Basketball scores not uncommon in football games

    In a battle that was virtually for second place in District 9-2A, Newman outlasted Carver, 72-68, in a test of attrition on Sept. 28.
    While Newman fans, who have come to expect basketball scores to be confined to the Palestra and not the football field, still enjoyed the offensive treat, the question arose: Are the 140 points scored by the Greenies and Rams a record for two teams in a game?
    The answer is, no. They missed the mark by one point.
    The documented record came in 1993 when Abbeville defeated Alexandria, 71-70.
    The third–greatest total for two teams occurred on South Broad and Baudin Streets on Oct. 23, 1928.
    I’ve talked about this game often, although I missed covering it by 38 years.
    On that day, S.J. Peters School of Commerce (Commy High) and Westwego combined for 139 points.
    What was unique about that game is that Commy scored every point in what is considered THE record rout in Louisiana prep football.
    After I discovered this documented game during research years ago, I contacted every Louisiana sports writer who has or had covered high school sports before I began.
    The score by quarters for Commy was 32-40-34-33.
    It was a difficult year for Westwego, which fielded its first football team a few weeks before this unconscionable mauling.
    And it didn’t get much better for coach J.V. Fairchild’s young team.
    In the ensuing weeks, the Spartans lost to Manual Training (Newman), 76-0; to Jesuit’s junior varsity team, 69-0; to St. Aloysius, 57-0; to Donaldsonville, 55-0, to Rugby Academy, 84-6; and to New Orleans Academy, 82-6. That’s 562 points given up in just seven games.
    Fairchild brought his team back to the fields each week to prove a point – that there was no quitting in boys from Westwego, regardless of the ridiculous odds. They were in it for the long haul.
    Fairchild’s and the Spartans’ fortitude and determination paid off in the final game of the season when ‘Wego fought St. Aloysius’ juniors to a 0-0 tie.
    The lesson here is that it is easier for a coach to gain immortality in his field of endeavor by teaching perseverance and humility than it is for a coach to run up astronomical scores on hapless opponents.
    The Jefferson Parish Public School System named a junior high near Riverdale High School after Fairchild.
    There is no acknowledgment of Commy’s Jack Dowling being linked to a public building in Orleans Parish, even though he had a long coaching career.
    Ron Brocato can be reached at [email protected].