Like many of his teammates on the Loyola football team, junior wide receiver Noah Jones has been forced to overcome injuries this season.
For Jones it was a left hamstring injury that kept him out of the first seven games of the season, and then flared up again in the playoffs, relegating him to the sidelines for the Class 8A semifinals.
Jones returned for Saturday night’s Class 8A title game. Though Loyola lost 23-14 to Lincoln-Way East at Northern Illinois’ Huskie Stadium, Jones was just the latest example of the Ramblers’ perseverance during a season in which injuries were a major talking point in Wilmette.
The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Jones finished with eight catches for a team-high 135 yards against the Griffins (14-0).
“It was a really hard season. We all faced adversity and overcame adversity, and it was great to make it here (to state),” said Jones, who lives in Chicago. “All of us overcame our adversity, so I’m just happy we made it this far.”
Loyola (12-2) lost to eventual Class 5A state champion Phillips on the opening weekend of the season and on the final day of the season. In between, the Ramblers won 12 straight despite having numerous players miss games, and many others play at less than 100 percent.
The trend continued this week, when starting defensive back Charles Largay, a senior, came down with an illness that forced him to miss the state championship game.
After trailing Lincoln-Way East 7-0 at halftime, Loyola stormed out of the locker room and appeared to seize momentum in the championship game.
The Ramblers defense set the tone as senior linebacker Anthony Rodriguez and senior defensive lineman Martin Geary each had a sack on the Griffins’ first possession of the third quarter.
“We just wanted to lift the team,” said Loyola junior linebacker Armoni Dixon, who hails from Chicago. “We were down 7-0 going into the locker room. We were (doing OK), but in the second half we had to find that extra gear. Coming out of the locker room, I believe we found it.”
That helped set the stage for the offense, which quickly got on the board when senior quarterback Quinn Boyle found junior receiver Rory Boos for a 15-yard touchdown, which tied the score 7-7.
But Lincoln-Way East sophomore speedster A.J. Henning (17 carries, 154 yards, two touchdowns) took over the game.
First, Henning put his team back in front with a 63-yard run around the outside of the defense in the final minute of the third quarter.
.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 72%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }
Later, with the Griffins clinging to a 16-14 advantage, Henning burst up the middle for a 42-yard score with 3:44 left in the game.
Henning finished third in the 100-meter dash at the Class 3A boys track and field state meet as a freshman.
“He’s a heckuva player. The speed definitely killed us,” Loyola coach John Holecek said. “We were in the right spots (on the first long run), we just couldn’t get off the block. The majority of kids who play against us, don’t make that run. His speed definitely hurt us on that play.”
The Ramblers are scheduled to return several talented players of their own next season.
Jones showed this season that, when healthy, he is a playmaker. Boos also is scheduled to return, as are sophomore running backs Tyler Flores and Trevor Cabanban, both of whom saw quality time this fall. Jones said he expects junior John Fallon to take over at quarterback. Sophomore Peter Gianaris started on the offensive line.
Dixon is expected to headline the defense next season, while junior linebacker Patrick Daniels and junior defensive back Hugh Kelly will be among the players hoping to lead the Ramblers to a fourth straight state championship game in 2018.
Holecek, whose team has now dropped two straight state championships after winning it all in 2015, said he was proud of how the 2017 Ramblers continued to battle despite injuries and illness.
“It just seemed to never end this year,” Holecek said. “(Just about) every one of these guys has been banged up, this whole team. But the guys kept filling in (for them). I’m just proud of how they did that, they accomplished a heckuva lot.”
Notes
*Boyle completed 27-of-44 passes for 315 yards and a touchdown. He threw two interceptions. He also ran for a 2-yard touchdown that gave Loyola a 14-13 lead with 9:12 remaining in the fourth quarter.
.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 72%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }
*Boos caught eight passes for 84 yards, senior receiver James Joyce had six catches for 56 yards and senior tight end Charles Gilroy had four catches for 26 yards.
*Defensively for the Ramblers, Rodriguez had a team-high seven tackles and a sack, Dixon had six stops and Daniels had 5 tackles.
Dan Shalin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press