Large crowd sees historic game go to Blue Jays

Story and Photos By Ron Brocato, Clarion Herald Sports

The difference between Jesuit’s football team of Week 4, when the Blue Jays were throttled by Brother Martin, 31-7, and the team in Week 5, when they defeated archrival Holy Cross, 20-14, was the return of a pair of Lukes from the injured list.

Hobbled and unable to play in the lopsided loss to the Crusaders were wide receivers Luke Besh and Luke LaForge. But they were fit enough for the Holy Cross game, enabling quarterback Grant Jordan to pass for 122 yards when the senior signal-caller wasn’t running the Tigers ragged.

       

Throw in the Blue Jays’ offensive line that executed its plays well against a sound and determined Tiger defense.

Quarterbacks are not supposed to be the heart of a team’s running attack, but Jordan’s feet, as well as his arm, carried the white-clad Jays to 280 yards of offense. He rushed for 136 yards on 21 carries and scored the deciding touchdown.

This historic game, which drew a bipartisan crowd estimated at 15,000 to Tad Gormley Stadium, went to the Blue Jays for the 58th time and returned the symbolic gold trophy to Carrollton and Banks. The outcome gave the two teams 3-2 records.

Rivalry week also produced a 27-7 win by Brother Martin over its Gentilly rival, St. Augustine, in a game that was marred by a chant induced by a Purple Knights coach, which included a racial slur, as the team entered the football field. On Tuesday, Oct. 8, St. Augustine announced head coach Nathaniel Jones would no longer coach at the school, promoting assistant football coach Kenneth Dorsey Jr. to interim head football coach for the remainder of the 2019 football season.

“Following a review of our football program, we have decided to go in a new direction,” said Dr. Kenneth St. Charles, president and CEO of St. Augustine. “We thank Coach Jones for his contributions and service to St. Augustine and our football team. We are confident that Coach Dorsey and the remaining coaches on staff are committed to serving the scholar-athletes in our football program through this period of transition.”

Dorsey is in his fifth overall season on the St. Augustine coaching staff. Prior to his newly appointed role as interim head coach, Dorsey served as the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator.

“It is an honor to have the opportunity to be a mentor to our team in this new role,” Dorsey said. “I have confidence that I will validate the trust that Dr. St. Charles and principal DeBose have placed in me. The staff and I will work to make our students, alumni and fans across the country proud of St. Augustine and Purple Knight football.”

A native of New Orleans, Dorsey attended John Curtis Christian High School and later graduated from Homewood High School in Alabama. He began his college football career on a full athletic scholarship at the University of Louisiana at Monroe in 2007, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Sociology.

On Monday, St. Charles had issued a statement expressing his embarrassment and promising to take action to ensure that such a situation does not take place again.

Whether oblivious to the nature of the chant or not, Brother Martin took care of business on the field by a three-touchdown margin to add a fifth win to its undefeated record.

The Crusaders’ next opponent, Archbishop Rummel, also remained unbeaten by blanking its traditional rival, Archbishop Shaw, 42-0.