As the 1949-50 school year began, St. Aloysius had one important change on its faculty and faced another inevitable change within a few months.

• A new coach took over the reins of the football and track programs - Eddie Toribio. He replaced Harry "Wop" Glover, who announced his retirement early in the second semester of the previous school year. More on Eddie below.
• Brother Martin, S.C., would have to step down from his president's post on November 1 because, under Canon Law, that date marked the completion of his sixth year as religious superior of the brothers' community at 1137 Esplanade Avenue. Term limits existed in the Catholic Church long before they became common in politics.
• Brother Martin was completing 15 years of service in New Orleans, during which Aloysius grew to its 1949 enrollment of 946. Its athletic program had improved to the point where the Crusaders dominated on the basketball court, contended in baseball, and fielded a competitive team on the gridiron and track year after year.
• Since All Saints Day also signalled the end of the three-year term of the Provincial of the U.S. Province, Brother Gilbert, S.C., the brothers of the province expected the Superior General and his Council in Rome to name Brother Martin to the post.
• In any case, the school awaited a new president to take over November 1.

As expected, Brother Martin was chosen for the post of provincial.

• Brother Andre, S.C., from Verdun, Canada, a suburb of Montreal, became President and director of the other 31 brothers on the school faculty.
• The president's right hand man, Brother Augustine, S.C., supervised the day-to-day functioning of the school.

Toribio had two assistants, Johnny Altobello and M. L. Lagarde ('45), the latter in his first year on the faculty.

• Eddie brought Gernon Brown's single wing offense with him from Jesuit, replacing the T that Roy Ary and Glover had used in recent years.
• 14 lettermen returned with 17 seniors on the team.
• The players found their new coach to be well organized and a strict disciplinarian. Toribio stressed conditioning and fundamentals throughout the year but rarely scrimmaged once the season began.
• The new coach switched 190 lb all-Prep E Dave "Red" Perret to blocking back.
• Despite losing a pair of all-Prep guards, Bobby Nuss and Charles Bordlee, to graduation and Perret to a position change, the Saints still presented a formidable front led by junior E Eddie Bravo, in his third season of varsity play. 230-lb Joe McAdam and fellow senior Bob Ponti, a 196-pounder, made a formidable pair at T. Earl Burke continued to anchor the middle. Bravo and Burke (Tulane), McAdam (LSU), and Ponti (Naval Academy) would all receive college scholarships.
• While the forward wall stacked up with the best in the league, the backfield left much to be desired, lacking speed on defense and having trouble adjusting to the single wing on offense.
• The outlook for the '49 season was best summarized by TP prep writer N. Charles Wicker this way:

St. Aloysius alumni and fans should not expect too much of Eddie Toribio who is serving his first season as head mentor. Eddie will try to build for the future this year. The Crusaders won't be too far down the ladder, however, and may be in the first division.

4,500 turned out to see Toribio's debut, which didn't go well. The Saints showed the usual opening game jitters as reflected in a rash of fumbles.

• Q1: The visitors took the opening kick and marched to pay dirt. Gauthreaux tossed to E Donald Major in stride on the first play for 38y to the 9. After a pair of line plays failed to gain, Ronie "Bing" Croswell passed to Major in the EZ. Leo Harelson, coach Eddie's brother, place kicked the EP. Later in the period, Gautreaux threw to Herrington for an apparent score, but a holding penalty nullified the play. After a kicking duel, SA recovered Croswell's fumble on the Bear 24. However, Macon Blankenship recovered an SA bobble on the 27 on the very next play. A few minutes later, Aloysius got another chance when Jim Christiansen intercepted Didier's aerial on the CHS 41 and returned it 23y as the period ended.
• Q2: SA failed to take advantage of the break as three line plays netted but 4y, and Huey Bridges' punt slid off the side of his foot out of bounds on the 20. When CHS failed to achieve a first down, Croswell booted to his 41, Bridges returning 10y. Again, the Crusaders failed to take advantage of excellent field position because Phil Muscarello snagged Christiansen's pass on the 25, returning it 10y. Four plays later, Ponti partially blocked Croswell's punt to give the Crusaders the ball on their 45. After a 5y penalty, SA staged a 60y drive for their first score. After Bravo fumbled and lost a yard, Bridges passed to Milt Rebennack for 15 and, after an incompletion, hit Bravo for 9. Huey then swept E for 8 put the ball on the 28. After Bridges threw another incompletion, Christiansen took over the passing duty, hitting John Ridgley for 22. Christiansen bulled over C for a yard, then Ray Lamy picked up three and then one for the TD. Rebennack's missed PAT kept the score 7-6. CHS retaliated immediately with a 55y drive in only four plays. After Sanford Landry ran the kickoff back 21y to the 45, Didier sliced off tackle and eluded a number of defenders down the left sidelines to the 3. However, the officials ruled he stepped out on the 13. With the clock inside a minute, Gauthreaux gained 3 up the middle. Then Didier passed to Major for the TD. Croswell's EP try failed.
• Q3: The second half started badly when Rebennack fumbled the kickoff, and Major recovered on the 13. Didier ran in on the next play, but the Bears were offside. Landry fumbled on the next play, Earl Burke pouncing on the ball. SA drove to the midfield stripe before having to punt. After a punting exchange, Muscarello recovered Bridges' fumble on the CHS 38. The Bruins marched 62y for their third TD, starting with Didier's 7y pass to Major and Gauthreaux's first down run to the SA 41. Didier squirmed over LT for 7, Gautreaux picked up 2, and Didier got the first down on the 30. Croswell circled LE for 6, Didier over C for 9 for a first on the 15. Gautreaux swept RE, ran over a couple of tacklers, and strode across the goal line. Croswell again missed the point.
• Q4: Didier culminated a drive with a 7y pass to Croswell. The game's longest play came on the next possession, a 65y connection from Bridges to Bravo for SA's second TD. CHS added a final score on Majors' third TD catch, his second from Didier.

Have you ever seen a game where a team holds a 12-5 edge in first downs but loses by 28 points? As you might imagine, the winners scored on big plays.

• Q1: The period was "a close, give-and-take affair." Neither team gained much yardage.
• Q2: Fortier exploded for four TDs. Ivy Hoover broke the ice on a 2y sweep. Louis Cruz kicked the EP. A short time later, Ray Ward burst through the Crimson D for 77y to make it 13-0. The Crusaders, unable to run, took to the air. Bridges connected with Johnny Ridgley for 22 to the Tarpon 20. However, the drive bogged down. An exchange of punts left SA in great field position at the 33, and this time they scored. Christiansen hit Ridgley for a 16y TD. The Fish came right back with a 54y drive of their own. Hoover tore off gains of 25 and 15. Then, after three line plays, Ivy outran everyone to the edge from the 1. Ward scored yet another TD before intermission.
• Q3: The teams played pretty evenly the second half. Eldred Eppling tore off a beautiful 71y run midway through the period for six. "The lad really did some high stepping, eluding Saint tacklers right and left. After he reached the Aloysius 30 he was so far in front of any Crusaders he could have waltzed across the goal line." (Bob Roesler, TP) Hoover added the point from placement.
• Q4: Aloysius stayed in the air, completing two for 45y, but never threatened.

• Hoss Memtsas's fourth squad at his alma mater rattled off three victories following an opening 7-7 tie with Bogalusa. The Old Gold and Purple D allowed only 7 more points in defeating Istrouma (26-0), Peters (38-0), and Nicholls (38-7).
• Hoss approached the Aloysius clash warily, expecting the unexpected from Toribio. The Easton mentor prepared his team for the double wing, which he knew Eddie liked. The Crimson coach needed to do something to inject life into his running game.
• Eagle spirits soared with the expectation that triple-threat HB Les Kennedy, who played sparingly against Nicholls because of a bruised shoulder, would see more action as would C Charley Pittman.

• Q1: Brownson substituted an entire eleven every time the ball changed hands in violation of the rule that says no more than two players can enter while the clock is running. As a result, the officials called 14 delay of game penalties against HC as well as assessing another 60y for other infractions. The Crossmen threatened once in the opening 12 minutes but lost the ball on downs when Joe Heap threw a fourth down pass to his brother Ray out of the EZ.
• Q2: Midway through the period, George Rohr pounced on a fumble on the SA 45 to start the Tigers on the way to their first TD. After a penalty set HC back to its 45, Lloyd Bertrand rambled 44y to the 11. Another penalty pushed the ball back to the 16. Then Joe Heap picked up 10 to set up a Bertrand sweep around LE for 6.
• Q3: On the first play after the kickoff, Heap dashed 55y to pay dirt.
• Q4: Another SA fumble, this one recovered by Joe Lucia, set up the third score. Once again, a 15y penalty immediately set HC back to their 42. Then "an odd play" resulted in a TD. Heap, seemingly trapped 10y behind the line after taking a delayed handoff from Zimmerman, squirmed to the sidelines and followed beautiful blocking to the EZ. Later, Don Masinter intercepted Bridges' toss on the SA 25. After the Crusaders pushed the Bengals back 10y, Zimmerman connected with Heap on fourth down for the final TD.

• Q1: The Crusaders played their best game of the year but failed to cash in on offensive opportunities. In the first period, they were held on the 3 and on two other occasions during the evening, Nicholls took the ball on downs on their 9 and 16. T Joe McAdam blocked a punt on the 18 and fell on the loose ball at the 23, but that's as far as the Saints could go. A bad pass from C nullified another chance on the 21. McAdam had an outstanding game with numerous tackles but deflected praise for his efforts because the man across the line from him rarely tried to block him, letting Big Joe roam free.
• Q2: Nicholls scored twice in the period. First, sub QB Nat Hammond stole a Christiansen pass and pranced 68y through the scattered SA defenders. Weidenbacher harkened back to days of yore by drop kicking the EP. Just before the break, Ray faded to pass but, finding all receivers covered, took off for 58y and a 13-0 lead.
• Q3: It took until the dying seconds of the period before the Crusaders finally got a spark in the form of a 63y punt return for a TD by Lou Giambelluca. He took Weidenbacher's punt, started up the middle, broke for the sidelines, and reversed his field. At least five Rebels had a hand on him. Lamy pushed into the EZ for the PAT.
• Q4: SA took advantage of good field position at the Reb 45. With four minutes left, Lamy bulldozed ove r from the 3 to tie the game. On the try for point, Ray was stopped short, but a penalty gave the Saints a second chance. Alas, the defense batted down Bridges' pass.

• Q1: Eddie Welch apparently put the home team ahead with a 55y run only to have his effort nullified by an offside penalty. The Aloysians then scored as soon as they got the ball at their 40. Paced by Lamy, who gained 41 on three successive carries, the Saints took the lead on Bridges' 3y buck. Bogalusa struck back within two minutes. Bill Graham rambled from the Jacks 36 to the SA 39. Welch ripped off 21 more through the middle to the 18 before Graham took a wide reverse and raced over on the next play. Stringfield's first of four perfect conversions put Bogalusa ahead 7-6. One of Cliff's PATs came after a 15y penalty.
• Q2: Bogalusa marched 65y for their second score with a Stringfield pass to Donald Lee covering the final 29y.
• Q3: Galloway's boys showed their speed, scoring in three plays. From his 37, Welch broke loose to the 30. Ralph Billings carried for 8 to set the stage for Stringfield's pass to Welch to make it 21-6. Aloysius fought back, moving 60y for a TD that came on a 28y aerial from Christiansen to Summerhalter.
• Q4: The home team pushed over their final points when Graham broke loose for 77y with three minutes remaining. Continuing a season-long theme, the visitors squandered three chances to score in the period.

• Q1: The Rams wasted no time getting on the scoreboard behind their fine set of backs known as "The Light Brigade." Sal Genovese circled end for 10, Vic Villa Farra and Mike Trapani gained chunks of yardage up the middle to move the ball to the 4. From there, Tommy Ruiz, "built like a fire plug but quick like a deer," scored the first of his three TDs. Villa Farra's pass to Genovese misfired for the PAT. The remainder of the period saw the teams exchanging punts across midfield.
• Q2: The Red Knights drove to the Ram 15 sparked by the passing of Christiansen and Bridges with Lamy and Ridgley on the receiving end. But the D stiffened and took over on downs. On the last play of the half, Trapani faded back to his own 10 and shot a screen pass to Ruiz, who outran the Crusader secondary for a 75y back breaker as time expired. Trapani's pass to Zimmerman for the EP was broken up.
• Q3: Redemptorist continued to dominate, but fumbles ended both Ram thrusts.
• Q4: Trapani booted a rocket from his own 21 into the EZ - 79y if you're scoring at home. Giambelluca then paced a ground attack with an OT run of 13. Christiansen struck through the air to Bravo for 12. At this point, Ruiz, a thorn in the Crusaders' side all afternoon, intercepted Jim's pass and sped 70 yards with nary a Crusader laying a hand on him. SA came back fighting mad to avoid a shutout. Jack Ryan took Marion Dauphin's punt on his 26 and returned the ball to midfield. Bridges led the drive with his running and passing aided by Giambelluca's hard rushes until the Crimson found themselves on the 4, from where Lou dove over. Bridges hit RT for the EP. The game ended a short time later with Aloysius on the march again.