CCL/ESCC notes: Loyola vs. Marist matchup highlights Week 6 finale

The Week 6 matchup between Loyola and Marist has been circled on the calendar for weeks now. In an abbreviated spring season, this is as close as it comes for either school to a state playoff game.

The CCL/ESCC Blue division title is on the line. For Loyola (5-0, 2-0 CCL/ESCC Blue), an unbeaten season is also on the line. A win over Marist (4-1, 1-1) would give the Ramblers the outright division title and make a strong argument for being the best team in the state.

With no state playoffs, it’s impossible to crown a true champion. But the Ramblers are ranked No. 1 in the Friday Night Drive statewide power rankings, as well as No. 2 in the Friday Night Drive Class 8A coaches poll.

Marist, which comes in at No. 6 in the statewide power rankings, will have something to say about it. Marist’s only loss came in a 24-21 defeat against Mount Carmel in Week 3. The Caravan has a shot at sharing the Blue division title as well. If Marist beats Loyola and Mount Carmel beats Brother Rice, then Loyola, Marist and Mount Carmel will all be tied at 2-1 in the division.

When a Blue division title is the only thing up for grabs, it sure takes on added meaning.

“We’ve had Marist on our minds for a while but we knew we needed to take it one step at a time,” Loyola quarterback JT Thomas said. “Job’s not done. It’s going to be a dogfight. We’re rolling, it’s nice to have momentum, but our mind’s on Marist.”

Tribute to No. 81: Loyola’s win over Phillips on Friday was a bittersweet affair for many Ramblers players. They learned just days earlier that junior tight end James Kyle would no longer be playing football due to an unspecified health issue.

Many Loyola players wrote Kyle’s No. 81 jersey number in marker on their wrist tape prior to Friday’s game.

“It’s a very sad time,” Loyola quarterback JT Thomas said. “Finding out in the middle of the week, it was very hard to try to keep my mind on what’s to come and it was so hard thinking how I’d never see the field with him, much less he’d never see any field again. It’s just heartbreaking. I’m still heartbroken.”

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound tight end was a high-level college recruit with a handful of Division I college offers already under his belt. James thanked college coaches who spent time recruiting him in a message he posted to Twitter.

While football is off the table, Loyola coach John Holecek said James was considering playing golf next year.

“He’s still a great kid and has a future,” Holecek said. “Everyone that goes to college has that risk of an injury and they’re out.”

James was a nice big target at the tight end position for Thomas to throw to.

“We said this game was for him,” Thomas said Friday. “Next game is going to be for him. He’s a phenomenal leader at practice, helps all the young guys.”

Recruiting roundup: Nazareth junior receiver and defensive back Tyler Morris committed to Michigan on Tuesday. He will join former Roadrunners quarterback J.J. McCarthy on coach Jim Harbaugh’s team in Ann Arbor.

[ More coverage: Nazareth junior receiver Tyler Morris commits to Michigan ‘They are getting a prize’ ]

Morris committed to Michigan over some two dozen other offers. His other top choices were Notre Dame and Northwestern.

Morris suffered a torn ACL on Saturday in a loss to Niles Notre Dame, so unfortunately his spring season is over.

[ Niles Notre Dame defense shines in 10-0 win over Nazareth ]

Another recruit on the rise in the class of 2022 is Joliet Catholic running back Jordan Anderson. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound back recently received an offer from coach Bret Bielema and Illinois.

It marked Anderson’s first offer from a Power Five conference school. He holds several offers from Mid-American Conference schools: Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio) and Toledo.

Offers also keep coming in for St. Rita offensive lineman Valen Erickson. The 6-foot-6, 310-pound junior received offers from Nebraska, Syracuse and Cincinnati within the last few days.

Nebraska marked Erickson’s second Big Ten offer. Purdue had previously offered him a spot.