Rivalries: Br. Martin vs. Jesuit has become THE game

By Ron Brocato, Clarion Herald

Keeping history in perspective, the Jesuit vs. Holy Cross football game will always be recognized and honored for its longevity through a century of uninterrupted play.

And I’ll always consider a kickoff between the Tigers and Blue Jays as “The Holy Game of Obligation.”

But this 100-year-old rivalry, notwithstanding the test of time, is, nevertheless, no longer the Catholic League’s marquee game.

The Brother Martin vs. Jesuit battles, comparatively youthful in its 55th year, has surpassed the ageless Tigers-Blue Jays skirmishes as the Catholic League’s Game of the Year. The 15,000-plus crowd that clogged Marconi Drive to pack the Tad Gormley Stadium stands to witness Brother Martin’s three-overtime, 20-14 victory on Sept. 24, proved it so.

So as “Rivalry Week” commences to usher in a new month of the 2021 football season on Oct. 1 and Oct. 2, let us remember the great New Orleans rivalry between the two oldest league members with the reverence and historic pride it deserves and the hope that it will soon return to its former glory.

The three games garnering the greatest interest this week match Brother Martin and St. Augustine at Yulman Stadium for the 51st time and Jesuit against Holy Cross at Gormley on Oct. 1, and  the “Battle of the Archbishops,” Rummel and Shaw, at Joe Yenni Stadium in their 55th meeting on Oct. 2. All were scheduled for 7 p.m. kickoffs.

The new classic

When a stadium that seats 24,500 spectators can fill 61% of its capacity less than a month following a major hurricane, now that’s a real rivalry, as the crowd that was on hand for the Martin-Jesuit game will attest.

The action on the field by two teams of young men playing their hearts out made almost everyone in the metal bleachers for the better part of three hours forget about  toppled trees, splintered fences and blue tarps that blight their neighborhoods.

The game, which Brother Martin led most of the way, 7-0, on a surprise halfback pass in the first period, was not decided until a third extra period with the teams tied at 14-all. Played in its entirety in the north end zone where students and friends of both schools congregated side-by-side to have a close look at the thrilling conclusion, the Crusaders survived three overtimes, including a missed Blue Jay field goal attempt that enabled Torey Lambert to score the winning points on a short plunge.

The series, which dates back to Brother Martin’s first season in 1969, finds the Crusaders with a 29-26 advantage. But Jesuit had led the series, 26-21, through its Division I championship season of 2014, until the Crusaders, coached by Blue Jays alum and former player Mark Bonis, turned the series around.

The overtime victory, its second between the two schools, marked Brother Martin’s eighth consecutive win over its city rival.

Rivalry Week

And now the Crusaders move on to meet St. Augustine in a game that is billed the “Battle of Gentilly.”

St. Augustine leads the series 30 wins to 20, but, although the two schools are located in adjoining neighborhoods, the Purple Knights don’t really consider Martin the school they most want to beat. They reserve that moniker for their longtime public school rival McDonogh 35.

Although the Crusaders trail in the series, they have won the last two meetings in 2018 and 2019.

After missing the first month of the season because of Hurricane Ida, almost every school delved into its district schedule last week. Brother Martin is 2-0 in the belated season, and St. Augustine is 0-2. That will hardly matter.

Rummel has dominated Shaw in recent years, but this year the Raiders will face a Shaw team that is greatly improved under the guidance of Coach Tommy Connors and his staff. The Eagles lost their opener to St. James, 37-27, then surprised John Ehret, 7-0, and Holy Cross, 30-23.

Entering the game with wins over Slidell, 12-11, and Calvary Baptist, 23-14, the Raiders last played Shaw in 2019, a 42-0 blowout on their way to a Division I title.

Since 2008, Jesuit has had the better of Holy Cross in 10 of 13 meetings, including the last three. Both teams enter the 101st meeting with 1-1 records. Holy Cross defeated Chalmette, 27-10, before losing to Shaw.  Jesuit has a 52-0 win over Riverdale.

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