• The Eagles had won all five previous openers by a com­bined score of 77-13, including a 32-7 romp in '58.
• Easton reached the state finals in '58, losing a heartbreaker to Lake Charles in the last minute.
• Angel "Babe" Gendusa took over for his former boss, Hoss Memtsas, who refused to obey the Orleans Parish School Board's decree that coaches must also be classroom teach­ers. Hoss had spent the last twenty of his 23 years at his alma mater teaching physical education. Also exiting with Memtsas was his longtime assistant Billy Brinkman.
• Hoss transferred to Fortier to teach social studies but have nothing to do with the athletic program.
• Gaudin proclaimed the Eagles "Hoss-less but certainly not horseless ..." even after five players, including several projected starters, withdrew from the team in protest of the coaching change.
• Gendusa: It's rough having to replace boys you were counting on ... He also knew Aloysius would want revenge after taking a shellacking in '58: We licked 'em 32-7 last year, and just that alone means they'll be ready for us. ... We've got a long way to go before we're as good as last year's team, but we're trying.
• According to N. Charles Wicker of the Picayune, the SA- Easton clash would pit a Crimson backfield as good as any in the city against a topflight Old Gold and Purple line.

Mel Parnell, former Red Sox star lefty and GM/Manager of the New Orleans Pelicans, who played their home games in City Park Stadium, announced that the field would be ready for the opener. Through the combined efforts of the city and the Pelicans, the skinned part of the infield has been re-sodded and the mound has been leveled.

• The Tarpons rated a decided underdog against the "heavi­er, more experienced" Aloysians.
• Milt Clavier's squad had held De La Salle to a scoreless tie heading into the final period before bowing 12-0. QB Bill Eckert connected on 10 of 25 passes. Could the young Tarps come up with a second good game in a row?
• Saints' line coach Bobby Nuss scouted the game and came away impressed by Eckert and 195 lb T Elbert Goff. Eckert is a good T-formation QB while Goff stayed right in there with the De La Salle linemen. Douglass added: We at Aloysius feel that Reinhardt is one of the best T-formation QBs in the state. But this boy Eckert is good, too.
• The Crusaders impressed the state sports writers enough to earn the #6 spot in the first AAA poll.

• Q1: Aloysius wasted no time in taking the lead. Taking the kickoff, they picked up three first downs in a row with Bonura, completely recovered from a hand injury, climaxing the 66y march by blasting into the EZ from 3y away. Balser started his 4-for-4 night for con­versions. When its turn came, Fortier immediately went to the air but gained only 5y on three attempts. Going for it on fourth down, Eckert threw into the waiting arms of Poirson on the SA 47, and the terminal raced to pay dirt. Before the period ended, Larry Federico blocked Eckert's punt at the Fortier 26. Poirson picked up the loose pigskin and raced to his second straight TD with 2:23 left.
• Q2: The Crimson scored their fourth and final TD near the end of the half when G George "Buzzy" Kiefer intercepted a pass by Hashen Salomon on the SA 42 and returned it to the Tarpon 49. The Saints picked up three first downs to set up Bonura's second tally, this one over LT from the 5.
• Second half: Douglass had a chance to give many reserves some experience.

 
Aloysius-Fortier action

• Q1: An opening exchange of punts gave Aloysius favorable field position at their 47 after a weak 18y boot. From there, they rolled to their first TD, Reinhardt doing the honors on a roll out around RE on fourth and a foot. Balser booted the first of his three PATs. Bogalusa failed to gain a first down and punted to the SA 30.
• Q2: Another sustained drive carried to the 13. On a perfectly executed option play, Reinhardt pitched to Nastasi who hot-footed into the EZ. After the Jacks' attack fizzled again, Aloysius drove 45y for their third TD. This time the air arm struck, Reinhardt hitting Nastasi for 15 to set up a 12-yarder to Dalmado for the TD. On the first play after the kickoff, Bonura picked off Richard Cothren's pass and scampered 33y to make it 27-0 at the half.
• Q3: The Black and Gold took the kickoff and moved 70y for their only TD. Cothren completed five passes for 52 of the yards. Bobby Givens ran to the 1, from where Cothren sneak­ed over.
• Q4: Early in the period, second string G Kenneth Belloni inter­cepted another Cothren aerial and rumbled 41y for the last score of the eve­ning. A heavy rain started soon after that and got steadily worse, making the last 10 minutes a battle of de­fense and fumbles.

Burns and Rink down a Lumberjack.

• Q1: Aloysius moved 50y in six plays for their first TD. Nastasi scored from the 9. The Tigers retaliated right after the kickoff when Gene Waalk burst up the middle for 73y. The PAT failed.
• Q2: Bonura quick kicked from his 42 to the 25 where the Tigers fumbled the ball, the Saints recovering. On the first play, Reinhardt passed to Dalmado for 20y and a TD. Before halftime, Tony scored again when he went over from the 4. But lightning struck twice after the kickoff on another 73y run, this one by Barry Hutchinson.
• Q3: Aloysius marched 73y in 13 plays for the final tally of the evening. Reinhardt climaxed the drive with a 20y pass to Poirson.
• Q4: Terrebonne managed only one first down in that era when TD plays of more than 10y did not count as first downs.

• Dick Preis replaced Lou Blanda, who had been the three-year old school's only football coach until becoming Jefferson Parish athletic director.
• The Buccaneers sported a 2-2 record with wins over Behrman (20-6) and Catholic High (33-0) to balance out losses to Holy Cross (39-0) and De La Salle (21-13).

• Aloysius had prevailed in every meeting going back to the con­solidated school's first season in 1955.
• The Warriors brought a 3-2 mark into the fray. The defense was anchored by all-prep candidate Don Broughton, a 205 lb tackle and team captain.
• We hope to play St. Aloysius a good game, said EJ coach Jimmy Dutriex. They're good ... but I feel we can stay in there with 'em.
• Douglass, a resident of Jefferson Parish like his assistants Nuss and Schommer, expected a tough battle. I've seen East Jeff play, and I know it's a good ball club.
• The Crusaders would compete without Nastasi, nursing a "leg wound" sustained against West Jeff.
• The contest would be a rare Friday afternoon game.

Completely outplayed the first half, the Saints came back to preserve their record as one of three undefeated, untied AAA teams in Louisi­ana.

• Q1: Dalmado fumbled a punt on the SA 4, and Conrad Mental covered it for EJ. It took four tries, but Claude Foreman went over from the 1. Ronnie Redler converted. The SA offense lost a valuable weapon when Bonura left with a badly sprained ankle that would plague him the rest of the season.
• Q2: A 52y punt by Mancil Lemoine set Aloysius back to their 18. Failing to move, they punted, East Jeff taking possession via a fair catch on their 43. The Blue and White moved to the 6 on passes from Chuck Barras to Mental and Fred Jennings. However, Lemoine fumbled, and Verriere snatched the ball to end the threat. The Crusaders ended the half with a mere 42y, 37 on the ground. The furthest thrust reached the EJ 43.
• Q3: The Crimson turned the tables on the Warriors, holding them to 25y rushing in the period and none in the final quarter. Receiving the kickoff, a Tribe back fumbled when hit by Dalmado, and E Ray Weber picked up the ball and covered the 38y to the Promised Land. With Balser unavailable, Reinhardt passed to Bill Krummel for the tying point. When Aloysius got the ball back, they drove to the EJ 29 before losing the ball on downs.
• Q4: The Saints received the ball on their 6 on the first play as a result of Lemoine's 50y punt. The Knights then held the ball for 9:15 as they methodically moved to the go-ahead TD, which Verriere tallied from the 6. Reinhardt circled RE to make it 14-7. East Jeff gained 29y on a completed pass to the SA 29. But they lost 10 on a running play and couldn't complete a pass to keep control. Aloysius took over and ran out the clock.

The year's largest crowd, 12,500, saw Jesuit spoil the Aloysius home­coming behind Martin's 218y rushing.

• Q1: The Knights jumped to a 6-0 lead near the end of the period after Jim Thriffiley recovered Screen's fumble at the Jay 26. A few plays later, Dalmado scored from the 6. Kenny Marr returned the kickoff to the Jesuit 40. On the first play from scrimmage, Mar­tin galloped to the EZ, escaping no less than five defenders who had a shot at him. He stiff-armed two red shirts and plowed through several more. Vial LeBlanc converted for a 7-6 advan­tage.
• Q2: Jesuit threatened late in the quarter, but a 15y penalty killed the drive at the 2.
• Q3: Reinhardt punted to Screen, who took the ball on his 34 and, with the aid of a fine block at midfield, went all the way to push the lead to 13-6. But Aloysius came right back with a 61y drive culminated by Reinhardt's run from the 9. Balser converted to deadlock the contest. But Jesuit took the kickoff and moved 85y.
• Q4: Martin's second TD, this one from the 6, put the Jays back in front 19-13 with 8:53 left. Later, Jesuit took possession at its 27 after a punt. Marr got 7 on the first play with a personal foul pen­alty tacked on. Kenny got loose again on the next play for 53y and the clinching TD with five minutes to go. Martin veered to the right and threw the last Crusader completely off balance with a nifty change of pace. Forced to take chances, Aloysius tried a fake punt on fourth down but failed to get the first down at the Jesuit 36.

Afterwards, Tarzetti alluded to the fact that Martin spent '58 as a blocking back. The amazing thing about Kenny's running is that before this year he hardly ever ran with the ball ... but hasn't he come through? Ken also admitted: St. Aloysius obviously missed Nick Bonura ... his running and his kicking.

Douglass had nine days to get his charges ready to face Redempto­rist.

• Like the Crusaders, the Rams lost their district opener, to De La Salle in their case.
• Overall, Joe Galliano's squad had three wins, two losses, and a tie. Since one loss came at the hands of Easton 33-7, the Saints, who beat the Eagles, seemed to have the advantage if you went by comparative scores.

Many in the crowd were undoubtedly still buzzing about Billy Can­non's punt return that beat Ole Miss 7-3 the night before. Then they saw the Crusaders top the Rams by almost the same score.

• Q1: The half devolved into a punting duel, the Crusaders boot­ing three times and the Rams, four. Aloysius moved from their 46 to the 34 for the deepest penetration by either team in the period.
• Q2: Midway through, Redemptorist got the first break. 185 lb G Robert Lampard smashed in to block Reinhardt's punt. The Crusaders recovered on the 23 but had to turn the pigskin over on downs. Larry Legendre gained 1, then Vincent Saladino carried to the 15. Legendre hit Gerald Gondolfo for a first down at the 11. Warren O'Rourke pushed to the 10, and Joe Pisciotta to the 9. But two incompletions by Dan Skinner and Saladino ended the threat.
• Q3: The quarter mirrored the first 24 minutes with neither team threatening.
• Q4: The Crusaders finally put points on the board at the end of a drive that started at their 40. Reinhardt completed four pass­es during the march. With first-and-goal from the 5, Paul gained 2. Then Dalmado got 1 before being stopped for no gain on third down. Finally, Verriere plunged over LG into the EZ. Bal­ser converted. In the waning minutes, Saladino completed three passes to move from the 11 to the SA 36. But after an incompletion and a 2y gain, Weber intercepted Saladino on the SA 23 and went all the way for an apparent score. But a clip­ping penalty at the Ram 32 brought the ball back. Aloysius ran two plays before time ran out.

They really hit in there, especially on defense. We were hurt a little by our injuries but we came through this game in good shape. Next week we meet Holy Cross and we'll still have some boys out - John Federico and Nick Bonura. Albert Nastasi is still hurt, and he might see some action if we need a limper.
This Redemptorist team is a lot better than many people expected. I wouldn't be surprised to see them upset Jesuit or Holy Cross.

Douglass now had the task of getting his team ready for the Tigers only four days later.

• Wicker's preview of the game started like this: It will be like Charity hospital patients playing Touro patients Thursday night at City Park stadium ...
• Both teams had been hit hard by injuries just before the start of league play.
• Crusader John Federico would definitely miss the game as would Nas­tasi, whose injury was finally diagnosed as a broken leg. Bonura, who had shed his crutches, may be used only to punt. To make matters worse, Bonura's replacement at FB, Leon Verriere, was also ailing.
• John Kalbacher expected to play without E Billy Truax and HB Harry Nunez as well as Tommy Crais. Kenny Rappold suffered a sprained ankle in the 14-7 loss to De La Salle and would see limited action at most.
• The loser would certainly be eliminated from the Catholic race.

• First half: With John Federico and Nastasi out of action and Bonura and Verriere at half speed, Aloysius passed midfield just once all evening and that was very briefly. Reinhardt hit Krummel with a pass, but the big Crimson E never did get complete control of the ball, juggling it until he was hit and fumbled, HC recovering on the SA 48. The Tigers mounted the only threat of the half, reaching the SA 21 before a fumble stopped them.
• Q3: On the first play from scrimmage, Tommy Kestler stepped in and picked off Reinhardt's pass on the Bengal 48, returning it 11y. Three line plays preceded a 26y TD pass from Billy John­ston to George Fonseca. Johnston, who replaced injured starter Mike Hindelang in the second half, failed on the conversion. After forcing the Saints to punt, the Crossmen came right back, marching from their 31 to the 8 where they lost the ball on downs when two passes went astray.
• Q4: Both Rappold and Nunez played, the former more so al­though the redhead picked up some crucial yardage on sweeps.

• But this game would be different because Johnny Altobello no longer led the Cavalier footballers. Instead, AD Altobello hired William "Buck" Seeber from Terrebonne to take his place on the sideline.
• Seeber made an immediate impact, leading the Cavs to eight straight victories before losing to Jesuit, 27-0. Unfortunately, that defeat cost DLS the Catholic crown and a berth in the state playoffs because the Blue Jays finished their league slate 4-0.
• So Seeber and Altobello accepted an invitation to play in the Shrimp Bowl in Biloxi Friday, December 4.
• A Crusader victory would create a three-way tie for second in the circuit. However, the Crimson would still be fighting with one hand tied behind their backs because of injuries that espe­cially handicapped the offense.

• Q1: Joe Trosclair set up the opening score when he intercept­ed Reinhardt's pass at the DLS 46. Coco ripped off 32 to the 26. Hull, Lloyd Fourroux, and Bob Gracy brought the ball to the 2 from where Hull took it over. Fourroux booted the first of his two PATs. Aloysius ended the period with a dismal 2y on the ground.
• Q2: De La Salle continued to dominate play but never got near the enemy goal.
• Q3: The Cavs had two chances. The first came when Bobby Weber returned Harry Stump's kickoff to the SA 25. After a 15y penalty set DLS back, Hull passed to Fourroux to the 8. However, Tony Heffner fumbled, and Rob ert Main dropped on the ball for the Crusaders. Going nowhere, Reinhardt quick kicked 55y to the DLS 32. Coco and Hull toted the pigskin to the 26. Then Butch took it to the 12. After two plays gained 2, Fourroux fumbled, and John Federico recovered at the 5. With its patched up lineup, SA couldn't get its infantry attack going, netting only 4y in the period.
• Q4: Coco intercepted a Reinhardt pass at the 40 to set up the clinching TD. Hull gained 17 and 14 on the drive that culmina­ted in Jimmy bucking over from the 1. The Crusaders finally penetrated deeper than the Cav 46 in the last 1:15 thanks to interference penalties and a completed pass. But another in­terception on a pass from the 30, this one by Jim Casey, stop­ped the threat. DLS moved to the SA 20 as the game and the St. Aloysius season ended.

Hull and Coco combined for 164 of the Cavs' 274 ground yards.