October 14, 2022
Chat with Coach Bonis #6: Jesuit Review, Holy Cross Preview
by Brother Neal Golden, S.C. (CJ ’57)
"If you like defense, you enjoyed last Friday night’s Jesuit-Brother Martin game. The Crusaders won their homecoming game 7-3, the total points being the lowest in the series between the two schools since the Blue Jays won 3-0 in 1992.
Led by senior defensive lineman Brenden LeBlanc, the Crusaders held the Jays to a measly 9 yards rushing and 114 total yards. The 6’1” 265lb East Tennessee State commitment was in the Jesuit backfield all night as the defense limited the Jays to 31 yards rushing and 38 total yards in the second half.
The biggest play in the scoreless first half didn’t count. Jesuit QB Beau Perez connected with WR Jace Larsen for 69 yards to the nine only to have the play negated by an illegal motion penalty. The Martin offense was thwarted by two interceptions. Neither team came close to gaining 100 yards with the Crusaders edging the Jays 83-76. Jesuit reached the Martin 30 in the first quarter before losing the ball on a fumble. On their next possession, they faced fourth-and-1 at the 21. The Jays chose to go for it instead of trying a field goal, but Perez was stopped for no gain to turn the ball over.
In the third quarter, Crusader sophomore LB Jadon Weber intercepted a pass and returned it to the Jesuit 29. Senior RB Torey Lambert carried the ball multiple times until he scored the evening’s lone touchdown. Jacob Zimmer booted the all-important extra point making it 7-0. That forced Jesuit to score a touchdown after they got on the board later in the period on Aiden Corbello’s 37-yard field goal after recovering a fumble on a quarterback-running back exchange.
Neither side threatened again until the final minutes when several pass completions moved the Jays to the Martin 28. That was close enough to throw into the end zone, but the Crusader defense pressured Perez into incompletions, then capped their sensational performance with another LeBlanc sack on the last play of the game as the Martin side of the field went crazy.
Asked if there were any major adjustments at halftime, Coach Mark Bonis said, “No, it comes down to execution. During the course of a game, you can’t get too high or too low. You have to stay the course and keep plugging. Neither side did anything that the opponent wasn’t expecting. Credit the defense on both sides.
“In the course of any game, there are several plays that are key plays. In a close game like that, the mindset is to make sure we do what we do. We knew any mistakes could be the key play leading to victory or loss. We put the football on the ground in our territory in the third quarter. That could have been detrimental to us, but the defense held strong, and we gave up just a field goal.”
The offense wasn’t able to control the ball enough in the last minutes. As a result, Jesuit had a shot at the winning touchdown in the final minute. “We’ve got to be better in situational awareness. We should have converted a third-and-four to put the game away. I’ve been disappointed in our offensive execution and in situational awareness during games. We definitely need to be better there as the season progresses.
“I’m proud of the guys for continuing to fight and find a way to get the win where there wasn’t a whole lot that we created from an offensive standpoint. Because of our youth, we’re not as explosive as we have been in the past. Our room for error is very low. We have to be methodical and put together long drives.
“We define explosion plays as runs of 12 yards or more and passes of 16 yards or more. Jesuit had five run explosions and five pass explosions. We had no passing explosions and six running explosions.”
The Crusaders now prepare for another rival that they’ve played since the early 1920s – Holy Cross.
“They are a senior-laden team that is much improved. The QB, junior Cole Canatella (#8), is a warrior who battles every game. They have a very good wide receiver in junior Koby Young (#2). And their freshman RB Ke’Rynn Smith (#21) is a really good player. They’ve got big play potential at any point in the game.
“Last year, their offense was more option based. This year it’s more spread based with some option principles.
“They have a new defensive coordinator, the former Shaw head coach Tommy Connors.
“They beat Chalmette and could have won their games with Rummel and Curtis. The Catholic school teams in this district are very comparable. Any team can beat any other team.”
Let’s pack the visiting stands at Tad Gormley tonight and root the Crusaders to victory!"
Be sure to join us in support of the Brother Martin football team vs. Holy Cross at Tad Gormley Stadium tonight, October 14th at 7 PM!
