The football off-season of 2020 was like no other in school history. The COVID-19 virus ended in-person schooling on March 13. ‘We were lifting weights when the shutdown occurred,” says Coach Mark Bonis. “That was the last day we had anything organized for football until June 8.”
On that date, the Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) allowed teams to work out together with some restrictions. From March to June, “we had been sending workouts for a whole week to students to do at home. We had to adjust the workouts for players who didn’t have weights at home. I’m really proud of our guys. They worked with blind faith, not knowing if there would even be a season.
Starting June 8, the coaching staff set up a tent in the parking lot behind the Ridgley Center so that players could spread out. “We had three different workout areas, two curtained off in the tent and the other in the weight room.”
As for virus testing, “we strictly followed the protocol from the Tulane Institute of Sports Medicine. They are a leader in southeastern college athletics. We met with them in early April and continued to meet once a week to be ready for June 8. We made modifications based on the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control.”
“We never had anybody test positive among those who came on campus. A couple of parents called and said their son may have contracted the virus from an outside source, but they weren’t allowed to come in. Our coaches and training staff were amazing. We kept the players in small pods and did continuous cleaning. It was a team effort.”
The LHSAA finally decided the season could start October 2. How have the Crusaders prepared for the first game against Ponchatoula? “We were still in Phase 2. We still have not brought everybody back. Our coaches have basically done two-a-days for the last five weeks. We practice the starters in two pods – offensive and defensive. The younger guys come in after that. Our starters practice every day whether they’re in school or not. The guys who are not starters come in on their designated A or B days for lifting and practicing.”
The first hitting came on Monday, September 21 after the mayor allowed further contact. “That was our first contact since our last game in November. We had been allowed to go out in pads by the LHSAA for conditioning purposes. But we strictly adhered to the no-contact rule until that Monday.”
Were you concerned about a greater number of injuries once “live” football began? “When we went out with pads, we used a step by step approach. We did half pads with contact but not tackling. Doing things to a ‘thud.’ We had three days a week with half pads, not tackling but thudding. We scrimmaged McDonogh 35 on Thursday the 24th. We had two live series apiece with tackling. The goal was to get the necessary stuff in but get our guys home as quickly as possible to eliminate the spread of the virus. We took out some things to get the kids in and out. We made a lot of adjustments on the run. Our biggest concern was injuries.
“We’re big on critiquing what we do daily. How can we make things better? The players and coaches did as well as they could within the guidelines we followed. We did some really good things that we’ll carry over to normalcy. Because we weren’t allowed contact, we had to find new ways to practice and be efficient in all three phases (offense, defense, special teams). Some of the procedures we put in because of the virus will become permanent.”
With the loss of so much practice time in the spring and summer, the Crusaders are blessed to have a number of returning starters, especially on offense. “We have seven returning offensive linemen who are rotating with an eighth stepping up. We have two tight ends back. The quarterback (Garrett Mmahat ’22) and one of last year’s two main running backs (Jaylon Spears ’21) return.”
Brother Martin defeated Ponchatoula 45-17 in Game 4 last year. 6’6” QB TJ Finley is a freshman at LSU, but the Green Wave has a more than adequate replacement. “Coach Hank Tierney raves about his quarterback this year. He says he’s the best athlete he’s ever coached, including his years at Shaw. He moved from safety to quarterback and is rated as one of the best athletes in the country. He brings something different to the table from Finley. He fits the style of offense that Coach Hank likes to run with more option plays. But they don’t want to abandon what they’ve done in the past because they have a 6’5” and a 6’3” receiver back. Their offensive line is humongous. We have only a film of a scrimmage from them. We’re preparing for everything we think they can throw at us. We’ve gone back and looked at seven or eight years’ worth of film of Coach Tierney’s teams on YouTube. Despite all that preparation, we’ll have to make some adjustments on the fly. The kids have to stay calm. We’ll have different answers for the different things they could do. If they score on the first drive, it’s no big deal. We’ll get it fixed on the next drive. We’re keeping things as simple as possible for our guys to make sure they can execute as fast as they can.”
Good luck to the Crusaders as they launch the much-anticipated 2020 season!
- Article written by Bro. Neal Golden '57 CJ
