A platform that encourages healthy conversation, spiritual support, growth and fellowship
NOLACatholic Parenting Podcast
A natural progression of our weekly column in the Clarion Herald and blog
The best in Catholic news and inspiration - wherever you are!
Hurricane Delta forces reshuffling of Catholic high school football schedule
-
By Ron Brocato
Clarion Herald
High school football season is finally here, and the local Catholic schools wasted little time celebrating the kickoff over the last weekend.
Now, the threat of Hurricane Delta has forced schools to reshuffle their schedules on the fly for Week 2.
Here is the revised schedule for this week:
Wednesday, Oct. 7
Pope John Paul II at Episcopal (Baton Rouge), 6 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 8
Archbishop Hannan at Dunham, 4:30 p.m.
Archbishop Shaw vs. Holy Cross at Yenni, 6 p.m.
De La Salle at Amite, Thursday, 6 p.m.
St. Charles Catholic at E.D. White, 7 p.m.
Slidell at St. Paul's, 7 p.m.
Pope John Paul at Episcopal (Baton Rouge), 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 10
St. Augustine vs. Curtis at Yenni, 10 a.m.
Jesuit vs. Brother Martin at Memtsas, 7 p.m.
Archbishop Rummel's game at St. Thomas More, scheduled for friday night, has been canceled.
The most impressive Week 1 performances were Brother Martin’s 48-28 win over Coach Hank Tierney’s Ponchatoula Greenies on the road; Archbishop Shaw’s 28-7 home victory over West Jefferson; St. Paul’s 22-14 triumph over Destrehan and St. Charles Catholic’s 17-0 thumping of Class 5A Slidell.
A few won by even larger scores, which was hardly unexpected.
Under interim head coach Scott Bairnsfather, Jesuit had little trouble with Helen Cox as the Blue Jays gave their large contingent of fans at Memtsas Stadium a 45-6 treat on Oct. 2.
Jesuit will open District 9-5A play against Brother Martin. Curiously, Jesuit has not beaten the Crusaders since 2014, the year the Blue Jays won the Division I state championship. Martin has won the last five meetings.
The reigning Division I champion Archbishop Rummel pounded out a 41-0 win over Hammond. The Rummel-St. Thomas More game could have been a classic battle between a top-tier Catholic League member and the defending champion and No. 1-ranked team in Division II. St. Thomas More routed Plaquemine 56-17 last week.
A much-improved Holy Cross squad gave head coach and school alumnus Nick Saltaformaggio his first win against a school he once coached – Chalmette – by a convincing score of 56-7.
The Tigers’ next opponent, Archbishop Shaw, played a solid game in beating West Jeff. Behind transfer quarterback Steven Banford and a defense that forced five turnovers, the Eagles showed great improvement from last season.
St. Paul’s made a powerful statement by defeating 2019 Class 5A runner-up Destrehan, 22-14. This week they begin district play at Slidell, the defending District 6-5A champion.
Quite resounding was St. Charles Catholic’s 17-0 blanking of Class 5A Slidell. Coach Frank Monica’s Comets are always difficult to beat at home. But this week they will be in Thibodaux to take on host E.D. White, a 25-0 conqueror of Assumption.
Over his seven-year tenure as head coach at De La Salle, Ryan Manale has yet to experience a losing season. And after his team soundly defeated Catholic of New Iberia, 38-10, the Cavaliers appear to have begun another winning campaign. They visit Amite on Oct. 8.
One of three new head coaches in the Catholic League, St. Augustine’s Nick Foster had a rough debut when his Purple Knights fell 41-32 to 2019 semifinalist Zachary.
And it won’t get easier for the Knights this week. They are scheduled to meet John Curtis on Saturday at 10 a.m. at Yenni Stadium. Curtis defeated L.B. Landry, 28-0, last week.