Kameron McGee and the Brother Rice defense wreaked havoc on Friday night, stacking tackles for loss and controlling the line of scrimmage during the team’s CCL/ESCC Blue Division opener against Loyola.

Taking the field with a confident mindset, Brother Rice (No. 1 in Class 7A) overcame a pair of first-half turnovers and dominated on defense, limiting Loyola (No. 3 in 8A) to 21 rushing yards in a 28-6 statement win against the Ramblers. With McGee exploding off the edge while star defensive linemen King Liggins and Brayden Parks anchored the interior, Brother Rice held Loyola to one rushing yard in the first half.

“We’re the best in the state,” said McGee, who finished with two sacks and multiple tackles for loss in the win. “That’s our mentality. We’re going to come for everybody. My coaches put me in the right position, and I just made the plays. We’re all ballers and we all put the work in. We put all of the work in over the offseason and this is the result.”

The Crusaders (4-0, 1-0 CCL/ESCC Blue) showed resilience early in the first quarter, when a bad snap led to a turnover that gave Loyola (2-1, 0-1 CCL/ESCC Blue) possession at the Brother Rice 2-yard line. A pass interference penalty on third down gave the Ramblers another shot at the end zone, but a timely sack by McGee forced Loyola to take a 34-yard field goal by Zak Zeman, who gave the Ramblers a 3-0 lead.

“That’s the premier program in the state of Illinois, and our seniors have known that since the day I got here,” Brother Rice head coach Casey Quedenfeld said. “They’re such an incredible program and we knew we had to come out and swing first... I thought we got a little undisciplined at times, but they had the attitude and the relentless effort. This is the expectation and we’re not moving it.”

The three-time defending 8A state champions, Loyola carried its slim lead into the second quarter, where Brother Rice surged ahead after a 21-yard touchdown throw from quarterback and Army commit C.J. Gray, who rolled to his left and found a wide-open Lucas Strang in the end zone. Strang finished with 95 yards on six catches, while Gray posted 332 total yards and four touchdowns (two rushing) on Friday.

“There were a couple of mistakes, but once C.J. calmed down and I had a discussion with him, he got going,” Quedenfeld said. “They were struggling to keep up with our tempo, so we started taking advantage of that. Having a quarterback return for his senior year after starting every game as a junior... It’s so instrumental and it’s such a key.”

An interception by Loyola linebacker Henry Newton gave the Ramblers promising field position before halftime, but the Crusaders once again stood strong on defense, holding Loyola to a 28-yard field goal from Zeman as time expired. Brother Rice opened the third quarter with a defensive stand, forcing a three-and-out after a group of Crusaders snuffed out a quarterback option play for a 9-yard loss on third down.

“We knew we had to come correct and we knew what the task was in front of us,” said Liggins, an Illinois recruit. “The keys to our success are that we just keep working. All of us have been putting the work in. Practice was hard all week, and when you have hard practices, you’ll wind up having a good game. It’s a big confidence builder, but we can’t get complacent. We just have to keep working how we do every day.”

After an up-and-down first half, Brother Rice used its tempo to move the ball more effectively in the second half. A 44-yard deep ball from Gray to Strang put the Crusaders inside the Loyola red zone, where Gray took a read-option carry for a 5-yard score to extend the Brother Rice lead. On Loyola’s next series, McGee made a tackle for loss and broke up a pass attempt on third down to force the Ramblers to punt.

“We got outworked on offense, defense and special teams,” said Loyola sophomore wide receiver Jordan McKinley, who led the Ramblers with 62 yards on six catches. “We have to put our heads down and get back to work. I think we can learn from this by watching the film tomorrow morning. We’ll realize our mistakes, then it’s next week, next game.”

Leading 14-6 early in the fourth quarter, Brother Rice made a crucial tackle for a loss to force a turnover on downs. The offense capitalized, with Gray taking a carry right through the middle before sprinting to the end zone for a 71-yard touchdown. It was the biggest play of the night for the Crusaders, who had 403 yards of total offense Friday.

A 47-yard touchdown pass from Gray to wide receiver Darrion Clinton capped off an emphatic performance by the Brother Rice squad, which held Loyola sophomore quarterback Matthew Lee to 137 passing yards. Clinton finished with 62 receiving yards, while running backs Jaylin Green and Jameson Davis combined for 67 rushing yards in the game.