Even in the biggest and deepest receiver room in the state, Loyola senior Nicholas Arogundade keeps finding ways to stand out.
Arogundade found himself wide open on the first play from scrimmage Saturday afternoon against St. Ignatius. Quarterback Ryan Fitzgerald’s pass was on target and Arogundade was off to the races for an 80-yard touchdown just 12 seconds into the Class 8A quarterfinal.
Fitzgerald and Arogundade teamed up for another TD, this time for 54 yards, late in the second quarter of No. 1 Loyola’s 41-7 win over No. 20 St. Ignatius. The defending Class 8A champion Ramblers play York in next week’s semifinals.
Coming into this week, Loyola had 20 players who caught at least one pass and nine who had a touchdown reception. The leader in catches, receiving yards and touchdown receptions was Arogundade.
Why is he No. 1? Size, speed and effort, among other things.
“It really started with the work he did in the offseason,” Loyola coach Beau Desherow said of the 6-2, 175-pounder. “Then over the summer, when we had our 25 days of prep, he just kept getting better and more confident. ... He’s a very good route runner, he’s a student of the game, he watches a ton of film.”
The opening TD was no accident. Loyola wanted the ball first, and wanted to make an early statement,
“We knew we were going to go at it on that first play,” Desherow said. “We wanted to set the tone, we wanted to score early.”
Arogundade said the Wolfpack gave the Ramblers the defensive look they expected, and then it was just executing the play call.
“We wanted to start out slow, make it seem like a run, draw them down,” he said. “And they bit for it, I got over the top and magic happens.”
“Yeah, he was wide open and just faster than everyone,” Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald appreciates all the pieces in the Loyola offense, which besides all those receivers has two capable running backs in Drew McPherson and Finley Miller. McPherson had 13 carries for 84 yards, including TD runs of nine and 10 yards. Miller had eight carries for 54 yards and a score, and Fitzgerald ran eight times for 57 yards and a touchdown.
“Our whole offense is dangerous,” Fitzgerald said. “With Drew, Will [Carlson], Mikey [Baker], [Brendan] Loftus — all those guys are dangerous. But with me and Nick, it’s just feeling that connection.”
Loyola scored on five of six first-half possessions, opening a 34-0 lead, and scored on its first series in the third quarter to trigger a running clock.
St. Ignatius (8-4) started 2-3 but won six straight before Saturday, moving up two classes from 6A to 8A this season and going up to and winning the CCL/ESCC Green.
The Wolfpack have leaned on Justin Scott, the 6-4, 310-pound lineman who is committed to Ohio State and is the nation’s 12th-ranked senior according to 247Sports. Scott has even been used at fullback lately. But St. Ignatius coach Matt Miller said Scott has been dealing with nagging injuries and his playing time was limited Saturday though he did block an extra point.
“There was definitely a point early in the season when we were all pretty worried and frustrated,” Miller said. “[Now] we feel like we belong.”
But this game showed Miller that the Wolfpack still have work to do to become competitive with the likes of Loyola.
“In January, that game was won,” he said. “We just got out-physicaled everywhere, on the inside, on the outside. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”