October 28, 2021
Chat with Coach Bonis #7: Carencro Review, Holy Cross Preview
by Brother Neal Golden, S.C. (CJ ’57)
The Crusaders’ second road trip of the season pitted them against the defending 4A state champions in Carencro, north of Lafayette. They left Acadiana with a 35-6 victory.
The weird first quarter resulted in Brother Martin leading 7-0 despite running only two plays. After Carencro ran almost nine minutes off the clock before missing a field goal, the Crusaders scored on their second snap. QB Garrett Mmahat threw a quick flat pass to WR Clayton Lonardo, who shook off three tacklers and sprinted down the sideline for an 81 yard touchdown.
The Crusader cause was aided by the unfortunate knee injury to the Bears’ starting QB Chantz Ceaser early in the second quarter. The backup signal-caller mishandled multiple snaps to give the potent Martin offense excellent field position or stymie a drive into Crusader territory. Senior DB Austin Roberts recovered two of the fumbles. Carencro also missed two more field goal attempts.
The second Martin touchdown came on a 1 yard run by Jordan Thomas in the second period after a fumble recovery. The third quarter saw Torey Lambert add another 1 yard score and Thomas sprint into the end zone from 6 yards out. The final six-pointer came on a beautiful 30 yard pass from Mmahat that hit senior WR Julian Oubre in stride racing across the middle. Leyton Liuzza converted all five extra point attempts.
Carencro got on the scoreboard late in the game against the Crusader reserves.
Mmahat threw for 202 yards, and Lonardo finished with five catches for 151 yards.
Coach Mark Bonis: “Our guys exhibited both physical and mental toughness and played team football in all three phases. I was proud of our offense because we knew they were going to try to control the clock, and we had to be efficient with our possessions. And we were opportunistic with their turnovers.” Concerning the three missed field goals by Carencro, “I believe that the pressure we bring on that special teams unit had an effect on their kicker. Our PAT and field goal block teams give us fits at times in practices and have caused us to change some of the things we do.”
On the emergence of Lonardo as an offensive threat: “Everything that we ask him to do he excels at. He’s really grown up this year. He does a great job of working to perfect his talents. He’s become more of a student of the game. That coupled with his athletic ability has made him a special player.”
The euphoria from the victory didn’t last long. The Monday after the game, a bomb cyclone descended on the Brother Martin football program. The Louisiana High School Athletic Association ruled that the Crusaders must forfeit their first five victories of the season because of the use of ineligible players. Just like that, the record went from 6-0 to 1-5. Brother Martin has requested an emergency appeal hearing from the LHSAA.
The Crusaders now prepare to meet Holy Cross at Tad Gormley Stadium Friday night at 7:00 p.m. “The challenge this week is ignoring all the outside distractions with the unfortunate news. Offensively and defensively schematic-wise, Holy Cross is different from what they’ve been in the past. They’ve gotten better as the weeks have gone by. The challenge is keeping our guys focused on the opponent and not the outside noise. And also having them understand that this opponent is very dangerous. They run the option now. So we’ll have limited offensive possessions. Defensively, we’ve got to do a good job of getting them behind the chains. And when we get the football, we’ve got to be efficient. They’re very good in special teams. We’ve got to win that battle.”
Asked to describe the mood of the team after the devastating news from the LHSAA, Bonis said, “They were very disappointed when I broke the news to them Monday after practice. They’re obviously upset, but we weight-lifted after practice and had maybe one of our best weight-lifting sessions, very energetic. This week of practice they’ve been focused. I’m proud of them.
“The end goal (winning the state championship) still stands in front of us. We’re going to be proactive and control what we can control. Nothing changes. We simply live the program principles of our creed. At the end of the day, we control our own destiny for that end goal.
“I feel sorry for anybody that will stand in our guys’ way. They have one mission on their mind now. Accomplish your mission one day at a time. I would love nothing more than to write one of the best stories in LHSAA history for our kids and our fans. Of course, it’s one thing to say that, but we’ve got to go earn it.
“When the draws come out for the playoffs, we can’t play the ‘what if’ game. We have to maintain our consistency of purpose and our sense of urgency. One practice at a time, one rep at a time. I believe our kids have that resolve and mindset. We’ve got a great coaching staff that has helped relay that message. Our players are in good spirits.
“Maybe we haven’t allowed them to really think about it. It’s a grind. They don’t have time to pout about things. I look at this as a great opportunity. This is such a great learning experience for our guys. This is life. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We’ve got to earn what we want.”
