October 12, 2023
Chat with Coach Bonis #7: Jesuit Review, Holy Cross Preview
by Brother Neal Golden, S.C. (CJ ’57)
"Brother Martin’s annual clash with Jesuit proved to be similar to the previous week’s encounter with Karr – a tale of two halves. The Crusaders didn’t score in the first half but came on strong in the second half to win 15-3.
Neither offense gained traction in the first half. The Crusaders lost two fumbles and missed a 44 yard field goal. It looked like the teams would go to the locker room without scoring until Jesuit punted inside the Martin 20 in the last minutes of the second quarter. The Crusaders tried to surprise the Jays with a long pass, but Joseph Barber intercepted. That set up Ethan Cabos’s 32 yard field goal as the first half ended. 3-0 Jesuit. Coach Mark Bonis: “The interception came on an RPO (run-pass option play). If the run’s there, take it. If the pass is there, take it. Our freshman receiver took a bad path on his route, and QB Seth Dazet put the pass in an inopportune spot.”
What halftime adjustments were made?
“The defense had played very well, but we stopped ourselves offensively. We were moving the ball well, but we weren’t finishing drives. It came down to executing in all three phases.”
Early in the third quarter, the Jays lined up in punt formation deep in their territory. The snap sailed high over the punter’s head and went through the end zone for a safety to make the score 3-2.
What effect did the safety have on our team?
“We kept moving the football. Eventually, good things will happen. When we got the ball after the safety, we had a short field and were able to finish the drive with a touchdown.”
Junior Treshoun Ware, a starting defensive back, was used on offense to give starter Jordan West some rest with three backup halfbacks injured. Ware carried the ball on every play of a four-play, 48 yard drive that ended when he zipped around the left side down the sideline 21 yards to the end zone. Jordan West ran in the two-point conversion. 10-3 Crusaders.
“For Treshoun to do what he did was impressive. He’s got some innate ability, some great vision, and could be a running back with more work. But we didn’t want to use him too much on offense because we needed him on defense.”
After the stout Crusader defense forced a three-and-out, it was West’s turn to carry the load. He rushed seven times for 29 yards, converting third downs twice on an 11-play drive that consumed 6:40 and ended with Smith booting a 37 yard field goal. 13-3 Crusaders.
How many times have you seen two safeties in a game? Midway through the fourth quarter, the Jays lined up in punt formation only to have the snap sail high over the punter’s head again. This time he kicked the ball through the end zone to keep the defense from recovering deep in Jesuit territory. 15-3 Crusaders.
West ended the evening with 131 yards on 25 carries. The Crimson defense held Jesuit to just 94 yards of total offense, more than half of which came on a 51 yard pass from senior QB Beau Perez to sophomore WR Roman Larre late in the fourth quarter.
Jesuit coach Ryan Manale: “It was a defensive war. You got to play great special teams in a defensive war, and our special teams were not great. We beat ourselves in some ways. On offense we can’t afford to have any penalties, especially going against a physical, well-coached defense like Brother Martin.”
Catholic League play continues this week with our homecoming game against Holy Cross Friday night at Tad Gormley Stadium.
The undefeated Tigers are coached by former Brother Martin faculty member and coach Scott Wattigny in his first year back at his alma mater.
“From an offensive standpoint, they have one of the best set of skill players I’ve seen since I’ve been coaching. They have two outstanding receivers, Krosse Johnson and Koby Young. One is a four-star guy who’s polished, and the other has world class speed: 10.5 in the hundred. The three running backs are outstanding players. The offensive coordinator does a good job of getting the ball to his playmakers, who make the most of their opportunities. Defensively, they fly to football, play hard, and are physical.”
Current and past Crusaders, turn out strong Friday night to help our gridders win the homecoming game!"
Photos Courtesy of SVP Media Group, LLC