Loyola's defense steps up to shut down the St. Ignatius ground game

St. Ignatius landed the first punch. Loyola landed the rest.

The Wolfpack needed just five plays to go up 7-0 on Saturday. Quarterback Reid Hites found his brother, receiver Connor Hites, for a 64-yard touchdown. After that, Loyola scored the last 38 points. The Ramblers, ranked No. 1 by the Chicago Sun-Times, beat No. 15 St. Ignatius 38-7 in Wilmette (MaxPreps).

Loyola is 7-0. St. Ignatius drops to 5-2, and its three-game winning streak is over (MaxPreps).

The defense fixed it fast

The St. Ignatius offense is built on misdirection and speed, and it caught Loyola on that opening drive. Then Boston College commit Will Mettee got his linebackers and safeties on the same page. The Wolfpack's second drive ended in a missed field goal. They didn't cross midfield again until late in the fourth quarter (Sun-Times).

Reid Hites finished 2 of 6 for 82 yards, and 64 of those came on the first touchdown. He was also sacked by Loyola's Braedan McHugh. Sophomore fullback Nino Capuano was the one St. Ignatius runner who got going, with 64 yards on eight carries. Loyola stopped the dive play and made the Wolfpack throw.

Matthew Lee, and plenty of help

On offense, junior Matthew Lee went 16 of 22 for 244 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for another score.

Aidan Collins: 8 catches, 150 yards, 1 TD. He'd been dealing with a leg injury and showed no sign of it.
Jordan McKinley, a four-star junior: 5 catches, 113 yards.
Melo Maldonado, also a junior: 56 yards and 3 touchdowns (2 rushing, 1 receiving) on 14 touches.

Loyola did all that without tight end Charlie Fowler, another Boston College commit, and receiver Brendan Fitzgerald (Sun-Times).

By the numbers: Loyola's season so far

All results are from the MaxPreps schedule.

Record: 7-0
Points: 244 scored, 72 allowed. That's about 34.9 points per game while allowing 10.3.
Shutouts: two, Warren Township 31-0 and St. Rita 31-0
Wins by 30 or more: five of seven
Closest game: 27-24 over Brother Rice on Sept. 11. Nobody else has finished within 14 points of Loyola.
Out-of-state win: 33-19 at Cathedral in Indianapolis
What's next
Loyola: at IC Catholic Prep on Friday, Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m. Then Mount Carmel visits on Friday, Oct. 16 (MaxPreps).
St. Ignatius: vs. Leo on Friday at 7 p.m. (MaxPreps).

Will's take: IC Catholic Prep is next, but Oct. 16 is the real test. Mount Carmel quarterback Brady Cloherty just threw seven touchdown passes against Providence (Sun-Times). I'll say it now: Loyola holds Mount Carmel under 21 points and finishes the regular season undefeated.

Can anyone in Illinois score enough to beat this Loyola defense? Make your case in the comments.

Sources

Chicago Sun-Times: Loyola's defense steps up to shut down the St. Ignatius ground game
MaxPreps: Loyola Academy vs. St. Ignatius box score
MaxPreps: Loyola Academy recap
MaxPreps: Loyola Academy 2026 schedule
Chicago Sun-Times: Mount Carmel's Brady Cloherty ties school record with 7 TD passes