Loyola Rams Enter New Season Inspired by Title Game Loss

The Loyola Rams are in the heat of fall football camp and fresh off their second-straight Class-B state championship game appearance. But for a team that has lost the title game two years in a row, senior leadership is ready to move on from the heartbreak and flip the script. When asked if he still is thinking about last year’s 30-13 loss to Fairfield, Loyola head coach Todd Hughes echoed a sentiment felt by the entire program. “I’m still thinking about it. Every day that goes by I think about it—the things that I could have done something better. Could I have coached a little bit more or done something?” Hughes said. “But I thought that our kids performed extremely well in that game. Fairfield was an outstanding football team, they were outstandingly coached. They just made a couple more plays than we did so hopefully this year we can flip that script.” The Rams are a perennial powerhouse in class-B football, winning 67 games over the past seven seasons, including two class-B state title games. But after last year’s title-game loss on Loyola’s home field, this year’s Rams team is tired of the heartbreak and is working to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself. “[Of the] lessons that we took from that game…I think the mental toughness thing means everything,” Senior defensive back Basil Coutinho said. “Especially in that game last year, it was 7-6 at halftime, then in the second half we kind of fell apart. We have to stay together as a team this year when things get hard.” Coutinho, along with fellow senior Liam Haffey, believe that 2019 could be the year that their fortunes change, especially with a senior-heavy offensive line that boasts three players over 235 pounds. “We just have to be physical,” Haffey said. “Coming back this year we have a big line, we have about 1,200 pounds on that line so if we can create that curtain for any running back or quarterback that’s back there, with our physicality, we can do some things.” Loyola will start their 2019 season next Friday night against Huntley Project under the lights of Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman.