photo by Kaden Dupart
By Ron Brocato
With the most brutal weeks of Brother Martin’s 2026 football schedule behind them, one might think the Crusaders are now breathing a sigh of relief.
But don’t let the District 9-5A schedule or the resolve of the Crusaders fool you. There is little chance that the players and coaches are overlooking the Catholic League’s two losing teams – Chalmette and Holy Cross in the remaining weeks of the regular season.
Following difficult matchups against Karr, Rummel, John Curtis and St. Augustine, against whom the Crusaders managed to defeat only Curtis (36-28) two weeks ago, Coach Mark Bonis’ charges prepare to meet Chalmette on Friday at the Owls’ home field. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Chalmette, making its fourth entrance into the Catholic League and first since 2007, has not beaten the Crusaders since 1980.
Chalmette had the longest tenure of any public school in the district, joining in 1970 and exiting in 1988. The Owls have been in and out of the district off and on with little production on the football field.
The Crusaders lead the series, 20-3, having lost to the Owls in 1973, 1978, and 1980. For the past two years, Chalmette had competed in the Northshore 5A district, and before that it was a member of District 8-5A, competing against Jefferson Parish public schools. The Owls were that district’s champions in 2023.
But the Owls are winless against district competition this season, having lost all five league games, and take a 3-5 record entering the scrap with the 5-3 Crusaders.
Last week, St. Augustine defeated the Crusaders 49-35 to gain the Select Division I top seed with an 8-0 record. Brother Martin is currently the No. 6 seed.
In the quirky LHSAA playoff posture, Chalmette will compete in the Division I Non-select playoffs. But its No.26 seeding has the Owls two positions short of qualifying for the playoffs.
Bonis is treating the next two games with a degree of urgency after the showing against the Purple Knights last week.
“We were anxious to see where we were against one of the top teams in the state,” he said. “We made some uncharacteristic mistakes on defense that gave them some easy points. So, our mindset now is what we can do to be sure we’re playing our best football.”
Bonis compelled his players to learn from the negatives and build on the positives. “We will have to start faster and not fall behind early so that we become one-dimensional, as we did against St. Aug.”
After spotting the Purple Knights a 21-0 advantage in the first period, the Crusaders painstakingly battled back to close the deficit to two touchdowns by the game’s end.
“When we fell behind by 21 points, we became one-dimensional. Then, when we started closing the gap, we were able to be who we wanted to be,” Bonis said.
Then, turning his attention to the Owls, Bonis warned, “Offensively, Chalmette is a pain to deal with because they can do so many things. They incorporate some spreads with some wing stuff and are able to blend it well. They also love to run the ball and are okay with going for (a first down) on fourth down. So, we will have to stay focused,” he said.
The playoffs are also in focus, and the Crusaders’ main goal at the moment is to finish the district season ranked high enough to gain a first-round bye. Chalmette and Holy Cross offer that opportunity if the Crusaders concentrate on what they do best and do not let their remaining opponents’ records cloud the focus.
