Loyola hangs on to upset Mustangs

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:18PM

Daveed Carter and Loyola's defense weren't going to let this one get away.

Carter intercepted a pass by St. Rita's Brandon Johnson in the final minute to stop a last-gasp drive by the Mustangs, sealing a 24-21 Catholic League Blue win for the Ramblers Friday night in Chicago.

The win earned the No. 9 Ramblers (8-1, 4-1) a share of their first conference title since 1993. No. 2 St. Rita (8-1, 4-1), which was denied its second outright Catholic Blue championship in three seasons, and Mount Carmel also have a piece of the crown.

Loyola opened a 24-7 lead late in the first half and held off a St. Rita comeback thanks to a defense that had four takeaways. The biggest was Dillon Murphy's 75-yard interception return of a halfback option pass by St. Rita's Travis Starks that gave the Ramblers a 17-point lead with 1:49 left in the second quarter.

"We worked on turnovers all week," Murphy said. "[The interception] kind of fell into my hands."

St. Rita started its comeback with Stan Sojka's 24-yard field goal 35.5 seconds before halftime, cutting the deficit to 24-10 at the break. He booted a 39-yarder with 7:24 left in the third period to make it 24-13.

The Mustangs made it a one-possession game when Jahwon Akui (20 carries, 111 yards) ran eight yards for a touchdown with 6:28 remaining in the game and Johnson hit 6-foot-7 tight end Tim Gorski for the two-point conversion.

Loyola went three-and-out, but Carter's interception at the Loyola 42 with 51.9 seconds left allowed the Ramblers to run out the clock. A missed opportunity earlier this season was foremost on Carter's mind.

"The dropped [interception] against Fenwick flashed in my head," he said. "I couldn't let that happen."

Loyola scored first, on Malcolm Weaver's 17-yard pass to Mike Collins with 5:43 left in the first quarter. Johnson (13 of 23, 132 yards) hit Mitch Saffold with a 34-yard touchdown pass with 2:07 left in the first quarter to tie it.

The Ramblers regained the lead for good on Weaver's seven-yard scoring pass to E.J. Webb with 28.8 seconds left in the first period. Chuck Kurzydlowski kicked a 28-yard field goal to extend the lead to 17-7 and Murphy's score boosted the margin to 24-7.

Then it was up to the Ramblers' defense, which was fine with Murphy.

"Our offense, they're great. They pick us up every week," Murphy said.

Weaver finished 16 of 33 for 131 yards.

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