By Ron Brocato
As an unwritten rule, head coaches don’t usually rave about the efforts and improvement of their teams two weeks into a season.
But Brother Martin’s Mark Bonis, who’s been head of the Crusaders’ program since 2009, has always been a shining example of positivity, win or lose. And because his young and veteran players are showing improvement from week to week, the veteran mentor has hardly been critical of their effort.
Entering Friday’s (Oct. 18) game against former District 9-5A foe Warren Easton, the Crusaders have played well enough to achieve a 2-0 record and the Louisiana Sports Writers’ No. 9 ranking among schools in the state’s highest classification.
The 7 p.m. game at Pan American Stadium will conclude the pre-district schedule before the Crusaders embark on what figures to be another highly competitive Catholic League trek that is sure to be full of twists and turns. The adventure starts with an Oct. 25 game against Jesuit at Tad Gormley Stadium.
Brother Martin is fresh from victories over Southside (38-19) and St. Paul’s (47-16), while Warren Easton is winless in two games, having lost to East Ascension (49-18) and Holy Cross (36-21).
On film, this appears to be a probable Crusader victory. But Bonis has his charges focusing on continuing to improve from week to week and not being complacent about what they read or hear from the media.
“Each week we have to get a little bit better, which is what we expect. I want to see fewer negative plays on offense and improve in first down production. We cannot have a whole bunch of third downs,” the coach said.
And so far the Crusaders have been checking all the boxes of what a winning team looks like. Against a competent St. Paul’s team playing at home, they exploded for 40 first-half points behind an offensive line that enabled the Crusaders to score six touchdowns and accumulate 407 total yards.
The dual quarterback system produced 239 yards with quarterbacks Hudson Fields completing eight of 10 passes for 179 yards with three touchdowns, and Justin Morgan perfect on four pass attempts for 60 more yards. Morgan also rushed for 80 yards and two TDs.
Bonis noted that the team has been performing at a high level of proficiency and sees a few areas for improvement, but points out the positive aspects his team has achieved thus far.
“We’ve won the turnover and explosion battles and first down battles, but we have to continue to be productive when we get into the red zone,” the coach said, adding, “We have to make sure we’re hitting on all cylinders going into district.”
The match with Easton will be an audition for Crusader players to step up their game, the coach said.
“You’re going to need to know who are the guys you can depend on going into Friday nights under the lights. Once you get into the Catholic League (schedule), one play can make a difference. You want to have confidence and not cockiness, and I’m proud of how we have performed in all three phases of the game – offense, defense and special teams. And (as lagniappe) we’re getting production from a lot of younger players.”
RIVALRY NOTES: Warren Easton has a long history of playing against local schools under the guidance of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. A rivalry was created between the Eagles and St. Aloysius when the local Catholic school fielded a team for the first time in 1921.
The two schools were in the New Orleans Prep School League until 1955, when the Catholic League was formed. And although the once-powerful Eagles won the series, 27-7-3, when it ended in 1968 with the creation of Brother Martin a year later, it was a historic rivalry.
St. Aloysius won the first Catholic League football title in 1955 and added the city title by defeating Warren Easton, 13-0.
