1965 St. Aloysius Football Staff

Standing L-R: John Arms, Bill Arms, David McDonald
Kneeling L-R: Carlton Sweeney, Jack Schommer, Pat Richard

1965 Crusader Co-Captains

• The squad selected Joe Caccioppi, Donald Nix, and Mike Zibilich as tri-captains.
• The triple option offense needed to be retooled after losing 10 seniors from '64. Our offense will be inexperienced, declared Arms. Our new QBs are Larry Tillman and Tom Rini. Both have shown up well in preseason workouts, and both will improve with each game.
• Donald Nix had the edge at FB, and Earl Duke and Edward O'Rourke took the HB spots after outstanding spring practices. Eddie developed into a first-class pass receiver.
• Nix was ticketed for the place kicking chores while E Wayne Hepler would punt.
• The newcomers joining C Caccioppi on the O-line were Jody Brumfield and Gene Sutherland at T, 5' 2" Ted Williams and Gary Cousins at G.

Arms expected his defense to shine with eight returning starters from a unit that yielded only 80 points.

• Several lettermen moved to new positions: Tom Rini from S to Monster to replace Nix, who would concentrate on offense; Joe Diliberto from MG to E where he would team with Brian Nick.
• Hefty Barry Bacon returned at T with another 235-pounder, Lloyd Bor­delon, at the opposite post. David Lassiegne took over the MG spot.
• A. J. Cammarata and Tony Cash formed the fastest LB pair in the league.
• The secondary included Rudy Kael, Mickey Evans, and Robert McNally.

For the second and last year, the five New Orleans Catholic schools competed in District 5-AAA with three public schools from outside the city: South Terre­bonne, Terrebonne, and Thibodaux.

• Terrebonne, which lost an astounding 36 seniors, would be rebuilding.
• Otherwise, the district race seemed as wide open as in '64 when four teams tied for the title.
• Most prognosticators pegged Aloysius for the middle of the pack.

• However, the approach of Hurricane Betsy postponed the game for Sunday, September 12.
• But the extensive damage throughout the metropolitan area forced the game to be cancelled.
• The Crusaders' next contest against East Jefferson was set back from Friday, September 17 to Sunday, September 19 to give the schools more time to return to normal.

• Arms was concerned about the physical condition of his squad since they didn't return to practice until Thursday after five idle days.
• Junior Larry Tillman would direct the offense under C.
• Hepler would not see action after developing a bad case of poison ivy. So Mickey Evans would handle the punting chores.
• EJ coach Bob Whitman experienced similar problems.
• FB Tommy Kellum, slated to take up the slack caused by the graduation of Barry Bordelon, the leading scorer and ground-gainer for the '64 public league champions, dropped off the team to get married.
• Because of the difficulties imposed by the hurricane, officials of both schools agreed to charge the pre-game admission of 50 cents for stu­dents at the gate while adults would pay $1.25.
• The game would be televised live on channel 8 (WYES) with Al Wester doing play-by-play and Bill Treuting adding commentary.

• I wasn't real happy with our tackling, and we fumbled away three scoring chances.
• He praised the officials for doing a fine job of keeping the footballs dry but the players' arms and uniforms were caked with mud and almost right away the ball got slippery.
• Bill singled out LBs Cash and Cammarata. They're our C and C boys, and they really did an outstanding job. They stopped plays aimed at them and also moved well to the right and left ... they were all over the field.
• Whitman was impressed with the Crusaders' defense. They really hit us. Of course, their tackling may not have been what it could've been because of the wet field. From the sidelines the field didn't look as wet as it actually was.

The Crusaders, who jumped into the state poll at #8, had only four days to get ready for their first district game against Terrebonne.

• Coach Frank Sprueill's Tigers defeated Morgan City 25-0 in their delayed opener.
• One of the state's swiftest runners, Larry Whatley (:9.9 100), led a dangerous offense. The senior hadn't contributed much the previous two seasons because of injuries.
• The only returning starter on defense was 205-pound LB Dwain Rogers.
• The Crusaders' 12-7 victory over Terrebonne in '64 raised their overall record against the Houma school to 8-6-1.

• Coach Emmett Michel deployed an almost all-senior lineup led by fleet-footed HB Eldon Causin.
• Because of the hurricane, the Bees had played only one game, an 18-0 victory over Redemptorist September 24. Behrman showed a deci­ded superiority on the ground in that game, 197 to -23.

The Crusaders, back up to #8 in the AP poll, boasted two players at or near the top in district statistics.

• Larry Tillman held a narrow 407-404 lead over Wayne Francingues of Jesuit in total offense in the district.
• Don Nix ranked second in rushing with 272y, not bad for someone who started the season slowly because of an ankle injury.

St. Aloysius now began a rivalry with the new archdiocesan school on the east bank of Jefferson Parish, a series that continues to this day, unbroken except for the Katrina season.

• Joe Galliano had started the football program when Archbishop Rum­mel opened its doors in 1962.
• With his first senior class finally in place, he played a schedule packed with AAA teams in preparation for joining the Catholic League in 1966.
• The Raiders sported an undefeated mark with victories over Redempto­rist, Joe's previous school, McDonogh, Fortier, and St. Bernard. The only close game was the first one, 13-6.

Arms welcomed the new series with Rummel.

• We're very happy to begin relations with Rummel. We played them last year, but we didn't count the game in the standings. As a matter of fact, I don't even know the score of the game.
• Bill announced that stellar DT Barry Bacon suffered a hand injury against Thibodaux and would miss the Rummel game. On the bright side, Earl Duke, on the sideline with injuries the last few weeks, would see some action.
• The coach praised the performance of 155 lb E Joe Kott, who made se­veral key stops against the Tigers. Joe missed ten days of preseason work when he attended Pelican Boys' Camp.

St. Aloysius-Rummel Action


Evans eludes Raider defenders.

Tillman rares back.

L: Diliberto runs after receiving pass; R: O'Rourke sweeps E for good yardage.

• Galliano wasn't upset. St. Aloysius was a little tough for us. We haven't played a team as strong as they are ... the experience is what we need more than anything. ... We were in contention until the last two minutes.
• Arms: We hit well, and Larry Tillman gave us an edge offensively. He real­ly passed well ... only two of his passes were off. ... They executed their plays well. This is a pretty good series we started today ... there were a lot of people in the stands.
• Bill singled out one of his LBs. This was one of Kael's finest games. Many of our defensive linemen played well, too, especially in the second half.
• The Crusader coach wasn't pleased with the penalties, however. We hurt ourselves by not executing properly ... we had two long runs and two long pass plays called back ... in a close game that could be fatal. Arms had just one complaint about the officiating. Once one of our backs was trying to go downfield for a pass ... the officials said he was illegally using his hands ... the other calls were correctly made, but not that one.

Tillman earned the States-Item Back of the Week honors as he held onto the District 5-AAA lead in total offense.

Generally, a team that doesn't punt in a game wins.

• Q1: The Crusaders got the first break when Kott recovered a bobble on the HC 30. Nine players later, Nix scored on a 1y plunge. Zibilich snared a pass from Tillman for the PAT. But the Tigers took the kickoff and marched 62y to pay dirt.
• Q2: On the 14th play, Duhe whipped a 7y strike to Quick. However, Butch's EP try went wide to keep SA in front 7-6. But that didn't last long because the Crossmen forced a Hepler punt, taking over on their 33. Duhe culminated the march with a 25y sweep around RE. This time his PAT try was good.
• Q3: HC put the game away with two TDs, one on a 10y Duhe-to-Quick pass and the other on Butch's 17y ramble.
• Q4: The Tigers thwarted the Saints at every turn to complete what Kal­bacher pegged as one of our better efforts.

Tillman led the Knights in rushing with 66y in 15 carries and passed for 43 more to widen the gap in his total offense duel with Francingues, 953-851.

The AP voters were unimpressed with Jesuit's victory, dropping them to #4.

• Don Perret's Rams were 0-7, including four district losses.
• Their main threat was Jimmy Laporte's passing, especially to Jimmy O'Brien, whose 29 catches were only two shy of the district record held by former Ram A. J. Gibbs.
• All signs pointed to another defensive struggle like the 3-2 Saint victory in '64.

The Crusaders celebrated homecoming with a victory, but it wasn't easy.

• First half: The Saints mounted their only substantial offensive thrust in the final minutes from their 43 to the Ram 30 before running out of gas.
• Second half: Midway through Q4, Aloysius started from its 18 and drove into Ram territory, thanks mostly to O'Rourke's 40y scamper to the 22. Six plays later, Nix plunged in from the 1. But the Rams didn't go down without a fight. Laporte connected with Mario Slocum for 28y to the SA 29 to record the only Ram first down in the second half. But on the next snap, Laporte rolled to his left and, after gaining 5, was jarred loose from the pigskin, which went right to Evans at the 19. The Knights then ran out the clock.

Tillman eludes a Ram DB.

L: Tillman runs through a defender for 8y; R: Zibilich receives a pass for 20y.

• Two individuals reached landmarks during the game.
  • O'Brien grabbed two aerials to tie the district record.
  • Tillman passed the magic 1,000y mark in total offense by picking up 42y rushing and 14 more passing to give him 240 on the ground and 769 through the air.
• Arms: We didn't have the spark on offense today that we usually have. But we did manage to get one drive together in the fourth period without killing ourselves with penalties. ... The Rams hit well and stuck in there with us. And I was well pleased with our defense. It gave us good field position all day and made the difference in the game.
• Perret: Needless to say, I was disappointed that we lost. With a few breaks, we could have won. Aloysius has a solid team, and they would have been right up there in the district if it hadn't been for some bad breaks early in the season. This was one of our better ball games. It was compara­ble to the South Terrebonne game where we lost 6-0 on a blocked punt.

Assured of at least a .500 record, the Crusaders met De La Salle in the sea­son finale.

• The 6-3 Cavaliers were 3-3 in district, with no chance for the championship.
• RB Duke Chappuis ranked second in the league in rushing with 629y de­spite sitting out last week's game with injuries. His running mate, Dick Mart, was right behind with 625.

On November 22, Holy Cross principal Brother Robert Hampton informed Brother Lee that the Tigers forfeited their 27-7 victory over the Crusaders because of an ineligible player.

The final district statistics showed Francingues edging Tillman in total offense, 1186-1175.

• Larry led in passing with 917y on 58-of-134 with 5 TDs.
• O'Rourke finished 7th in rushing with 551y on 80 carries and 6th in re­ceiving with 205y on 12 catches, a 17.1y average.
• Dilberto occupied the 7th spot in receiving with 176y on 6 catches for an impressive 29.3 average.
• Nix finished eighth in scoring with 38 points (5 TD, 8 PAT).

• The Blue Jays were upset in the first round of the playoffs by Fair Park at City Park Stadium.
• The Tigers suffered a similar fate at the hands of Woodlawn, a rising power in Shreveport led by QB Terry Bradshaw.

Three Aloysians earned places on the Times-Picayune District 5AAA all-star team.

Offense
G - Tony Cash
Defense
E - Joe Diliberto
T - Barry Bacon

Ten Crusaders made the Honorable Mention list.

• Larry Tillman
• A. J. Cammarata
• Eddie O'Rourke
• Donald Nix
• Mike Zibilich
• Rudy Kael
• Wayne Hepler
• Joe Kott
• Ted Williams
• Joe Caccioppi

The same three Crusaders the TP selected for first team honors appeared on the States-Item all-prep team although Cash made it as a LB.

Four more made the second team:

Offense
C - Joe Caccioppi
B - Larry Tillman
Defense
LB - A.J. Cammarata
B - Rudy Kael

Three Crusaders made the S-I's Honorable Mention list. (Remember - this was All-Prep, not All-District.)

• Donald Nix
• Eddie O'Rourke
• Mike Zibilich

Joe Diliberto made the All-State team at defensive E. Southeastern Louisiana gave the 5'10" 190 lb senior a grant-in-aid scholarship.

The award winners at the school's annual football banquet included:

• Most Valuable Player - Joe Diliberto
• Best Back - Eddie O'Rourke
• Best Lineman - Barry Bacon
• New Orleans Quarterback Club Scholastic Award - Tom Rini

District 5-AAA held a momentous meeting December 9 at which Brother Lee was elected president of the district.

• Five schools applied for membership for 1966-7: Archbishop Rummel, Archbishop Shaw, Cor Jesu, St. Augustine, and Xavier Prep.
• A 2/3 vote of the district was required for admission as well as approval by 2/3 of the entire LHSAA at its annual meeting in January.
• The eight current schools voted 5-3 in favor of St. Augustine's admis­sion. The three nay votes came from the public schools. The question arose as to what constituted 2/3 of 8. Mathematically, 2/3 x 8 = 16/3 or 5 1/3. Commissioner T. H. Waters stated that the yea votes must total more than 5 1/3 so that 5 was not sufficient.
• Xavier Prep, which had male students but had dropped football, recei­ved only two yea votes (one of which came from Aloy­sius) with the pub­lic schools again voting nay and three Catholic schools abstaining.
• Shaw polled seven yea votes with one abstention while Rummel was approved by a 6-0-2 count.
• The district turned down Cor Jesu's application 2-4-2, with Redempto­rist and Aloysius casting the positive votes.
• The 5-3 vote for St. Aug. became a moot point when, to no one's sur­prise, only 18 of the 185 delegates at the LHSAA annual meeting Janu­ary 29 favored admission of the all-black school.
• The Purple Knights would resort to the Federal court system to obtain membership in the state association.

• Offense was clearly the problem. Despite boasting the district's leading passer, the Saints scored only 99 points in ten games or 9.9 ppg.
• The defense surrendered just 94 or 9.4 per game. In eight of the ten games, the opponent scored 7 points or less. But three of those con­tests were losses because the Crusaders scored 6 once and 0 twice.
• Injuries plagued the team throughout the season. Arms rarely had a full contingent of regulars dressed out for a game.

Top of This Page