The weight of the moment didn’t fully hit Loyola senior running back Dara Laja until Pat Naughton embraced him with a hug on the sideline.
Laja became the Loyola football program’s all-time leading rusher on his 9-yard touchdown run with 4 minutes, 12 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter against Mount Carmel on Saturday, Oct. 24. The Ramblers went on to win the Catholic Blue game 49-21 in Wilmette.
With the win, Loyola (9-0, 4-0) won the Catholic Blue outright for the first time since 2012 and the Ramblers finished the regular season undefeated for the first time since 2011.
Not long after Laja’s record-breaking run, Naughton — the former record-holder and current varsity receivers coach — made his way from the press box down to the field. After Laja received high-fives and fist-bumps from his teammates, it was Naughton’s turn to offer his congratulations to the 5-foot-9, 180-pound back.
“That was when it got emotional for me,” Laja said. “It was like the passing of the torch. I really appreciated that from him.”
Naughton set the record as a senior in 1995, totaling 2,110 yards for his varsity career. After rushing 22 times for 93 yards against the Caravan, Laja ended the regular season with 2,113 career yards.
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While the two were linked together because of the record, Naughton said he and Laja rarely spoke about it.
“We let other people do that,” Naughton said. “It was kind of like a guy going for a no-hitter. It would have almost been bad luck.”
But Naughton has kept a close watch on Laja throughout his three-year varsity career, and he’s a fan of his running style.
“The way he sees the field and cuts back isn’t taught,” Naughton said. “That’s instinct. It comes to him naturally.”
Laja’s 214-yard game on Saturday, Sept. 12, in a 28-0 win over Brother Rice was his breakout performance, according to Naughton. Laja ran for 100-plus yards in four other regular-season games and has 950 yards on 143 carries (6.6 yards per carry) for the year.
“He put people on notice then about what he can do,” Naughton said of the Brother Rice showing. “He was a combination of speed and power that game.”
Three days before breaking the record, Laja said it wasn’t something he had given much thought to during the fall. When he did talk about it, he made sure to mention whatever he’s accomplished is because of the contributions of his teammates.
“It’s not an individual thing,” he said. “It’s the wide receivers taking guys out of the box, it’s [senior quarterback] Emmett [Clifford] making his reads, it’s the offensive line opening up holes. This record is a testament to the teams I’ve been on.”
Twitter: @harnesspreps