Upon committing an interception in a game against Ramona Convent last week, Lexi Loya trotted to the sideline, where she was greeted by a familiar face and voice — that of her coach and father, Tim.
“He’s the best coach I could have,” Lexi admitted. “Yeah he’s hard on me but he lets me know what I do wrong and how to fix it. He’s taught me everything about the game and being a good person.”
Accepting dad’s constructive criticism has helped the Lakewood St. Joseph sophomore quarterback become one of the best in Southern California at her position and under her leadership the Jesters are undefeated and ranked among the best flag football teams in the nation.
Through 13 games, Loya has completed 255 of 383 passes for 3,240 yards, 46 touchdowns with 14 interceptions — an average of 249.2 yards per game — with a 66.6% completion rate. She has also rushed for 264 yards. On defense she plays mostly safety and has seven interceptions and seven pass deflections.
She has already surpassed the 2,949 passing yards she amassed in 21 games as a freshman last fall when she earned league most valuable player honors and she is three shy of the 49 touchdowns she threw for a year ago, when she also led the Jesters with 40 solo flag pulls, 16 interceptions and 11 pass deflections.
“I’ve been working on my arm strength and accuracy most, hoping to improve them a lot,” she said. “The sport’s really growing and I’d love to play flag football in college for a Division I school. Hopefully there’ll be full scholarships available by then.”
Not only does Lexi benefit from her dad’s knowledge, she has also received valuable advice from her brother Logan, a redshirt senior receiver and punt returner at UCLA and a former standout at St. Joseph’s brother school, St. John Bosco in Bellflower.
“I try to go to as many of his games as I can,” Lexi said. “He helps me with routes, speed training and is always on my side.”
Both Lexi and her brother wear No. 17 — the number first given to Logan by Tim, a retired firefighter who spent 25 of his 32 years as captain at Station 17 in Cypress.
“Logan lived, ate and breathed football,” Tim recalled. “He wanted to talk football all day, 24-7 but I learned with him that there has to be some down time. With Lexi, we’re not talking football outside of practice.”
Lexi has played soccer since she was 6 and plays center back for the Jesters’ varsity team in the winter, but at the moment she is all about football.
“I enjoy our bus rides, singing and getting hyped for away games,” she said. “I expect us to go far in CIF. I’ve loved being quarterback since I started. Receivers depend on you to get them the ball. You have to have duality, to be able to run and throw on the run.”
A straight A student with a GPA above 4.0, she studies her school books as rigorously as she does the playbook. Not even a serious back injury could keep Loya sidelined for long.
“I like to go off-roading … I’ve done it all my life and it’s my happy place, other than the field,” said Loya, who does not turn 16 until March. “Six months ago while we were camping in Utah I was on my quad and I flipped it. I was in a brace for three months but I’m back in the groove now.”
“She fractured four vertebrae in her spine but she’s strong-willed and she pushed through it,” Tim added. “She came back quicker than we thought. She was on the field playing in three months.”
Loya’s leadership traits were on full display two weeks ago when she engineered a pair of scoring drives in the last 10 minutes of a 32-19 victory over Long Beach Poly. The Jesters face another big test on Oct. 8 against Aliso Niguel, ranked fourth in California and No. 5 in the country.
“Our goal is to put St. Joseph’s on the map,” Tim said. “The whole school is only about 500 girls but I have a really good group and we have nine fantastic seniors. Everyone knows they don’t want to be my daughter but at the same time I tell them all that they’re like my daughters in a way. We’ve got 49 girls in the program … I don’t cut and everyone plays.”
“Efficient” describes Lexi’s performance against Ramona Convent. She connected on 23 of 29 throws for 284 yards and threw scoring strikes to three different receivers. She also intercepted a pass on defense to preserve the 33-0 shutout. Last Thursday she threw for nearly 300 yards and five touchdowns in a 31-18 win over Yorba Linda.
“It’s all about learning from each game and continuing to improve,” she said. “If we all do that individually and as a team we’ll have a successful season.”
