By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports
MINDEN – Loyola found out how little things can often turn into big things and that was not a good thing Friday night as the Flyers were defeated 28-13 by the Minden Crimson Tide in a District 1-4A matchup.
A little thing like a downfield blocking penalty erased an 80-yard touchdown pass that would have put the Flyers ahead by a touchdown late in the second quarter.
A little thing like losing sight of a receiver on a fourth and 10 quarterback scramble resulted in keeping a drive alive and putting the Crimson Tide on the board and tying the score at 7 all.
A little thing like a hands-to-the-face call on a fourth-down quarterback sack came back to haunt the Flyers as Minden turned that into a touchdown three plays later midway through the third quarter for a 21-7 lead.
The big thing was that Minden was able to take advantage of all of those and keep its unbeaten record alive in front of a huge crowd for the Crimson Tide’s Homecoming.
“They made plays and we didn’t,” Loyola coach John Sella said. “I was happy with the way we responded, especially when they may have thought we were going to lay down in the second half and quit. But we didn’t. We still made plays in the backfield and got some stops.”
The Flyers did make plays and they didn’t waste any time doing it. On the first play of the game, quarterback Bryce Restovich threw a perfect touch pass to senior receiver Ben Brewer who outraced the Tide secondary to the end zone for a quick 7-0 lead.
It looked like would be Restovich to Brewer for 80 yards again when the game was tied at 7-all with four minutes to go in the half, but it was called back for an illegal block downfield. That drive went downhill from there with another blocking penalty, quarterback sack and a short punt gave Minden the ball at the Loyola 31.
That’s when the Crimson Tide cashed in a score before half on a 3-yard run by Caylien Aubrey with 23 seconds to play and then wrapped around halftime with a 12-play, 78-yard drive to open the third quarter and take a 21-7 lead.
“Instead of us being up 14-7 at the half, they were up 14-7 at the half,” Sella said. “I thought that was a key moment.”
The Flyers had an 87-yard drive of their own and finished it with a 7-yard pass from Restovich to Jake Black to make it 21-13 with 1:27 to play in the third quarter.
But Minden did what Minden does on the next possession: 13 plays, 71 yards for a touchdown and a 28-13 lead.
“That defensive line is good,” Sella said of Minden. “When they have three that can control the line and drop eight, that makes it tough on an offense.”
Restovich completed 13 of 18 pass for 207 yards. Brewer was the leading receiver with six catches for 135 yards. The total offense was nearly even – Minden had 264 and the Loyola had 261.
“Hats off to both defenses,” Sella said. “We had chances. We just didn’t take advantage of those chances.”
The Flyers (3-2) will play at home Thursday night against Bossier.
Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com
SCORING SUMMARY
L – Ben Brewer 80 pass from Bryce Restovich (Evan Lirette kick)
M – Braydon Britton 32 pass from Hudson Brown (Braxton Glover kick)
M – Caylien Aubrey 3 run (Glover kick)
M – Deanarius Crowe 1 run (Glover kick)
L – Jake Black 7 pass from Restovich (kick blocked)
M – Lucas Owens 7 run (Glover kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Loyola Rushing – Restovich 9-33, Mason Drake 5-21
Loyola Passing – Restovich 13-18-2-207-2TDs
Loyola Receiving – Brewer 6-135-1TD, Brock Geter 4-43, Black 2-16-1TD, Colby Hamilton 1-8, Drake 1-5.