The Mount St. Joseph defense never found a way to stop Loyola quarterback Jake Clise Saturday afternoon.
Clise ran for 131 yards and three touchdowns. He also threw for 130 yards and another score as No. 11 Loyola rolled to a 34-14 victory over the No. 13 Gaels in a Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference game.
The junior quarterback hurt host Mount St. Joseph (3-4, 2-2) in different ways each half. Clise threw for 125 of his yards, plus his touchdown, in the first half. He also ran for 51 yards and a score in that first half.
Then the Dons (4-3, 1-2) relied heavily upon Clise and their ground game in the second half. Clise ran for 74 yards and two touchdowns in the final two quarters as Loyola took advantage of solid blocking up front.
"The offensive line did a good job," Clise said. "In the second half, we just knew what was going on with their defense. We just opened things up and got some [scoring] chances."
Loyola finished with 398 yards of total offense and never punted. The combination of the running and passing helped the Dons post 17 points in each half. Defensively, Loyola intercepted four passes.
Clise and Loyola coach Brian Abbott credited tackles Jon Moran and Sam Evans, guards Cole Luthy and Jordan Horne plus center Jeff Jenkins with controlling the line of scrimmage — especially in the second half.
The Dons drove 83 yards on the game's first possession. Clise topped it off with a 1-yard touchdown run. Jamie Dubyoski kicked a 34-yard field goal to make it 10-0 on Loyola's second drive.
Luke Casey threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Bryan Royster and cut Loyola's lead to 10-7. But everything changed in the final minute of the half after Jordan Floyd intercepted a Casey pass at the Loyola 30.
Clise completed four quick passes and drove the Dons 70 yards in just 35 seconds. He threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Deemer Class as time expired to give Loyola a 17-7 lead.
The Gaels cut the lead to 17-14 with a 75-yard drive to start the second half. Bryan Jangro took over at quarterback and threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Angelo DeShields.
But Clise and the Loyola running game then took command. The Dons rushed for 52 yards as part of a drive that set up Dubyoski's 21-yard field goal with 1:02 left in the quarter.
Kacy Kapinos picked off a Jangro pass on the first play of the final period, and Loyola drove downfield before Clise ran for a 22-yard touchdown. The quarterback later scored on a 9-yard run.
"We minimized our mistakes and executed well," Abbott said. "This was a big playoff [type] game for both teams."
No. 11 Loyola 34, No. 13 Mount St. Joseph 14
L 7 10 3 14-34
M 0 7 7 0-14
L-Clise 1 run (Dubyoski kick)
L- Dubyoski 34 FG
M-Royster 1 pass from Casey (Grasso kick)
L- Class 23 pass from Clise (Dubyoski kick)
M-DeShields 15 pass from Jangro (Grasso kick)
L- Dubyoski 21 FG
L- Clise 22 run (Dubyoski kick)
L- Clise 9 run (Dubyoski kick)