Loyola Academy Seeks 2nd Straight State Football Championship

WILMETTE, IL - The Loyola Academy Ramblers are one win away from compiling back-to-back undefeated state championship seasons.

The Ramblers will play against Maine South High School in the IHSA Class 8A Football Championship Game beginning at 7 p.m. in Champaign on Saturday. The championship tilt will be a rematch of a thrilling Sept. 3 match-up in which the Ramblers defeated the Hawks 44-43 at home.

The Ramblers are 13-0, and in addition to Maine South have picked up solid wins over Mount Carmel, Fenwick and St. Rita among others during the season. According to MaxPreps, the Ramblers are the No. 1 ranked team in the state and are at No. 19 nationally.

The Ramblers beat Glenbard West 42-13 in last week’s semifinal in Glen Ellyn. Maine South (10-3 overall) defeated Palatine in the state's other semifinal game in Park Ridge.

A win for Loyola on Saturday would not just mean a perfect 14-0 season capped off with a state championship. It would mean two 14-0 seasons capped off with state championships. In 2015, the Ramblers shutout Marist 41-0 in the Class 8A state championship game to earn the school’s first state football championship since 1993.

Read More: Go Crazy, Wilmette. The Ramblers Are State Champions!

Last year, Loyola had to fend off the RedHawks from Marist. This year, it will need to be the Hawks from Maine South. Marist and Maine South, while separated by more than 30 miles, not only have similar nicknames but eerily similar logos.

Loyola fans hope they can share something else in common: coming in second.

'Saturday will mark Loyola’s fourth appearance in the state title game this decade, which is only six years old. In 2011 and 2013 the Ramblers made it to the championship game but lost.

Faithful Rambler alums are hoping to even that record come Saturday.