December 1, 2022
Chat with Coach Bonis #11: Northwood Review, Carencro Preview
by Brother Neal Golden, S.C. (CJ ’57)
"When the Crusaders finished the regular season 5-5, their worst record since 2013, and a #13 power ranking, their streak of three straight Select Division I semifinal appearances seemed to be in jeopardy.
Three victories later, Brother Martin is again in the semifinals thanks to a 28-14 victory over #5 Northwood of Shreveport at Tad Gormley Stadium last Friday night.
Once again, senior RB Torey Lambert led the offense, carrying the ball an incredible 47 times, a school record, for a career-high 301 yards and two touchdowns. That was all but 58 yards of his team’s total offense.
Lambert started with a bang on the first offensive play of the game, running 53 yards to the Northwood 14 to set up the game’s first touchdown. Three plays later from the five, he drove through right guard into the end zone. 7-0 Brother Martin with 7:43 remaining in the opening period.
Later in the quarter, after an excellent punt by Jacob Zimmer inside the Northwood five, DE Brenden LeBlanc stuffed the Falcon running back in the end zone for a safety to make it 9-0.
In the second quarter, RB Jordan West rambled 32 yards to the Northwood eight. He then zipped into the end zone from there to make it 16-0 at the half. The Falcons gained only 40 yards in the first 24 minutes.
The Falcons scored their first touchdown on a 3-yard run by Quintavion White in the third quarter. They struck again in the fourth quarter on a 75-yard pass from Mason Welch to Marc Denison.
The Crusaders added two Leyton Liuzza field goals and a 3-yard touchdown run by Lambert with 7:02 remaining in the game.
Coach Mark Bonis says he didn’t plan on Lambert carrying the ball 47 times. “We planned on splitting carries between West and Lonardo as quarterback, but when Jordan West got and TE Alejandro Ferreyra got hurt, it took a lot of stuff out of our game plan. I had no idea that his carries were in the 40s until the end of the game. Several times we had a couple of guys that could have played, and we asked Torey, ‘How do your feel?’ He wanted the football. He got stronger as the game went on.”
“The defense played well again. They’ve done a great job for us all year. They were really good in the first half but gave up big plays in the second half, which is uncharacteristic of our defense. That’s got to be cleaned up.
“Offensively, we did some good things, but we had the opportunity to finish drives with touchdowns but had to settle for field goals. In the opening drive out of halftime, we had to settle for a field goal. Going into a semifinal football game, we’ve got to clean that up. We have to finish drives with touchdowns, and we can’t give up big plays on defense.”
While admitting that Northwood made some good defensive adjustments at halftime, headed, “We became one-dimensional once those injuries occurred, especially with Ferreyra. That hurt us because we’re such a multiple tight-end team. He’ll be back this week. So will Jordan West. He dislocated his elbow, but he’ll play with a brace. We’re going into this game with everybody we had last week.”
The Crusaders played at Carencro last season and defeated the Bears 35-6. The score is misleading because Carencro QB Chantz Ceaser left the game near the end of the first quarter with a knee injury and did not return. But he’s back at full strength this year.
“This is a completely different team this year. It would have been a great football game last year if the quarterback didn’t go down. Last week he played both ways, which talks to his toughness. He carried the team on his shoulders in their win over #1 Warren Easton. Offensively, they’re different from last year. They still run the option, but they’ve added a spread component.”
How did they upset Easton? “It was the physicality of the style of football Carencro plays. It was a tough matchup for Easton, which could match Carencro’s athleticism at the skill spots, but Carencro was far superior in physicality. Easton took the lead with eight minutes left in the game, but Carencro controlled the clock and scored the winning TD at the end.”
So the Crusaders are in the semifinals for the fourth straight year. “I’m proud of our whole group, players and coaches. How they’ve responded in the face of adversity. They’ve been remarkable in following the process, believing in one another, and continuing every day to get better and do what they have to do.
“We hope to play in the school’s first state final since 1989. I know we’re very hungry. After the semifinal game, they were excited, but it was like, ‘We’ve done this before, but what do we have to do to take the next step?’ They’ve been all business this week.”
Would you say that this team would not have reached the semifinals without good senior leadership? “That’s a very good statement. We have five or six guys who are four-year starters. We couldn’t have had this success without their leadership. Guys in previous classes laid a foundation of high expectations."
Tickets are only available for purchase with cash at the gate, and Carencro has a clear bag policy. Be sure to join us in support of the Brother Martin football team vs. Carencro at Carencro High School (Lafayette) on Friday, December 2 at 7 PM!
