By Treveon Vaughn Bulldog News
Loyola High School’s football schedule has been amped up this season. For the first time in the team’s existence, they have played against two teams ranked among the top 10 in their division.
In week one, Loyola played Division 3 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, and in week six they played Division 2 Warren De La Salle. Although Loyola‘s football team is ranked No. 1 in its division, it is a Division 7 team due to the size of its student body.
Due to Loyola’s level of play and scoring record, the Catholic League felt that Loyola should face teams that presented a greater challenge. One plan was to move the team to the higher Central Division where they would face teams from larger schools.
Senior Blaine Woodland said: “I felt that we finally would have a chance to prove ourselves. We finally got a chance to show that we could play against anybody in the state, no matter the division.”
Loyola has a small team that consists of 32 players. Upper Division teams have about 50 players. The size difference has led to concerns that there would be an increase in injuries since Loyola uses a number of players on both defense and offense.
Even so, Loyola senior Andre Hampton said he believes that the move, “gave Loyola and the football team more exposure. More people know who we are.”
