• On January 9, football coaches from the state's AA public high schools met in Alexandria to discuss the formation of a conference similar to Mississippi's "Big Eight."
• The conference members would abandon the state playoffs in favor of crowning their own conference champion.
• F. H. Prendergast, the coach of Fair Park in Shreveport, gave these reasons for the move.

We feel the public would get a better class of football, win or lose, and it would put an end to post-season games which sometimes run into December after teams already have played a rugged schedule.

• Each member would play a minimum of five or six league games, with the "state champion" (actually the conference champion) determined on a percentage basis. The new conference would also crown champions in basketball, track, and other sports.
• Prendergast added, somewhat disingenuously:

We definitely want to remain within the state association.

Hap Glaudi of the New Orleans Item revealed the public schools' real motivation.

The new organization, while it claims allegiance to the present State Assn., would prohibit its members from engaging a Catholic Prep school in "state championship athletic playoffs." ... The Conference, however, would permit members to participate in athletic contests against Catholic schools in city and inter-city competition.

That the revelation of the Public Prep plan, which had its beginning in Baton Rouge, started the storm winds to blowing is putting it mildly. Some see in the plan a definite threat to the continued relationship of Louisiana Public and Catholic athletic teams, a certain split of the State Assn., and the eventual forming of State Public and Catholic Leagues.

• Hap quoted a column written by Bob House, sports editor of the Lake Charles American, "erroneous though it may be."

The New Orleans bunch don't give a hoot about the State Association's rules and they have been getting away with just about everything. It should be settled once and for all whether the schools in New Orleans want to play according to the rules or as they like.

In case the State Assn. don't know it they have worked a terrible hardship on most of the so-called country schools by their laxity of enforcement of some of the important rules.

I asked some of the people from Baton Rouge why was it that teams from their section that used to play Holy Cross each year suddenly gave them the cold shoulder this season? They came right back with the quick answer that when certain New Orleans schools play as other high schools do, schools around Baton Rouge will play them.

They went on to say for instance that Holy Cross advertises itself as a College, not a high school, and gets athletes from all over the nation that quite a number of universities would like to have. Apparently they should have a Junior College rating.

This being the case you can readily agree with the Baton Rouge schools that Holy Cross shouldn't have been allowed to compete in the state title playoffs. It's past time for schools to let Holy Cross compete for the state title.

• Hap added his own note after the above.

Holy Cross' three state championship teams during 1945 were composed with one exception of all native born New Orleans youngsters. The exception was MacGay, a Baton Rouge boy who was a non-letterman on the track and field team.

N. Charles Wicker, Prep writer for the Times Picayune, also weighed in on the proposal.

It would, in our opinion, be a setback for prep school athletics if the organization becomes a reality, and the Catholic schools take the stand that they do not wish to play the public schools but would rather go out of town and play teams.

Here in New Orleans most of the biggest gates come from the Catholic vs public and Catholic vs Catholic schools.

• Wicker cited reports that Jesuit coach Gernon Brown and former Easton coach Johnny Brechtel would resign as president and secretary-treasurer respectively of the Louisiana High School Coaches Association if the proposal passed.

• Brother Martin, S.C., continued as principal with Brother Mark Thornton as Athletic Director.
• Harry "Wop" Glover resumed his former role as head football coach after assisting Roy Ary the previous season following service in the Navy. Ary moved to Hot Springs High in Arkansas as Athletic Director.
• As the year started, Wop had no assistance but soon enlisted Charley Dufour, former tackle at Glover's alma mater, Tulane, as his line coach, George Jones, a Tulane player who was ineligible for a year after transferring from Vanderbilt, and Vernon Jaubert ('35). The latter two would today be classified as "volunteer coaches." In addition, Buford "Boo" Jones ('43), former football and basketball star, would coach the JV.

St. Aloysius 1946 Coaching Staff

L-R: Vernon Jaubert, Charley Dufour, George Jones, Wop Glover

• Glover sought to build up the number of boys in the football program, a quest that was aided by Brother Martin's announcement that the school would insure every participant.

Aloysius was coming off its best two-year success in its gridiron history.

• Some of the chief architects of the 13 victories in 1944-5 had departed, including all-state RB Roy Hoffmann and all-prep G Joe Catalano.
• Glover did enjoy the services of 15 "five-year men," students who had completed four years of high school but still had eligibility left because they had not reached the LHSAA age limit.
• Wop continued the T formation that he had helped Ary install the year before. One of the eight returning lettermen, Bobby Piper, would direct it under C.
• Experienced backs included Tommy Goff and Tommy Brenan at HB and Mel Stevens at FB.
• Stalwarts of the beefy line were lettermen John Cronin and Billy Regan at E, Nick Macaluso moved from G to T, and Marius Jaubert in the middle. Wop worried about the guard position, where a super freshman, Charlie Bordlee, would start. Junior Bobby Nuss showed promise. One of the boys expected to start at G, Rudy Asaro, died shortly after practice began following a long illness.
• A promising addition to the team was basketball star Nick Revon, recruited by Glover with assistance from Nick's friends on the football team. Nick inherited Hoffmann's #13. Wop had this reaction:

Nick Revon is out for football for the first time and he might be running as No. 1 back before too long. That kid's a natural athlete and can do anything well.

• Preseason projections pegged the Crusaders for a third or fourth place finish in the Prep league.

1946 Varsity

1946 Junior Varsity

Coach Buford Jones is at the right and his assistant Rodney Woods at the far left.

The Crusader schedule had to be modified right off the bat. The opener scheduled for Friday, September 20, against Catholic High in Baton Rouge had to be moved to Saturday the 21st at City Park Stadium because of a polio epidemic in the capital city. The new Bears coach was V. J. Gianelloni, whose son, V. J. Jr., would coach at Brother Martin in the 1970s.

A crowd of 7,000 - not bad for a rescheduled game - saw Aloysius display a running game built around three fine backs and a passing attack to boot. The Bears, with only four returning lettermen, were no match for the bigger and more experienced Crimson team.

• Q3: SA kicked off and stopped the Bears cold on three downs. After Templet's punt went out of bounds on the SA 49, Stevens skirted RE to the 28. Brenan then drove off RT to the 10. Goff smacked to the 6 before Stevens drove over for the TD. Mel's' kick was good. CHS then showed its first offensive spark of the evening. Starting on their 32, the Bruins uncorked a screen pass from A. J. Marchand to his younger brother Jerry for 25y. Two plays later, Jerry's pass intended for Dan Whitty bounced off a LB's head into the arms of CHS C J. B. Modicut who carried the ball to the SA 31. Jerry let fly with another pass, this time to A. J. who was tackled on the 15. However, the play was called back for offsides. Three plays later, Jerry fired another pass that John Cronin intercepted and broke into the clear only to be brought down from behind by Arthur Gautreaux on the Catholic 35. From there, the Knights drove to the 1 to set up Brenan's run around LE to score standing up. Tommy Graham's PAT try sailed low.
• Q4: Ahead 26-0, Glover gave his second and third teams playing time. CHS began the final 12 minutes with their only TD march. Joseph Muscarello recovered a fumble on the SA 30 to start the ball rolling. Jerry Cagle passed to Warren Virgets for 13y. Three running plays gained little, but little Jerry fired a pass right down the middle to Moreau, who caught it at the 3 and pranced into the EZ. Jerry's kick was good. Later, the Crusaders drove from their 9 for their final TD. Graham's pass to Lou Campos covered the final 14y.

• Glover was worried as he prepared for his alma mater, where he also coached before coming to New Orleans. The Rock-a-Chaws were playing their first game of the season and Wop knew nothing about them. The Gulf Coast aggregation was rumored to be bigger and more experienced than Catholic High.
• SSC coach Pete Burge, like Glover, had returned to the school where he coached before entering the service.
• The Crusaders were slight favorites to best the Rocks for the fourth time in a row. The last setback had come in 1941 when Burge's outfit, led by RB "Doc" Blanchard, had handed Glover's Saints their lone defeat in a 5-1-2 campaign.

So the Crusaders headed into their 18th meeting with Jesuit with a 2-0 record for the third straight season.

• The Crusaders had made the series competitive the last two years, winning for the only time in '44 and losing on the last play in '45.
• The Jesuit gridders were trying to complete an amazing trifecta. The Blue Jays had won the 1946 AA state basketball, baseball, and track championships. In addition, the school's American Legion baseball team had won the national championship.
• The Jays started the season with two solid wins over out-of-town opponents: 24-6 over Pensacola and 41-14 over Baton Rouge.
• Led by 167 lb superstar junior RB John Petitbon, Gernon Brown's squad was the unanimous pick to win the Prep league crown.

23,200 (22,080 paid) packed City Park Stadium to see the Crusaders, as they usually did, give everything they had against their Banks Street rivals. A common denominator in the last two games against the Jays is that Aloysius had outrushed their opponent thanks primarily to Roy Hoffmann. But this night, the Saints mustered only 38y of total offense. The defense hung tough but finally succumbed in Q4.

I was supremely confident against St. Aloysius. I truly couldn't see how Aloysius could possibly beat us.

Glover's squad had to recoup to face Fortier.

• Coach Buck Seeber had outfitted the Tarpons in Kelly Green uniforms even though that was not one of the official school colors.
• They were 2-0 in the young season with victories over Byrd (7-6) and Peters (51-0). Fortier was considered a slight favorite in the contest.
• Disappointed in his offense, Wop made changes in his starting line. Cronin shifted from E to C in a reverse of the move Big John made at the same point in the '45 season. Jules Lea took over the E position, Calvin Young filled the LT spot, with Bobby Nuss moving up at RG. Hubert Berryman filled in at HB for the injured Brenan.

The Saint offense continued to struggle but, as in the Stanislaus game, came to life in time to claim victory for their fans in the crowd of 9,500. The Crimson D held the Tarpons to only two first downs.

• A heartbreaking 26-25 loss to Istrouma preceded victories over Prep newcomer Redemptorist (31-7), Peters (24-0), and Nicholls (19-6).
• For once, the Crusaders faced a team that was their equal in the weight department. Two of the five Eagle linemen tipped the scales at 185 while the tackles went 210 and 200 and the center also reached the magic 200 mark.
• The Saints ranked as a slight favorite heading into the contest.

Aloysius ran only 25 plays the entire game. Stevens netted just 3y on seven attempts. Hahn enhanced his All-Prep chances with 125y in 14 carries for an 8.2 average.

During the following week, Glaudi quoted Glover:

I just can't get over Warren Easton's performance against us. Since I have been coaching down here, I've never had a team run on me the way Easton did.

After five grueling games, the Saints got their first breather in the form of Peters.

• Cy Hickey's Wildcats sported a 2-4 record with all six games shutouts. Their victims were Terrebonne 24-0 and Nicholls 7-0. They fell to Pontchatula (25-0), Fortier (51-0), Easton (24-0), and Holy Cross (82-0). That last score is correct. The Tigers chewed up the Wildcats and spit them out.
• Peters High at Broad and Tulane faced the distraction of students striking the Thursday before the game in favor of acquiring a school bus. A new vehicle arrived from Thibodaux that afternoon in time to transport the football team to practice. Classes resumed the next day.
• Glover planned to hold out two injured linemen, E Billy Regan and C John Cronin. With Holy Cross looming, Wop hoped his boys could jump out to an early lead so that he could rest as many starters as possible.
• Royal Crown Cola sponsored the radio broadcast of the game on WJBW (1230 on the dial) with Dick Walsh doing the play-by-play and Duke Thiele providing color commentary. Many folks may have stayed home and listened since the smallest crowd of the season, a little over 1,000, attended.

• The Tigers' other victims were Boys High in Atlanta 26-12, Gulf Coast Military Academy 19-0, Peters 82-0, and Fortier 7-0.
• Lou Brownson had lost his QB Joe Ernst and star HB Ted Mace to graduation. Junior QB/TB Hank Lauricella, returning All-Prep FB Al Hanzo, and All-State E Bob Heap keyed the offense.
• The Crossmen hoped to celebrate homecoming with their 18th straight victory and stay in a first place tie with Jesuit heading into their annual clash with the Blue Jays at Tulane Stadium.
• Glover counted on Cronin's return to action, but John suffered a setback when he entered the hospital for a possible appendectomy on November 7. Regan was still not 100% with his leg injury, the same affliction that slowed Stevens.

Any of the 10,630 fans (10,308 paid) who expected to see a defensive battle were rewarded with exactly that. Were it not for a defensive holding penalty, the contest may well have ended in a scoreless tie.

The Crusaders again had to lick their wounds and prepare for the next game, the home finale for 17 players against the Nicholls Rebels.

• George Manteris, former coach at Peters, served his first year at the helm on St. Claude Avenue.
• The Rebels won their opener over Redemptorist, which was playing its first Prep football game. Their other triumph came at the expense of Catholic High, 20-13.
• Nicholls fell to Peters (7-0), Easton (19-6), Jesuit (56-0), and Fortier (59-0). The last two scores indicated that the Rebs had disintegrated in the meat grinder that was the Prep league.

With bowl talk swirling, the 5-3 Crusaders prepared for their final regular season game against McGill, a diocesan school staffed by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart in Mobile.

• Early in the season, word came that the McGillians are loaded with about a dozen returning GI's. The Bama age limit is 21 years.
• Before leaving for Alabama, St. Aloysius agreed to play in the second annual Sugar Cane Bowl sponsored by the Thibodaux Lions Club. The opponent would be Baton Rouge High.
• The Crusaders had also been contacted by the Strawberry Bowl about facing Bogalusa in its second annual game in Hammond.

The Crusaders romped 35-0. If McGill truly had returning GIs, they must not have played because they exceeded Louisiana's age limit.

• Stevens scored two TDs and kicked three EPs.
• Piper crossed the goal line once, as did Graham.
• Revon scored one TD on a beautiful run after receiving a pass.
• Vinot, Bordlee, Nuss, and Young led the defense.
• Hard-running Laplace came just short of duplicating his 65y effort against Nicholls.

Aloysius now prepared for the first post-season game in school history.

• The Morning Advocate expected "a merry pitching duel between TB J. C. Rhed of Baton Rouge and QB Bobby Piper of Aloysius ..."
• In the ball carrying department, Coach Butch Helveston's Bulldogs featured not only Rhed's shiftiness but also the "line-smashing ability" of FB Clyde Coco.
• An additional 600 reserved seats were added to the Evangeline League baseball stadium to accommodate what was expected to be the largest crowd ever to witness a football game in Lafourche Parish.
• Both schools' bands would add to the festive atmosphere.

• Bobby Piper finished second in passing in the Prep league with 17 completions for 340y, just 7y less than Petitbon.
• Stevens' 237y rushing ranked fifth in the league.
• Goff finished fourth in punting average with 33.5.

The Item All-Prep teams included these Aloysians.

• Second team: Mel Stevens B
• Honorable Mention: William Regan E, Charles Bordlee G

The Times-Picayune New Orleans States squad included a third team.

• Second team: Charles Bordlee, John Cronin E, Mel Stevens HB
• Third team: Malcolm Vinot T, Bobby Piper QB
• Honorable Mention: William Regan E

The 1946 All-State team listed Cronin, Vinot, Bordlee, and Tommy Goff as Honorable Mention.

Summary

• Strong defense, weak offense encapsulates the 1946 Crusader eleven. They never gave up more than 13 points in any game and only 58 for the season (5.8 per game). Even eventual state champ Jesuit managed only 13. But again and again, SA threatened deep in enemy territory only to fumble or throw the ball away or turn it over on downs.
• Still, the Saints beat every team they should have and lost to the teams that were superior to them to finish 6-4 and give the school three straight winning seasons for the first time.
• Glover would lose a large number of seniors but would have some talent moving up from the younger ranks for 1947.

1947 Season

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