• Two opponents, Bogalusa and Terrebonne, came from the new Big Twelve.
• Nine contests would take place at City Park Stadium, which cost $150 to rent for day games and $175 at night.
• The opener was scheduled on September 2, the earliest game Aloysius had ever played by 18 days. The opponent would beWarren Easton to start a new tradition that would last the remaining nine years of Doug­lass's tenure. The game marked the first time Aloysius had started its season with a Prep league foe since opening with Jesuit in 1930. Furthermore, the clash was the earliest intra-prep clash in New Orleans history.
• Some touted Hoss Memtsas's Eagles as the strongest team in the Big Twelve.
• Andy's main concern was the availability of La Cava, who suffered from a charley horse.

• The home team expected one of the largest crowds ever at Wildcat Stadium. AA Godchaux paid visiting AAA teams $500 to travel upriver.
• Joe Keller's Wildcats, who upended Aloysius 20-7 in the 1953 opener at City Park Stadium, upset St. Paul's 20-7 to kick off their '54 campaign. Before that, the Cats tied Easton 7-7 in a jamboree game.
• Douglass hoped his "platoon system" would help the Crusaders make a better showing than they did in their opener. We couldn't have been better conditioned, and we should have looked an awful lot better. But, then, we were up against a powerful team. These kids can do a good job, and they'll start proving it now. We'll pass pretty much because we have the boy to do it, Clark. And we have good receivers in Dave Gares, Tom Murphy, and Roy Picou, boys who are all close to six-feet and have good hands.
• Douglass considered LaCava among the best ball-carriers around because he can do anything and has good speed. He also called Murphy a great defensive end and Callihan a superb linebacker.

The fumble bug bit the Crusaders again, helping their hosts to two second half TDs that tied the game.

• Q1: The Saints dominated the half, holding the Wildcats to a mere 16y rushing and 7y passing. A fumble set up SA's first score. After Jimmy Bouche's punt was downed at the 10, Ronald Vinet jumped on the bobble at the 22. Estrada capped the short drive with a TD plunge. Shortly afterwards, Jules Lacoste intercepted a pass at his 43 and returned it to the 36. The Crimson drove to the 5 before being stopped.
• Q2: Lacoste again put SA in good position with a 21y punt return. La Cava ended the five-play, 30y march from the 4. Charlie Noullet, who picked up 13y on the drive, booted the EP.
• Q3: Keller's boys came out a different team after intermission. Frank Brady flopped on Clark's fumble at the 20, and two plays later Reserve scored. Alvin Terrio picked up 15, then Nemour Maurin took it around E to pay dirt. The Saints blocked the PAT try to lead 13-6. The next few minutes of play were marred by 11 penalties.
• Q4: Alvin Stein fell on La Cava's fumble at the SA 30. A pass from Byron Landry to E Ferrell Keating placed the ball on the one-foot line, from where Maurin swept to his secondTD. Then Allen Aubert caught the pass for the tying PAT.

• The Cavs, who had joined the Big Twelve for theschool year, had tied Redemptorist in their only action so far.
• One of DLS's stars, 6'1" senior HB Rene Lorio, had accepted Altobello's invitation to go with him when he left Aloysius for St. Charles Avenue at the end of the 1951-2 school year. Lorio had earned Player of the Week honors for gaining 184y of total offense against the Rams. The youngest of five brothers, one of whom, Crit, had graduated from Aloysius in 1951, lettered in basketball, baseball, and track in addition to football.

• The Crusaders hadn't played the Lumberjacks since 1949. The next time SA beat Bogalusa would be the first after six losses.
• Both teams craved their first victory of the season. The teams had one common opponent, Easton, which bested the Crusaders 21-6 and the Jacks 25-12.
• Bogalusa C Emile Fournet was the younger brother of LSU's All-SEC G LSU.
• Douglass was still trying various starting elevens in hopes of finding a winning combination.
• The game was broadcast on WTPS, but the reception was marred by a poor connection.

The "educated toe" of Charlie Noullet made the difference in a squeaker.

• Q1: Jesuit dominated the half with two scoring threats but was unable to put points on the board. They took the kickoff and drove from their 37 to the 15, where they lost the ball on downs.
• Q2: After gaining 30y on an exchange of punts - thanks to a quick kick by Petitbon- Jesuit moved from the SA 38 to the 2 where Tommy Murphy stopped Richie on an end run just before the halftime horn. The Jays ended with 103y rushing and 7y passing to 8 on the ground and 27 through the air for the Crusaders.
• Q3: Aloysius went nowhere with the opening kickoff, and Bouche booted to the Jesuit 40. From there, the Blue and White drove to break the scoring ice. A pair of second string backs, Jim Higgins and Arthur Renaudin, moved the ball to the 38 in two plays. After Higgins lost 5 on the next snap, Renaudin got those 5 back and 5 more. Referee Danny Lyons (former Crusader coach) added 15y for unsportsmanlike conduct to put the ball on the 18. Renaudin gained 7, then Don McClure carried to the 3. From there, Jack Murphy bucked over. Ecuyer's try for point was blocked. The Crusaders then started a march of their own into enemy territory, but La Cava's fumble turned it over. But the Crimson D forced a punt to the Jay 48.
• Q4: Determined to make up for his miscue, Jimmy embarked on a beau­tiful 15y sweep. Unsportsmanlike conduct on Dallas Ward advanced the pigskin to the 18. Clark kept for 5, then Leaumont circled E for the tying six. Noullet calmly booted the point for a 7-6 lead. The Jays fought back with the aid of a roughing the kicker penalty that converted fourth down into first on the SA 48. Several line plays pushed the ball to the 35. Then Petitbon made the mistake to trying the air waves only to throw the ball to Leaumont on the 27. With Clark gaining on keeper plays, the Crusa­ders ran out of the clock.

• The Tigers, one of the preseason favorites for the city crown, were favored over the "vastly improved" Crusaders.
• The Crossmen had lost only one game, "to the state's most surprising Triple A team," the Baton Rouge Bulldogs, 33-12. Their three wins came at the expense of Fortier (38-0), Sulphur (24-21), and Bogalusa (38-14).
• The Ninth Ward squad featured two outstanding backs in HB Earl Schnei­der and Charles Cooper, a triple-threat split T QB.
• Dissatisfied with his defense, Lou Brownson had made several shifts in his forward wall and linebacking corps. It would turn out that he had some tricks up his sleeve on offense as well.
• WTPS broadcast theclash with Larry Regan doing the play-by-play assisted by N. Charles Wicker andJerry Romig.

• Q1: Earl raced 57y for a TD on the second play from scrimmage. Aloysius then drove 53y to the HC 17. But after using nothing but line plays, they got fancyand an errant pitchout was batted around all the way to the SA 33 where a Tiger finally fell on it. On the first play, Schneider gained 25. After a 6y run, a penalty set the offense back. But that just made Earl's sweep to the EZ 5y longer. Later, Cooper's punt set the Crusaders back deep in their territory. Enjoying good field position after the ensuing kick, HC scoredon a 25y ramble by Schneider.
• Q2: The Saints D stabilized and held the Crossmen scoreless but could put no points on the board themselves.
• Q3: Cooper completed the scoring when he went up the middle from the 27. Leon Dauterive booted his third EP of the afternoon.
• Q4: Aloysius's best scoring opportunity came after recovering a fumble at the HC 25. A pass from Clark to Leaumont gained 10, but the Bengals stopped any further advance and took over on downs at the 15.

• The Crusaders defeated the Trojans 25-6 in the schools' first meeting in 1953.
• In their second year of football, the former girls school was coached by Jimmy Thibaut ('38), former Tulane and NFL back.
• The game promised some aerial fireworks since the QBs, Clark and Joe Borello, were two of the best passers in the city.

• As the season progressed and no lineman had scored, Coach Billon told his charges he would take the first to score out to dinner with an attractive girl.
• Morris had forgotten about the promise by the time he broke the ice. But Jim and his girlfriend treated Morris and a friend of the girlfriend to complete the double date.

The Saints now hosted Big Twelve foe Terrebonne.

• The Tigers from Houma ranked in the Top Ten in the state. Buck Seeber fielded a well-balanced eleven that had already played two New Orleans foes, losing to Easton and beating Jesuit. Like the Crusaders, Terrebonne sought its fifth victory of the campaign.
• In Merle Schexnaildre, Seeber boasted one of the finest QBs in the state. Merle handled the ball well in the T-formation and teamed with E Johnny Robichaux to form a stellar passing duo.
• Clark did not play because of illness. Without him under C, the Saints' chances of victory decreased significantly. Sophomore Tom Schwaner started in Ty's place.

• Q1: Schexnaildre ran the old Georgia Tech "belly play" that consistent­ly kept the Crimson defenders off balance. The QB put the ball in the belly of the FB and either let him take it or pulled it out and flipped it to a HB or kept it himself. The Crusaders defensed it well in the scoreless first stanza.
• Q2: The visitors' first TD march started when Marv Bergeron intercepted La Cava's pass on the Terrebonne 20. Six player later, Talbot Pennison scored from 22y out. On their next possession, the Tigers traveled 70y, with Pennison bucking over from the 3. Good runs by Al Hebert and Pennison and a 23y completion from Schexnaildre to Dave Lecklet featured the march. Another INT by Bergeron put the Houma team in position for the third score, Schexnaildre passing 37y to Floyd Roddy to make it 19-0 at the break.
• Q3: The Crusaders held the Tigers to a scoreless tie in this period.
• Q4: Pennison's 1y plunge and Schexnaildre'ssneak from the same spot produced the final two TDs for the victors.

• The Tarpons boasted the city's top passer in Leo Dunham.
• Up front, however, the Crusaders held a decided edge.

• Q1: For the second straight game, the Crusaders scored three TDs in one period. An INT set up the first, a 25y pass from Clark to Murphy who caught the ball "at the apron of the end zone." Noullet banged through the first of five first half PATs, then scored the second TD after Dunham was thrown for a loss in punt formation on his own 10. Later, Lacoste's 45y punt return "complete with stumbling and carrying would-be tacklers" made the score 21-0. Dunham got some satisfaction by completing a pass to Cameron Gamble, who tight-roped down the sidelines61y to the 20. After Fortier gained another first down, Leo sneaked over from the 1.
• Q2: A 13-play drive ended with La Cava scooting 22y to glory land. Murphy tallied his second TD of the afternoon on an end around to complete the first half scoring.
• Q3: Leaumont bolted 70y to continue the onslaught. The Tarpons recovered a pair of Saint bobbles and seemed headed to pay dirt after one of them until Ronald Mineo intercepted Dunham's 20th pass of the day on his own 5. When the clock reached 0:00, the scoreboard read 41-6.
• Q4: With reserves enjoying extensive playing time, Estrada sprinted 44y for one TD, and Courrege's 1' plunge produced the other. Sims Couvil­lon tacked on the PAT. Before the game ended, Mineo snagged another pick. Dunham completed only 5 of 24 passes for 95y.

Several Crusaders finished in the top four in prep offensive statistics.

• La Cava earned the fourth spot in rushing with 713y on 74 carries for an average of 9.6 ypc.
• Clark also ranked fourth in passing with 345y (23-for-58 for 39.6%).

• The scores showed a wildly inconsistent team:Victories by 20-7, 18-0, 40-6, 34-14, and 54-6; Defeats by 27-0 and 31-0.
• The season overall paralleled Douglass's first the previous year in that the Saints defeated all the teams they should have but didn't pull an upset over any favored foe.
• Almost every game featured long plays on the ground and in the air by the Knights and their opponent.
• Despite losing 16 seniors, Aloysius returned a strong junior class that would spearhead an outstanding 1955 season.

1955 Season

1953 Season

Link to any particular season from these pages:

Summary of the 1940s

Summary of the 1930s

Summary of the 1920s

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