays later, on third-and-six, Goldbeck (4-for-8, 130 yards, two touchdowns) found Spriggs wide open down the left sideline, a step ahead of two defenders, and Spriggs sprinted the rest of the way for a 57-yard touchdown, putting Calvert Hall ahead 7-0 with 6:07 left in the first quarter.
Loyola attempted to answer on its next drive, moving the ball into Cardinals territory when Eckerl was called for running into the punter on a fourth-and-four. After driving to the 30, however, the Dons lost the ball when, on a busted play, Ryan Merritt couldn't handle a pitch from Smith, and lineman Jason Jones recovered for Calvert Hall at the 35.
The Cardinals, led by the big-play ability of Thompson, then quickly drove downfield, setting up Goldbeck's short screen pass to Spriggs, who broke a tackle and powered into the end zone to make it 14-0 with 8:28 left in the half.
Loyola got on the board just before halftime. With the half apparently over after a penalty for offensive pass interference with no time on the clock, the referees awarded the Dons one untimed down, setting up Dennis Eaton's 35-yard field goal. It was the Dons' first field goal of the season.
Loyola 0 3 0 7 -- 10
Calvert Hall 7 7 0 7 -- 21
CH--Spriggs 57 pass from Goldbeck (Pardew kick) CH--Spriggs 10 pass from Goldbeck (Pardew kick) L--FG Eaton 35 CH--Williams 47 run (Pardew kick) L--Aiello 1 run (Eaton kick)