The 1945 football season was the first since World War II ended with the signing of the peace agreement with Japan on September 2.

• That affected college and pro football much more than high school, although the full impact of the release of thousands of athletes from the service would not be felt until 1946.
• For preppers, the cessation of hostilities meant that some coaches returned after serving in the military.
• As for players, the LHSAA Executive Committee (which included Brother Martin, S.C., St. Aloysius principal) ruled that any player returning from military service who still had high school eligibility left could play for their former school if they had not reached the age limit and satisfied all academic requirements.

For St. Aloysius, the end of the war brought its former head coach, Harry "Wop" Glover, back from the Navy in September to assist Roy "Chief" Ary, who had replaced Wop the previous two campaigns.

• Ary, the only coach in the Prep league who didn't play in that circuit, enacted a major change in his offensive system that Glover would help implement.
• Attending the coaching clinic conducted by Coach Henry Frnka of Tulsa in August, Ary learned about the "Texas single-wing T" or just the "Winged T."
• As the name implies, the system aimed to incorporate the best features of the single wing and T formations. The offense could line up in either of two sets: the "short punt" with a tailback back 7-10y to receive the snap or the QB shifted under center and the wingback moved out to a point just beyond one of the ends.
• Glover, who ran the single wing he learned from Bernie Bierman at Tulane when he led the Crusaders from 1939-42, had gained experience with the T as a physical education instructor in the Navy Pre-Flight program at Notre Dame in 1943.
• Hap Glaudi of the New Orleans Item expressed his opinion that:

He [Glover] and Ary give the Saints one of the town's finest coaching combines.

• Q1: A. J. Marchand returned the opening kickoff for CHS back to the 30. After a short plunge on first down, Jerry lateraled to Al "Rusty" Heroman, one of the fastest runners in the state (and a future LSU Tiger), who rambled 23y. But Marchand's pass into SA territory was intercepted by "Fats" Otillio. After three plays failed to gain a first down, Aloysius punted. That's when Otillio struck again, recovering an errant lateral on the 20 when the Bears had a mixup in signals in their T-formation. Shortly afterwards, Piper passed to E Harold Brue in the EZ, but a 15y penalty for holding cancelled the 6 points. Four straight losses, ending with Piper getting smeared back on the 41, turned the ball over. On the first play, Marchand lateralled to Heroman, who raced 59y down the sidelines to pay dirt.
• Q2: Brue gobbled up another Bear fumble on their 16 when the ball was knocked out of the hands of Emmett Rodriguez who was back to pass. SA pushed forward 5y on two plays before a third down pass fell incomplete. Piper tried another aerial on 4th down only to have Heroman intercept and gallop 90y down the left sideline for his second 6-pointer. Marchand's place kick missed the target. The Bruins threatened again, but Herbert Ahten picked off a pass on his 16. Then Piper connected with several passes to Hoffmann on a drive to the visitors' 20 before bogging down. Still, the march gave a hint of what would happen during the second 24 minutes.
• Q3: Aloysius came out like a different team. Hoffmann returned the kickoff 22y to the 30. On the first play, Roy gained 10 over T, then added 8 over C. Unnecessary roughness on the play tacked on another 15 to put the ball on the CHS 35. Thompson gained another first down through the middle before Stevens was held on two tries. On third down, Piper and Brue recreated the aborted TD from Q1, this time from the 26 and without a penalty. Hoffmann booted the PAT to make it 12-7. The Bears brought the fans to their feet with some razzle dazzle on the kickoff return. Heroman caught the ball deep in his own territory, cut around the pursuers for 25y before lateralling to Robert Tuminello, who ran all the way to pay dirt. But it was CHS's turn to have a TD negated by a penalty, for clipping. The play seemed to take some heart out of the "hot and tired visitors." Soon after, Heroman, who had punted brilliantly to that point, got off a poor boot, giving the Saints possession on the Bear 43. Another Piper pass to Brue and a 14y gain by Ahten put the ball on the 2.
• Q4: Piper sneaked over from the 1 to give the Crusaders the lead, 14-12, after Roy converted again. Later in the period, a Bear 45y gain was negated by an offside penalty. Then "Long John" Cronin blocked a punt, SA recovering on the 4. Hoffmann took it from there in two plays to push the lead to 20-12. The placement was too low. The game ended with Marchand and Emmett Rodriguez throwing passes that carried CHS past midfield. But the threat ended when Tommy Goff intercepted Rodriguez's heave just before the final whistle. The Crimson D kept CHS in check, holding the Bruins to a mere four first downs for the afternoon.

• Q1: 4,066 saw the Rocks' D stymie the Crusader ground game in the scoreless opening period.
• Q2: With but a minute remaining in the half, Piper uncorked a perfect throw to Brue from his own 49. The end caught the ball at the 25 and rambled into the EZ to break the deadlock. The banged up terminal played only sparingly but made the most of his time on the field. Hoffmann booted the PAT.
• Q3: SA moved to the SSC 10 but lost the ball on downs. Late in the period, Piper fired another TD pass, this one to Hoffmann for 48y, only 15 of which came on the aerial itself.
• Q4: The Rocks turned back every Crimson thrust but were unable to mount a threat of their own.

• Q1: SA threatened first when Hoffmann took Hugh Oser's punt and returned it 40y to the Jesuit 48. However, the D held, and Claude Perrier blocked Roy's punt and recovered on the SA 45. The Jays also couldn't move, and Oser punted out on the 4. Hoffmann circled end for 15y to give some breathing room, but SA had to punt, Petitbon returning 14y to the Saints 35. Jesuit made one first down but no more. Oser outdid his previous boot by rolling the ball dead on the 2. Hoffmann then punted back out as the period ended.
• Q2: Phil Foto rambled around end for 26y to the 2, but the play was called back for holding. After another exchange of punts, the Jays reached the 19 on an off-tackle smash by Petitbon and John's 20y pass to Perrier. After several runs moved the ball to the 4, Petitbon took to the air, but Hoffmann snatched the ball at the 2 and set sail for the goal, outrunning Petitbon and everyone else to put Aloysius on top 6-0. After the kickoff, Frank Piazza recovered a fumble on the Jesuit 41. After a holding penalty set the Crusaders back 15y, Piper tried a pass that Foto intercepted on the SA 45 and returned for a TD to tie the score. (The Item account says Tom Graham threw the pass.) The try for point failed.
• Q3: The Crusaders drove from their 23 to the 11 on runs by Hoffmann, Tommy Goff, Piper, and Thompson along with a 15y holding penalty against the Jays. But Rene Kronlage recovered a fumble on the 11 to stop the threat. Jesuit punted out immediately, and Hoffmann returned it 55y for a TD. Alvin Guidry kicked the extra point to make it 13-6. Hoffmann recalls the play:

I lifted my arm to shield my eyes from the sun. The Jesuit players thought I had signaled for a fair catch and didn't try to tackle me until it was too late. A friend of mine on the Jesuit team told me he didn't think anything ever made Gernon Brown madder than that play. He told the team that if they ever went down on a punt and the receiver's not waving his hand, you can hit him.

• Q4: Jesuit traveled 56y for a score. Passes from Foto to Oser, the last for 22y and a TD, highlighted the drive. Petitbon's plunge for the tying point was stopped short. On the next possession, Hoffmann gave the Blue Jays a scare by running from his own 34 to their 32. Set back by penalties, the Saints punted. After several more possessions, Jesuit returned Hoffmann's punt to the SA 29. Several plays later, with the ball on the 23, Hoffmann seemingly clinched the game for SA when he picked off Petitbon's pass with less than two minutes to play. The video shows Roy returning the ball to the 22. However, there must have been a penalty because the next play starts from the 16.

• Q1: Fortier started with a good kickoff return to the SA 44. On the second play, the Tarpons caught the Crusaders flat footed and completed a 42y TD from Guido Pizzeck to Jimmy Fos. Jack Ward hit the line for the EP. SA started moving after receiving the kickoff with Hoffmann skirting RE for 17y to the Tarpon 40. Then Roy rambled for another 17. On the next play, however, Bryan Chase recovered a fumble on the 15. Fortier ran two plays and punted, Hoffmann returning 11y to the Tarpon 47. Roy raced 25y, but a penalty brought the ball back. Undaunted, the Red and White continued to the EZ. Thompson gained 12, Hoffmann added 2, then Piper passed to his new receiver, Cronin, for 13 to place the pigskin on the 25. Fortier finally tightened up, throwing Roy for a 2y loss and sacking Piper for -6. Undeterred, Bobby hit Brenan for 7 and Cronin for 16 to set up first and goal on the 9. It took four tries from there, but Hoffmann finally smashed over T from the 3 with two minutes left. Roy booted true on the E,P but the point was erased by a 15y holding penalty. So SA tried a pass that fell incomplete.
• Q2: Midway through, Hoffmann intercepted Pizzeck's pass on his own 27 and returned it 11y. With Fortier still helpless against his sweeps, Roy gained 21 to the left and 29 to the right. A few plays later, Thompson went in from the 2. The try for the EP failed, leaving SA in front 12-7.
• Q3: Thompson gave fans a thrill on the opening possession by breaking through the line for 52y to the 20, where he was brought down from behind. But after finding little success on three runs, SA failed to connect on a pass to turn the ball over at the 17. After an exchange of punts, the Crusaders marched 69y to pay dirt. Hoffmann rambled for 33 to the 30. Then he went all the way from there to move the score to 18-7.
• Q4: Brenan scored the final TD when he took in a bullet pass from Piper and raced to the EZ to complete the 44y play. Hoffmann kicked the point.

• Q1: The Wildcats more than held their own, moving to the SA 15 before Piper intercepted a pass and ran it to the Peters 20 to set the stage for the first TD after moving to the other end of the field.
• Q2: After being stopped for no gain on first down, Hoffmann twisted and turned up the middle for his first of three TDs. His PAT kick succeeded. Soon after, a terrible punt set up SA on the Peters 21. Thompson moved the ball to the 4 on two runs to set up Roy's TD plunge and PAT.
• Q3: Brue intercepted a pass on his 40 and returned it to the 20. Hoffmann took the ball on a reverse from Piper and cut back at RT for the payoff. Thompson plunged over for the 21st point.
• Q4: Sophomore Teddy Constantine got a chance to score from the 8. Hoffmann booted the PAT. The Cats, running from the T, made several penetrations onto Crusader soil, but turnovers and penalties kept them from ending with a positive score.

• Q1: The Crusaders gained one first down after receiving the kickoff on some tough running by Thompson. Holy Cross got the ball on the SA 43 after a poor kick by Hoffmann netted just 1y. Al Hanzo, Heider, and Mace brought the ball to the 9, from where Hanzo went over standing up. A pass for the EP failed. Hoffmann electrified the crowd when he returned the kickoff 35y to give the Saints great field position at their 47. After gaining 2 on the ground, Piper passed for 12 to the 37. When Bobby tried the airways again, Ernst intercepted on the 28. Several possessions later, E Bobby Vetter fell on a Crimson fumble at the SA 44.
• Q2: The Tigers scored in five plays after the turnover. Hanzo and Mace alternated carries to the 10, then turned it over to Heider who ran in from there. Ernst connected with Mace for the EP to make it 13-0 at the half. The Holy Cross band spelled out A-R-Y as it played the Aloysius fight song.
• Q3: Aloysius came out of the locker room fired up. They forced a punt after kicking off, Hoffmann returning 15y to his 32. Thompson gained 3 before Roy skirted end for 17. After A. J. gained 2 and a 5y penalty, Hoffmann "snake-hipped" 52y to replace the goose egg for SA with a 6 and keep alive Roy's streak of scoring in every game. After the Saints stuffed the Tigers yet again, Heider punted to his 43. After several runs and a penalty, Hoffmann got loose for 14 to the 30. But another fumble ended the threat. Playing "careful football," HC ran into a wall and punted to the SA 31 in the closing minutes. Roy ran 18y to the HC 47, where he was tackled onto his stomach. One of the Tigers came in with his two knees way after the play was over ("like he had a bounty on me," says Roy) to earn a 15y penalty for roughness. Goff replaced Roy for a few snaps and made a first down on the 21, but the next four plays netted -1.
• Q4: The Tigers drove 79y for the clinching TD. Thwarted on the ground, Ernst took to the air, completing one to Hanzo and two to Bobby Heap to set up another Heider TD, this one from the 1. Hoffmann returned to action but couldn't spark any more scoring for the Crimson.

The last-second loss to Jesuit was balanced by a victory over the Rebels in the final minutes that thrilled the crowd of 5,000.

• Q1: Using a 4-4-2-1 defense, Aloysius kept the Nicholls running attack bottled up. However, the Saints likewise had trouble gaining through the stubborn Rebel line.
• Q2: From the SA 40, former Aloysian Tommy Shepherd passed to Bobby Norman, who took the ball on the run and crossed the goal line standing up. William Faure's try for point hit the goal post, a development that would come back to haunt the Rebels. Nicholls immediately got another chance when G Henry Schnell recovered a fumble on the first play after the kickoff on the SA 40. However, the Crusaders forced a punt to the 2, which Hoffmann returned to the 6. From there, the Crimson drove 94y to tie the score. The possession started with a daring play. Piper handed to Hoffmann on the goal line. Roy cut back into the EZ but managed to circle into the open before being tackled from behind on the 33. After Thompson's 1y gain and an incomplete pass, the Rebels intercepted Piper's pass. However, the play was nullified by a 15y roughing the passer penalty. On third and 10, Hoffmann gained 9. On fourth down, Thompson found a big hole and rambled to the 3. Goff, subbing for Hoffmann, scored on the next snap. Hoffmann's try for point went wide.
• Q3: Nicholls took the kickoff and struck quickly to retake the lead. Shepherd connected with Norman again for 67y to the 5 where Hoffmann brought down Bobby from behind. That set up Lewin McNab's plunge into the EZ. The pass for the PAT was intercepted, leaving the score 12-6, Rebels.
• Q4: The Crusaders started their final drive from their 32 after recovering a fumble when Nicholls seemed to be driving to the clinching score. A beautiful run by Hoffmann from his own 47 to the Nicholls 36 featured the march. Finally, with a little over a minute to play, Hoffmann took a lateral from Piper, started to his right, then jumped up like his idol, Harry Gilmer of Alabama, and threw to the lanky Cronin who grasped the ball on his fingertips in the EZ to tie the game. Ary sent his most reliable kicker, Alvin Guidry, into the game to replace Hoffmann for the all-important PAT. Nookie's placement split the uprights.