Football: Loyola too much for Dunbar

Updated: November 5, 2011 5:24PM

Loyola did what it needed to do Saturday to beat Dunbar and move on to the state quarterfinals for the third consecutive season.

The No. 1 Ramblers (11-0) scored on their first two possessions to earn a 29-0 win over the Mightymen at Gately Stadium in Chicago.

Dunbar (7-4) threatened to make it a one-touchdown game midway through the second quarter when the Mightymen set up first-and-goal from the 1-yard line.

But Loyola stopped standout quarterback Darvell Harris on two runs up the middle for no gain before the Ramblers wrapped up Jayton Dorsey for an 8-yard loss on fourth down.

Malcolm Weaver later threw his second TD pass of the first half to give the Ramblers a comfortable 22-0 advantage by the break. The senior quarterback finished 17-for-25 for 270 yards and three TDs. He also threw two interceptions.

Peter Pujals caught all nine of his passes for 181 yards in the first half, including a 51-yard score.

“I got lucky, I guess,” Pujals said of the being Weaver’s popular pick Saturday. “You take what the defense gives you.”

Weaver said the defense’s goal-line stand helped the Ramblers on the road to victory.

“That was big, a huge stop,” he said. “But that’s what the defense has been doing all season.”

Loyola solved Harris, who totaled nearly 600 yards of offense and accounted for six TDs last week, as best it could. The senior struggled through the air, finishing 5-for-28 for 74 yards and was intercepted twice. He did break free for two runs of more than 50 yards.

“He’s the best athlete we’ve seen,” Loyola coach John Holecek said. “I can’t believe he doesn’t have a scholarship in his hands.”

Loyola’s Willie Palivos ran for 100 of his 111 yards in the second half. The senior scored the game’s first TD.

“We are building some confidence,” Weaver said.

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