By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports
It showed in a Sunday text on the phone of Loyola coach John Sella: “Coach, please call me. It’s important.”
That was a little unusual, Sella thought, because Sunday texts from quarterback Bryce Restovich usually revolved around what time the football facility was going to be open so that Restovich and the receiving corps could do some passing drills.
There would be no throwing on that day, however.
When Sella called, he got the news that wasn’t a total shocker but was still unexpected.
“I think I’ve got mono,” Restovich said.
Not exactly the words you want to hear from your quarterback, who just so happens to be leading the state in touchdown passes.
Sella began running through the previous few days in his mind in which the junior had mentioned that he wasn’t feeling 100 percent during the week of the second-round game in which he threw for 217 yards and three touchdowns in a little more than two quarters of action.
Maybe it was strep throat that was bothering Restovich. Or tonsils. Maybe that’s why he had been feeling less than 100 percent.
But mononucleosis? Sella quickly pounced on what he has just been told: “I think I’ve got mono.” At least that leaves open the possibility that he may just be a few antibiotics away from being OK.
However, there is that old adage about sickness – if you think you have it, you probably do.
And Bryce Restovich had it.
Test after test, medical procedure after medical procedure throughout the week continued to confirm what had been confirmed the day before.
“Believe me,” Sella said, “they did everything they could to try to get him back.”
If you look on the list of treatment options for mononucleosis, you’ll see the typical words (rest, fluids) and then there is this: AVOID CONTACT SPORTS.
Nope, no getting around that.
There was no sense in trying to be secretive about it. The news spread throughout during the week and when it came time to play Friday’s Division II (select) quarterfinal game, just about everyone at Messmer Stadium knew that the guy who had thrown for 3,406 yards and 48 touchdowns wasn’t going to be trotting out for the opening series.
And it was obvious Archbishop Shaw knew it, too.
Sella knew that the Eagles, the defending state champion, would present the biggest defensive challenge the Flyers had seen all year. Instead, Loyola was going to have to go to war with a quarterback combo (junior Carson Ward and sophomore Ty Walsworth, a starting receiver) that had thrown all of nine passes all year – 281 less than Restovich had.
Sella knew his team wouldn’t have the luxury of easing into a game like that. “We couldn’t even win the coin toss,” he said.
If only that had been the Flyers’ biggest problem to start the game.
Loyola (10-2) went three-and-out in each of its first four possession while Shaw (8-4) went on four methodical drives that all resulted in touchdowns. About the only Flyer highlight was a season-high 63-yard punt by Walsworth.
By the time Loyola was able to catch its breath in the second half, things began to thaw out for the offense. Ward completed 14 of 22 passes for 130 yards. Receiver Jake Black caught seven passes for 72 yards and Mason Drake ran for 96 yards and a touchdown.
“Sure, I would have liked to have seen what it would have been like it both teams had been at full strength,” Sella said afterward. “But you can’t whine and complain about it. You have to keep battling and I think that’s we did. Our guys rallied around Carson and Ty. There was no pouting. We just went about our business and I was proud of that.”
There’s an interesting historical side note to this. You could call it a “curse,” but that might be a little strong. “A good run of bad luck” might fit, if that weren’t already taken by a 30-year-old country song.
But let’s just say there’s something about Loyola and the playoffs that seems to keep happening and it hasn’t been good.
In 1976, the Flyers lost the running back Paul Cordaro (who was closing in on 1,000 rushing yards) on the opening series of the playoffs with a broken collar bone and he was out for the year (through the Flyers did go on to win the state championship.)
Two years later, the Flyers’ high school All-American linebacker (Drew Dossett) was knocked out early and star running back (Scott Pendleton) never played in the state semifinal game.
The starting quarterbacks on the 1999 and 2004 teams had to miss the playoffs after late-season injuries.
In 2016, Loyola was the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, but 1,500-yard rusher Ethan Stansell suffered a knee injury in the final regular season game. Two weeks later, he managed to play in the playoff game but was obviously hobbled.
In 2021, the team’s most dynamic offensive weapon (Tray Taylor) was injured in the final regular season game and missed the playoffs as the Flyers were knocked out in the second round.
And it’s not just the players who have been unavailable. In 2018, Loyola went into the playoffs without head coach Steven Geter, who had undergone heart surgery a week earlier.
“Our team was fearless this year,” Sella said. “Every time I might have been worried about whether we were going to be intimidated, they never were. They were relatively unaffected by things all year. That says a lot about them. They gave Loyola something to be proud of for 13 straight weeks.”
Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com