By: Ron Brocato
Homecoming is a time for celebrating one’s high school days and teenage memories. And the Brother Martin Crusaders want to add another joyous memory on Friday, Oct. 17, when they host the John Curtis Patriots at Tad Gormley Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
The first of two games the Crusaders will host this season, the week 7 clash matches the 4-2 “home” school against its unbeaten opponent. Coach Mark Bonis’s team will look to improve on its record by snapping a two-game losing streak, following setbacks to Rummel and Edna Karr after opening the season with four consecutive victories.
Curtis, which has averaged scoring 36.4 points in its five wins, has improved its district record to 3-0 following last week’s 21 -13 win over Holy Cross.
Midway through its most competitive stretch of the 10-game season, Brother Martin holds the No. 4 ranking in the latest Louisiana High School Athletic Association power poll. Curtis ranks second, behind Karr, the reigning Select Division I champion at 6-0. And the season has little let-up following the game against the Patriots, with No. 3 St. Augustine (5-1) next in line the following week.
Bonis is trying to get his team as healthy as possible for this difficult stretch of the season. It hasn’t been easy for the somewhat undersized and young Crusaders.
“By the seventh game, most teams are a bit banged up. And we have had limited practices for some of our players,” Bonis said. “It’s difficult, especially now with all the good teams in our league.”
The Crusaders lost to the defending state champion (Karr) last week, 48-13, but the coaching staff was pleased that the team played as hard and well as it could against an opponent that hasn’t lost a game since 2023.
In retrospect, Bonis noted, “There are some plays I wish we could have back, but our kids battled throughout the course of the game. Karr is extremely talented with speed anywhere,” Bonis added. “Karr is the standard; personally, one of the best teams I’ve ever seen.” A coach scouting the game made an astute observation about the Cougars, saying, “The only team capable of beating Karr IS Karr.”
This week’s opponent is the offspring of a unique football program. Since J.T. Curtis began coaching the team, the Patriots have experienced just four losing seasons: his first in 1969, when the Patriots posted a 0-9 record, and in consecutive years of 2013-2015. The Patriots have won 28 state championships, predominantly playing in lower-class districts until 2015, when they joined District 9-5A. They defeated Brother Martin, 23-0, for the Division I title in 2022.
Through most of its success, Curtis has predominantly run from a triple option set with difficult defensive reads that have given opposing coaches sleepless nights. More significantly, as a K-12 school, the coaches are able to install the program philosophy and system among their student-athletes at an early age. The coaching staff is a mix of former players and family members who are alums.
“They have a staff that’s been together for a long time. They know what they’re doing on offense and defense, and there’s not a lot they haven’t seen,” Bonis acknowledged. “They still run the option with really good players. So if you have any opportunity, you’d better take advantage of it. If you see a weakness, something they’ve given up, and if you don’t take advantage of it at once, they will adjust very quickly and the advantage will be gone. They have an answer for everything,” Bonis said.
The Crusaders’ staff is also well-seasoned, and one of Bonis’s staff members, Troy Baglio, was an All-State lineman for Curtis in 1994 and a former defensive coordinator at Jesuit. Now the Crusaders' DC has an opportunity to ply his knowledge against his alma mater.
With just two “home” games on the Crusader schedule, Curtis will serve as Homecoming guest. Friday Night is also “Senior Night”, at which time the senior football players and members of the Crusader band will be recognized during a pre-game ceremony. The other home game is against Warren Easton on Oct. 31.
