“Freshman quarterback making his first start leads his team to victory over the archrival.” That Cinderella headline has been the basis for Hollywood scripts, but it also was the reality last Friday night as Garrett Mmahat ‘22 steered the Crusaders to a 16-8 homecoming victory over Jesuit. As a result, the 6-4 Crusaders leapfrogged the Blue Jays to the #6 spot in the power rankings to set up tonight’s playoff clash with the #11 Scotlandville Hornets, the team that has eliminated the Crusaders each of the last two seasons.
Coach Mark Bonis says Garrett earned the start with his play in the second half of the 37-32 victory over Shaw the previous week after senior Drew Martin was lost for the season in the Holy Cross game. Mmahat completed 10 of 16 passes against the Blue Jays for 165 yards, including a 41-yard touchdown strike to senior LJ Gilyot that gave the Crusaders a 10-0 lead in the third period. The remaining points came on junior Jack Landry’s three field goals.
But victory would not have been achieved without a stellar effort by the Crusader defense, which shut out the Jays until QB Robert McMahon connected with Luke Laforge for a 20-yard touchdown pass followed by a two-point conversion to cut the lead in half with under three minutes to play. But Martin recovered the onside kick and used up most of the remaining time to leave Jesuit deep in its territory with not enough time to come close to scoring again.
Coach Lance Ledet’s defense sacked McMahon six times in the second half to force five straight three-and-outs and a turnover on downs on Jesuit’s other possession before the Jays finally made a first down on a pass with 3:25 remaining. Bonis: “Our defense has played well the whole season. I’m really proud of them. Our defensive front got pressure, but a lot of the sacks were coverage sacks. Lance does a great job in preparation and had a great game plan.”
Mmahat couldn’t contain his excitement afterward. “To play and beat Jesuit, it feels amazing. I have a lot of friends on that team. It’s awesome.” Bonis praised the youngster. “Garrett did a great job of managing the game and made some key throws.” But Mark also looked ahead to the playoffs. “In order for us to make a run, we have to be clicking on all cylinders. Both Garrett and Isaiah Torregano are going to have to play in some fashion. Garrett will start, but Isaiah brings something different to the table athletically.”
Bonis hasn’t spent any time talking about the last two meetings with Scotlandville. “This is a different year and different teams. It’s about the process – getting us ready, trying to improve in all three facets.”
As always, the Hornets have an athletic, well-coached team. “The offensive line does a great job of run blocking. They have two short receivers who are very fast. Our defense will have their hands full. But that’s why you play Petal, Warren Easton, and Bastrop in non-district play to prepare for this part of the season. Defensively, Scotlandville returns a nose tackle, William Myles (#77), who is starting for the third year. They have a middle linebacker, Jimyon Profit (#44), that makes them go. They are very talented at cornerback. Don’t let their 4-5 record fool you. Their losses are all to quality opponents. Also, the injury bug has bitten them. Six or seven guys have been injured. Offensively, they spread the field and usually run from the shotgun although they will get under center with two fullbacks in short yardage situations. They play two quarterbacks, both dual threats who can extend plays.”
“We’ve got to win the special teams battle. They’re scary at the return spots. Jack Landry’s been doing a great job kicking off into the end zone. They have athletes all over the field. So any place you kick the ball, there’s an athlete there. We have to be great tackling in space in the kicking game and when their receivers catch the ball.”
Some teams don’t practice tackling this late in the season, but that’s not the case with the Crusaders. “We run tackling drills every day except the day before the game. We lighten parts of practice – the team aspect. But we’re always working on the fundamentals, ball security, tackling, aligning correctly.”
Rain is a possibility for Friday evening. “Both teams have to deal with it. We’ve got a good turf to play on. Rain takes away from some of what we do, but it also takes away from the other team as well.”
Be there tonight to cheer the Crusaders to playoffs victory starting at 7:00 p.m. at Tad Gormley Stadium!
