Lions defeat Loyola Rams

Eureka Lions continue undefeated streak against rival Loyola Rams

By: Tyson Budree

Sep 23, 2023

The #3 ranked Loyola Rams came into Eureka to take on the #2 ranked Lions Friday, September 22nd.

This was a highly anticipated game as both teams entered the game undefeated however the Lions walked away victorious winning the game 33-13.

The Rams opened the scoring with a 18 yard screen pass to senior Talen Reynolds. Reynolds has signed with the Montana Grizzlies and follows after his father who was an impressive player for the Griz.

The Lions wasted no time responding with a one yard touchdown run from senior quarterback AJ Truman.

Shortly after, AJ found senior Braden Casazza for a 19 yard touchdown pass. and finally Junior Jesse Day scored on a five yard run taking the game into halftime where the Lions led 20-6.

Loyola struck first in the second half returning an interception to move within a touchdown at 20-13.

However, the Lions again quickly responded as Sophomore Josh Lambertsen broke numerous tackles on his way to the endzone for a 43 yard touchdown run.

The Lions continued to pull away and ultimately put the nail in the coffin adding one more score from Jesse Day for his second of the night giving the Lions a 33-13 win over the Loyola Rams.

After the game Josh Lambertsen exclaimed, “they couldn’t bring me down; they couldn’t bring us down!” This shows the connection that he has between himself and his teammates as well as the fantastic bond that the entire team has developed over the season.

These teams share a great rivalry dating back to 2016 when the Lions beat the Rams in the state championship scoring a hail mary attempt on the final play of the game. Since then both teams have played hard against each other every season with competitive games. This win greatly impacted the town of Eureka as well as shifted the standings in the Lions favor raising their record to 5-0.

Information from montanasports.com contributed to this article.