Catholic League only logical district for Easton

By Ron Brocato, Sports
Clarion Herald

Two of Louisiana’s oldest and most ardent rivals may be forced to resume a tradition that ended as an annual event in 1956 when Jesuit and Warren Easton officials called off the annual football clash.

According to enrollment figures released by the Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) on Oct. 18, an increase in projected enrollment at Warren Easton, which previously fielded teams in Class 4A, will elevate Easton to a Class 5A designation for 2023-24 and 2024-25.

And, because the Greater New Orleans area has just one Class 5A district whose membership is composed of Orleans Parish schools, LHSAA executive director Eddie Bonine may have little option but to place Easton in the Catholic League (District 9-5A) with Jesuit, Holy Cross, Brother Martin, St. Augustine, Archbishop Rummel, John Curtis and Edna Karr Charter School.

The only other 5A district in the area is inclusive of Jefferson Parish public schools and Chalmette, which is orphaned in St. Bernard Parish.

A coed school recently redefined as a “select” school because of its open enrollment policy as a charter, Warren Easton’s projected enrollment for the 2023-24 cycle is 1,130 students.

Before Bonine and the LHSAA’s executive committee changed Easton’s designation in 2022, Easton was defined as non-select and competed among mostly public schools.

That changed with the re-designation, just two weeks ago reaffirmed by a vote of the principals at a special meeting in Baton Rouge. Easton falls within an educational model that allows more public and charter schools to enroll students from multiple attendance zones.

But, even if Easton would still be considered a non-select school, the LHSAA would have had a dilemma of where to place Easton. District 8-5A would have been the most logical district, although none of its members are located in Orleans Parish. There are no other Class 5A districts in the three-parish region.  

Old rivalry reincarnated? 

So, once again, old adversaries Warren Easton, Jesuit and Holy Cross, which had formed the crux of the New Orleans Prep League since 1922, will likely be rivals again, at least for the next two years when the next re-class occurs.

This prospect doesn’t sit well with all administrators, athletic directors and coaches in District 9-5A schools, and, as Karr officials discovered, being part of a district whose sports programs have large followings is not necessarily a panacea. As successful as Karr’s football team has been during its stay – a district title in 2022 and unbeaten record this year – its coffers are not bulging with big bucks because the district’s bylaws prevent its members from charging students of the competing schools an admission fee to district sporting events.

Karr officials also discovered that admission tickets are also uniform among district schools, and the school was not allowed to set the price of tickets for its home games above the district rate, according to a few athletic directors interviewed off the record.

Additionally, Catholic League schools keep the pre-game sales revenues, but split the gate on game day. And, because the local Catholic schools have much larger followings than their counterparts, they fare much better financially from sporting events.

Karr was a Class 4A school that chose to play up to get into the district. And, its new enrollment numbers are just nine fewer (1,121 than Warren Easton’s), making it a legitimate Class 5A school.

If Easton is indeed the next District 9-5A member, it will  not be greeted with open arms. Its current football season has been marked by rules infractions, beginning with its first three games resulting in forfeits for  fielding ineligible players. Then, just two weeks ago Bonine canceled Easton’s remaining three games following a mass fight with players from Douglass.

Rummel has 5A numbers

Archbishop Rummel reported 1,084 students to the LHSAA to land in Class 5A.

Holy Cross (881) and St. Augustine (1,030) fall in Class 4A, but are expected to declare they will opt to play in 5A. John Curtis a Class 3A school with at enrollment of 412, will likely also wish to remain in Class 5A.
 

The Easton-Jesuit series dates back to the turn of the century when Jesuit was still part of Loyola University and  the state’s oldest public school was known simply as Boys High. It defeated the Catholic school, 28-0, on the Tulane campus.

The Times-Picayune microfilm archive considers the start of the rivalry having occurred in 1915 when the two schools played to a 6-6 tie. They met again two weeks later with the public school winning, 13-12.

The two played the last game of the season, sometimes taking place after the state playoffs, every year thereafter until 1956 when the Catholic and public leagues were formed.

The Easton vs. Holy Cross series began in 1922 and lasted through 1967. From 2011-12, Holy Cross and St. Augustine joined Warren Easton in a Class 4A district before the two Catholic schools chose to play up to restore its Catholic League membership.

Jesuit and Easton had a brief renewal of their rivalry between 2015 and 2018.The archdiocese’s 21 LHSAA members, by virtue of their projected enrollment figures, will fall into the following classes in 2023-24. (The LHSAA doubles the enrollment number for single-sex schools):

Class 5A: Mount Carmel (1,950 students), Jesuit (1,925), Brother Martin (1,839), St. Paul’s (1,408), Dominican (1,356), Archbishop Rummel (1,084), Archbishop Chapelle (1,039).

Class 4A: St. Augustine (1,030), Holy Cross (881), St. Scholastica (875), Academy of Our Lady (797), Archbishop Shaw (758), Archbishop Hannan (663).

Class 3A: Cabrini (589), De La Salle (453), Academy of the Sacred Heart (439), St. Charles Catholic (418), Ursuline Academy (409).

Class 2A: Pope John Paul II (345), St. Mary’s Academy (344), St. Katharine Drexel Prep (262).

Archbishop Hannan, De La Salle, St. Charles Catholic and Pope John Paul II are co-educational schools whose numbers are accurate.

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