Brother Martin began District 9-5A play last Friday with a smashing victory over the Jesuit Blue Jays, 31-7. The Crusaders struck for four touchdowns of more than 40 yards starting with a 74 yard pass from Garrett Mmahat ‘22 to Jaylon Spears ‘21 on the game’s third play. In the second quarter, Mmahat connected with Austin Jackson ‘22 for an electrifying 63 yard score. Just before the end of the half, Davonn Moore ‘20 returned a punt 53 yards to pay dirt. The third period saw the Mmahat-Jackson connection strike again, this time for a mere 44 yards.
The punt return was a trick play the coaching staff decided to use in the last minute of the first half with no timeouts remaining. Coach Mark Bonis explained, “You need the right time and the right position on the field. We look at the way the wind is blowing and the way we think the ball will come off the punter’s foot.” Davonn Moore ‘20 lined up as an up man while the deep man went to the opposite side from Davonn. When the ball was punted, the deep man led the coverage unit to his side by pretending the ball was coming to him. In the meantime, Moore ran back and caught the punt on the other side of the field. He got some key blocks against the few defenders on that side and went into the end zone.
“Overall, we improved in all three phases against Jesuit,” says Bonis. “We still made a lot of mistakes that we handled Saturday morning on film as well as Monday and Tuesday at practice.”
All attention now turns to St. Augustine. The Purple Knights defeated McDonogh 35 (21-16), Landry-Walker (44-6), and Kennedy (43-0) before losing to Curtis 35-22 last weekend. “They are a very talented, well-coached football team. They are the best team we’ve played so far – complete in all three phases. Junior Kendell Sampson (#11) is a poised, dual-threat quarterback who is efficient with his feet and in the passing game. He throws a very good deep ball.” St. Augustine has two big bruising backs that they alternate to keep them fresh – senior Mahmood Bailey (#22) and sophomore Justin Doyle (#28). “They have a plethora of talented receivers. They give you matchup problems because a couple of them can play tight end. Our defense will have their hands full.” One of the receivers is senior Josh White (#12), who is the cousin of Brother Martin running back Chris Smith. Another is senior, Khi Mathieu (#3), the cousin of Tyrann Mathieu, LSU’s “Honey Badger” who plays defensive back in the NFL. Khi Mathieu is rated the #32 senior in Louisiana by 247 Sports and is committed to the University of Memphis. (Brother Martin safety Nick Turner is #27.)
On the other side of the ball, the Knights have a “very stout four-man front, big and physical. Their linebackers run well and are also very physical. They are athletic in the secondary and play both man-to-man and zone. Their defense has done a good job in their previous games of eliminating the big play and making you one-dimensional on offense. They also do a good job on special teams with playmakers as punt and kickoff returners. They have a good punter and a guy that kicks field goals. All that makes them a complete team and a true contender in this league.”
The Purple Knights were tied with Curtis 22-22 with five minutes to play last week and had the ball inside the Curtis 10-yard line. But they squandered the opportunity and lost by 13 points. “For St. Augustine to stand toe to toe with the reigning state champions shows where they are as a team.”
The Crusaders need their fans to be loud and proud Friday night at 7 p.m. at Tulane’s Yulman Stadium.
