Sophomore QB Lee rescues Ramblers in season-opener

Twenty seconds after Loyola Academy fell behind at the start of the fourth quarter of Friday’s season opener, junior quarterback Dom Maloney had to leave the game because of an injury.

Sophomore Matthew Lee, who’d played one series in the first quarter, came in to replace him and wound up playing the starring role in the Ramblers’ 21-14 victory that came by virtue of his pass to senior wide receiver Teddy Kurtzweil in the end zone with 12.7 seconds remaining in the game.

Lee then passed to fellow sophomore Jordan McKinley for the two-point conversion.

Earlier on the 80-yard drive Lee hit McKinley in the end zone on a 41-yard pass for what appeared to be the winning touchdown but it was called back because of offensive pass interference, putting the Ramblers in a first-and-25 situation at their own 44.

But a couple of passes from Lee to Kurtzweil and two runs by sophomore Melo Maldonado put the winners of the last three IHSA Class 8A championships back in striking position, and they came through in the clutch.

Lee said he was confident that the Ramblers’ would make the successful rally: “I had trust in my guys that we would score. The O-line was looking good and we were ready to go out there and win the game.”

Until the fourth quarter the game was a defensive duel.

The quarter began with Loyola leading 2-0, thanks to a bad Merrillville snap from center that soared over the punters’ head and out of the end zone for a safety early in the second quarter.

Merrillville — which walloped Andrean 41-14 in its opener the previous weekend and had an 11-2 record in 2024 — took the lead twice in the fourth quarter.

The first time was with seven seconds elapsed when Michael Hill hurled a 32-yard pass to Rynell Lewis and Benito Gonzalez kicked the extra point, putting the Ramblers at a 7-2 deficit.

On Loyola’s second play from scrimmage after the ensuing kickoff, Maloney was hit with a jarring tackle as the ball left his hands on an incomplete pass. He had to be helped off the field.

Lee was confronted with a third-and-10 situation at his own 35 when he took over at quarterback.

He said his short but unproductive stint in the first quarter “for sure helped me later on; it was my first ever varsity series so there were a lot of things to get used to. From then on I was mentally ready and I knew what I had to do when I came in after Dom got hurt.”

The sophomore made an immediate impact, throwing to Kurtzweil for 15 yards and a first down. Two runs by senior Cody Reilly brought the ball to the Pirates’ 34 and then Lee and McKinley collaborated on a 31-yard pass play, moving the ball to the 3-yard line.

On the next play, McKinley took a handoff from Lee and barged into the end zone. A pass from Lee to Kurtzweil tacked on a two-point conversion and Loyola took a 10-7 lead.

Zak Zeman’s kickoff went into the end zone for a touchback. Merrillville gained only five yards in the three plays that followed, forcing the Pirates to punt from their 25-yard line.

The punt rolled dead on the Loyola 37. Relying mainly on the running of Maldonado the Ramblers penetrated to the home team’s 27. Confronted with fourth and 7, coach Beau Desherow sent in Zeman to attempt a field goal, and his 44-yard kick increased the Loyola lead to 13-6 with 4:36 to play.

Merrillville immediately counterattacked, going on an 81-yard drive that was climaxed by Hill’s 12-yard TD pass to Mikel Smoot followed by an extra point kick by Gonzalez.

Loyola was now down 14-13 and had only 3:14 in which to attempt a rally.

The Ramblers were up to the task but they had to pay a stiff price. Kurtzweil suffered a collarbone injury when he caught the game-winning touchdown pass and was taken to the emergency room by his father who drove him back to Chicagoland immediately after the game.

“He had the game of his life,” said Loyola offensive coordinator Tyler Vradenburg. “We’re hoping it’s not a major injury.”

Maloney, meanwhile, was on crutches after the game as a consequence of the injuries to his right hip and right leg that forced him out action early in the fourth quarter.

“We faced a lot of adversity against a very good team,” Desherow said. “Their quarterback (Hill) was very fast and elusive and we were chasing him all over.

“On defense we had a couple of mental lapses but overall I thought our front seven played a very good game.”

Desherow loved what he saw from Lee and McKinley.

“He carried himself like a professional,” the Loyola coach said of Lee. As for McKinley, Desherow said, “It’s hard to believe he’s only 15 years old; he looks like a college sophomore out there.”

McKinley is big and strong and exudes confidence on the field.  “I was very comfortable out there,” he said, “and, as a team, I thought we came together.”

Maldonado also made a good impression in his varsity debut. He was the main weapon in the ground attack and his performance improved as the game wore on.

Melo is the younger brother of Marco Maldonado, who set the Ramblers’ single-game rushing record when he amassed 335 yards in 38 carries and scored four touchdowns and a two-point conversion in leading Loyola to a 46-43 conquest at Brother Rice in the fourth game of the 2021 fall season.

Marco has resumed his football career in college at Colgate where he now is starting his senior season.

Melo was asked if Marco had given him any advice going into his varsity debut at Loyola.

“Yes,” replied the younger Maldonado, “he told me to go out there and be confident and trust in my ability.

“He said: ‘You worked hard to get to this moment; you’ll be fine when you get there.’”

The Ramblers won’t be back in action until Sept. 12, when they travel to Wheaton to play St. Francis.

Desherow tried in vain to get an opponent for the weekend of Sept. 5 but apparently the Ramblers’ awesome reputation prompted a “thanks but no thanks” response to his calls.

Without a Week 2 opponent, Loyola will have only eight regular season games. Desherow pointed out this will cost his team playoff points and could have a negative effect on its postseason seeding.

After the St. Francis game ,the Ramblers will be on the road again, playing at Brother Rice on Sept. 19. This figures to be possibly the toughest game on the schedule in view of the fact that the Crusaders are ranked No. 8 on the Chicago Sun-Times’ Super 25 ratings of metropolitan-area teams.

The Ramblers’ first home game will be their Sept. 26 homecoming encounter with DePaul Prep.

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