By Ron Brocato
In a district steep with alpha competitors, Brother Martin has taken its place among the state’s most productive Select Division I football teams.
In the midst of their most difficult and competitive portion of the season, the Crusaders have gained respect and the attention of their peers by defeating a legendary power, John Curtis, last week. The 36-28 come-from-behind victory not only displayed the team’s resiliency, but also ruined their opponent’s Homecoming festivities.
Now Coach Mark Bonis’ charges have turned their attention to their next test of wills and force when they face District 9-5A co-leader St. Augustine on Friday, Oct. 23, at Tad Gormley Stadium with a 7 p.m. kickoff.
With a 7-0 record going into the clash, locally considered the “Battle of Gentilly,” St. Augustine is currently seeded at No. 3 in Select Division I and the No. 3 ranked team on the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA) poll. The Purple Knights, who will be the visiting team on Friday, boast a 4-0 district mark and lead the Catholic League in average points scored at 46.4 per game.
Brother Martin, 5-2 and 2-2 in district play, is coming off its most profound victory of the season in which the defense forced six John Curtis turnovers. The Patriots added a seventh on a muffled punt. The Crusaders took advantage of every mistake by scoring 29 points off the takeaways, 27 in the fourth quarter alone after trailing earlier 14-0 and 20-9.
The strength of the district is reflected in the Division I power ratings in which seven Catholic League members are ranked among the top 10 teams in the state, including the Crusaders at No. 6. The win over Curtis snapped a two-game backslide.
“I’m proud of the way the guys fought back. The defense created six turnovers and special teams caused a seventh,” Bonis said at a Tuesday briefing. “We had big plays at the right times.”
The big plays included senior Luca Catanzaro’s fumble recovery at the Curtis 30 that culminated in a 7-yard scoring run by junior Luca Ascani, followed by a muffed punt that Ascani also recovered. Then, with 1:17 left in the period, junior Jaeger Causin kicked a 28-yard field goal to close the deficit to 14-9.
“Ascani came back from an ankle injury and gave us a big spark,” Bonis said. “He and Jeremiah Burton ('27) did a good job for us.”
Ascani rushed for a team-high 93 yards on 11 carries.
The Patriots scored one more touchdown on a long run to go up, 21-9. Then the Crusaders countered with 27 consecutive points, beginning with a 15-yard pass from Hudson Fields '27 to a wide-open tight end, Brady Balser '27, that closed the gap to 21-16.
The Patriots’ (2-5, 0-4) troubles continued when junior Dominic Jabbia wrestled the ball away from the Curtis quarterback and sprinted to a go-ahead touchdown to slip ahead, 22-21. The Crusaders recovered another Patriot fumble later in the period and pulled ahead, 29-21, on Easton Royal’s 13-yard run.
Playing before his future University of Florida coach Jon Sumrall, who watched the first half from the sideline, Easton Royal '27 scored one more time late in the game via a 20-yard pass from Justin Morgan '28 to up the lead to 36-21.
Royal rewrote two Brother Martin records: career yards (2,721) and career touchdowns (33), previously held by Jeremy Singleton '17. Royal does hold the school record for receiving yards in a season – 1,214 on 59 receptions with 15 touchdowns set in 2025.
The Crusaders now face the Purple Knights, whose last performance was a 45-17 victory over Jesuit. The Purple Knights scored 31 straight points against a highly ranked defense.
“St. Aug is explosive as they can be,” Bonis noted. “There’s a reason why they are 7-0 – there’s no weak points anywhere, so we are going to have to play well."
“This district is unbelievable from top to bottom, so this will be a chance for us to see where we stack up against one of the best teams in the state, going into the final weeks of the season. And this is a big rivalry and a big game for a lot of our alumni. It’s the proverbial backyard brawl.”
The coach said that his team’s opponent is highly talented. “They have the perfect storm of many great athletes and a good coaching staff. This is one of the best group of athletes assembled at St. Aug in a while, and Coach Robert Valdez has put the right people in place to find success,” Bonis said.
