Class B would have a new entrant for 1928. Westwego High School was the first Jefferson Parish school to field a team. Warren Easton Annex was also unanimously approved but, since the school contained only ninth graders, it would not compete until 1929. So the lower division of the New Orleans Prep league would include: Isidore Newman Manual Training, New Orleans Academy (NOA), S. J. Peters Commercial High School, Rugby Academy, St. Aloysius, and Westwego. The new member agreed to play all its league games on the East Bank of the Mississippi. Several schools proposed that Commy High, the preseason favorite in Class B, be moved to Class A, but the motion failed.

A "big, enthusiastic crowd" turned out on a warm day to watch the Saints battle the defending class A champion Jays for the first time since 1923. According to Thatcher, the "dazzling speed" of Smith and Celles, the punting of J. Miltenberger, and the line play of Cassagne, Siragusa, and Meyer made the game enjoyable.

• Q1: On Jesuit's first play from scrimmage, "Shorty" Gannon, skirted RE for a 45y TD. Cassagne blocked Gannon's drop kick for the PAT. A few minutes later, Joe Fazzio scooped up a fumble and raced 25y into the EZ. This time Gannon's drop kick was below the crossbar.
• Q2: On the first play, Gannon roared around LE for a 31y TD. Siragusa halted Kyle on the line plunge for the extra point. Later in the period, runs by Gannon and Tom Daigle put Jesuit in business at the 10. However, the Saints held.
• Q3: After Gannon zigzagged over T for this third TD, Celles returned the kickoff 30y. "Speedy" Smith then outsped his interference and pursuers to the 5 where he was tripped up. Plunges by Hubert Bayhi and Smith failed to dent the goal line before Bayhi recovered his own fumble back on the 20. Jesuit then punted out of danger.
• Q4: With "Doc" Erskine's second team in the game, play seesawed until a 60y Jay punt rolled dead near the Saint goal. Leonard Mock blocked a Miltenberger punt, recovered the pigskin, and made the short sprint to pay dirt. Gannon swept E for the PAT but, as Jesuit was offside, the point was erased. (No second chance in that era.)

Coach Johnny Lynch's "Gold and Blue" provided the second straight Class A opposition for the Saints. In his pregame article, Thatcher expected a grueling game since Aloysius displayed a well-coached outfit against Jesuit. Kessler has accomplished much at the Esplanade Avenue institution in his second year, his boys taking care of their plays well, tackling hard and viciously and making few mistakes with the exception of fumbles. It looks like the smoothest-working Aloysius combination since the days Crefasi, Leonard Enderle and others won the Class B bunting.

Coach Ralph Harris's defending champion Cadets provided the first Class B opposition for the Saints, who, with their victory over Reserve and strong showings against Jesuit and HC, had emerged as "one of the strongest preseason favorites for Class B."

Clarence Smith's Versatility Leads Saints to 12-0 Win

That was the TP headline for the story of SA's second straight win over NOA to bring their record in the rivalry to 3-0-1. A "small but enthusiastic crowd" witnessed the contest on a "soggy, slow gridiron."

• NOA outplayed Aloysius in the first half. However, Kessler juggled his lineup, and the Saints asserted themselves after the intermission. The losers persistently worked a puzzling screened forward pass that would have resulted in TDs with speedier men.
• Q2: After a scoreless first period, NOA's "Lolly" Burt threw a 40y pass to Jimmy Meyers. However, the threat ended when a Cadet caught and dropped a pass on the SA 15. The game devolved into a punting duel between Burt and Jimmy Miltenberger until Smith zigzagged 30y as the whistle blew to end the half.
• Q3: Midway through the stanza, the Saints mounted a 75y drive for the first TD of the game. With the ball on the 2, Celles lost ground on a plunge. But Smith rammed over. Stumpf's drop kick fell short of the crossbar.
• Q4: NOA gained 30y on passes before SA took the ball back. A nice run by Smith was nullified by a fumble near midfield. The Cadets then moved with "sparkling runs" by Captain Martin McDiarmid and Meyers and a pass from Burt to Eustis. However, with their lead threatened, the Saints regained possession on downs. Long gains by Smith, Babst, and Wambsgans then set up Smith's second TD. Sherlock's place kick went wide left. The final whistle blew just after the ensuing kickoff.

TP Headline: Smith's Eighty-Yard Run Downs Unlucky Rugby Eleven

Rugby, like Aloysius, had opened its Class B campaign with a shutout victory. The Blue and White would dominate the statistics but, unable to sustain a drive, fell victim to "as brilliant a broken-field run as pulled off in the city prep league in some time."

• Q1: Shortly after the opening kickoff, Roy Bell broke loose for a 35y run for the Academy. However, nothing came of it. Later in the period, "Hooks" Siragusa blocked a punt and recovered on the 15. However, the Cadets held and started a march that ended when passes went awry near the SA goal.
• Q2: Early in the period, Smith cut through the line after being apparently downed behind the line of scrimmage and set sail for the far-distant goal. Running with the speed of the wind, Smith zigzagged his way through almost the entire opposing team, twisting and turning until he shook his way out into a clear field and ran most of the distance with his pursuers gradually left far behind. Cadet captain Alten Mills blocked Rogerie's drop kick to keep SA's record of PAT failure intact. Rugby then mounted its most serious drive of the day. Long gains through the line brought the pigskin to the 5. Mills rammed to the 1. Buster Fortier almost lunged over but fell short as the halftime whistle saved the Saints.
• Q3: The seesaw battle featured the "Cadets' short, snappy passes" which ate up yardage but failed to put points on the scoreboard. Rugby limited "Speedy" to short gains off tackle. However, he continued to be the main cog in the Saint D. "He knocked down passes, [and] tackled like a madman."
• Q4: Stymied by land, SA started passing to clinch the game. This opened up a 20y run and a later 25-yarder by Smith that put the ball on the 10. However, the threat ended with an incomplete pass in the EZ. Rugby also tried to travel by air but never threatened again.

At 2-0, Aloysius led Class B over Rugby (2-1), Manual Training (2-1), Commy (1-1), NOA (0-2), and Westwego (0-2). The Saints' reward was a week off to prepare for lowly Westwego.

Aloysius met the league's newest team at "the new prep stadium on Willow Street." Coach Fairchild of Westwego had only 13-14 players. His captain weighed a mere 95 lbs, and other lads barely topped 100. They had been lambasted by scores of 139-0 and 76-0. Even though he hadn't been at SA at the time, Coach Kessler had probably heard the stories of his school's introduction to Class A play when they lost to Easton 68-0 (1921), 52-0 (1922), and 96-0 (1923), St. Stanislaus 59-0 (1922), and Jesuit 64-0 (1922) and 42-0 (1923). So the Saints took it easy. Kip gave everyone on the roster a chance to play in ideal weather conditions before a "fair-sized crowd." Still, the West Bankers never made a first down, completed no passes, never got past midfield, and saw practically every play smothered behind the line.

The standings stood like this: St. Aloysius

3-0, Rugby 2-1, Manual Training 2-1, Commy 2-1, NOA 0-3, and Westwego 0-3. The Saints needed a tie and a win in their remaining two games to claim the B title.

Those who say everything evens out can point to this game in conjunction with the Rugby game several weeks earlier. Now it was SA's turn to dominate the stats but escape with only a tie before "a big crowd occupying the north side circus seats." Manual's large crowd of feminine supporters yelled and shrieked to be answered by the Saints' masculine rooters. The action-packed contest provided lots to cheer about.

The tie kept St. Aloysius in first place at 3-0-1. During the following off week for the Saints, Rugby finished Class B play with a 4-1 mark. Commy ran its record to 3-1 with an all-important contest left with the Saints. An Aloysius victory would bring the B title to Esplanade Avenue. However, a Commy win would put them in a playoff with Rugby for the championship.

The Saints needed their speed against Coach Jack Dowling's much larger squad. But the day after Thanksgiving brought inclement weather. A crowd of 2,000 huddled under the double-decked stands to see the Class B "classic." The rain that had threatened all day began falling hard in Q2 and continued for most of the rest of the game. The wind combined with the moisture to make passing difficult.

• Q1: After an exchange of punts and fumbles, the teams settled down. Commy started a drive from its 36 that reached the 2, but a backfield in motion penalty set the pigskin back to the 7. No problem. "Mighty" Casey, who had tormented the Saints the year before, ran off tackle to the 5. Then George Joint scored the TD on a QB sneak. Continuing the PAT futility all teams experienced, "Bunny" Simmons' drop kick was blocked. SA then cranked up its best drive of the bleak day. However, after advancing 25y, they lost momentum when Smith overshot a pass.
• Q2: Featuring power and deception, Commy drove to the enemy 25 before losing a fumble. With rain now pelting the field, the game degenerated into a punting duel until Casey intercepted a long pass from Smith and ran it back into SA territory as the half ended. "Miss Betty Schneider, Aloysius's charming cheerleader, scurried for shelter" during the intermission.
• Q3: Although the opponent and weather conditions combined to stop Speedy for the first time all season, he demonstrated his greatness on the defense by stopping two-thirds of the plays that frequently passed through the front line. Thatcher continued: He knocked down passes, tackled like a madman and prevented another Commy score at the start of the second half when he brought down Casey after a mad gallop of more than 65y with the kickoff. A penalty moved the ball back to the SA 30. The Saint D held despite a 15y penalty of its own. However, after a punt, Commy went back to its knitting, scoring in only four plays on Casey's 4y plunge. The dreadful conditions were no better exemplified that on the PAT. Simmons slipped trying to drop kick and fanned. At the end of the period, Commy threatened again. Simmons, Joint, and Casey ran to the 10. But Lee fumbled, and Mike Smith recovered.
• Q4: The Red and Black could mount no offense in the trying conditions. However, Commy opened up from their own 10 and had driven all the way to the 7 when time mercifully expired. The final score only dimly reflected the public school's dominance as it moved its record against Aloysius to 3-0.

Summary

1929 Season

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