In interstate play...

...last weekend, Loyola shut out Marquette (WI), 35-0, while Brother Rice easily handled its Detroit namesake, Brother Rice (MI), 56-20. But Malvern (PA) whitewashed St. Rita, 37-0.

What? I thought. That can't be!

The Friars, just 7-4 last year, held St. Rita to a mere 65 yards of total offense and only two first downs in the entire game. When I saw that I texted my brothers something to the effect, "St. Rita doesn't get beat like that around here!"

But I did a little research and, for the record, it wasn't as unusual as I had thought.

While it was indeed the Mustangs' worst defeat in at least ten years, the South Siders did fall to Providence last year, 34-3, and by a similar score to Loyola, 31-3. That's really not so far from 37-0, is it? And the last time St. Rita suffered a shutout? Twice in 2012, to Providence, 14-0, and Mount Carmel, 27-0.
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To further confuse the issue, Brother Rice of Michigan beat Brother Rice of Chicago last year, 40-34, en route to an 11-1 finish and a No. 5 ranking in the state by MaxPreps. Also, Mike Helfgot of the Tribune wrote yesterday:

Marquette beat a defending Wisconsin state champion, 40-13, the previous week. 

So what's the takeaway here? Are Loyola and Brother Rice stronger than we had thought? Is St. Rita weaker?