Three forfeits won't hamper Karr; Cavs' Martin excels

By Ron Brocato
Clarion Herald

Just a few observations as the fifth week of the 2022 prep football campaign approaches:

Edna Karr’s three September forfeits that dropped the Cougars from the top of Select Division I to the No. 26 power ranking means little at this point of the season. It won’t take much for Karr to climb back into playoff contention, as exhibited by its crushing 49-7 win over St. Augustine on Sept. 24.

And, that was just the Cougars’ first encounter with a District 9-5A opponent. Their second one comes on Sept. 30 when they face probably the best Class 5A Catholic school team in town, Brother Martin. And, they’ll do it on their Algiers home turf at Behrman Stadium.

For the record, Karr had been a non-select Class 4A finalist for 10 of the past dozen seasons, winning five championships before declaring its intention to play one class up to Class 5A for the next two years. Because the school is located in Orleans Parish, LHSAA executive director Eddie Bonine placed Karr in District 9-5A (the Catholic League) because it is the only 5A district with the majority of its members located in that parish. He also reclassified Karr as a “select” school, which places it among Catholic, private and some charter schools.

The question most observers asked about the move was how would the Cougars fare against the top teams in Division I? The answer came quickly. In the first three weeks of the season, Karr bombed Landry, 40-6; Scotlandville, 46-8; and Warren Easton, 67-20. The latter result marked the most points scored by an Easton opponent since it fielded its first team in 1913.

But it was all for naught, erased by forfeits caused by an eligibility issue. But does it matter?

A similar situation occurred in 2010 when No. 1 ranked Acadiana had to forfeit its first seven wins, then entered the Class 5A playoff with a 3-7 record as the No. 27 seed.

As its nickname implies, the Wreckin’ Rams ran roughshod over No. 6 seed East St. John, 56-6; No. 11 Zachary, 49-7; No. 3 St. Paul’s, 41-20; No. 2 St. Thomas More, 31-0; and then took home the state championship trophy by beating No. 4 West Monroe, 21-14.

Could that happen again on Dec. 10 in the Superdome? As of today, the No. 1 power ranking is held by Byrd High, whose District 1-5A competition is a little more than average. No. 2 is Catholic High, which may be the best team in this division.

Archbishop Rummel is No. 3, although head coach Nick Monica said he couldn’t believe his team is 4-0 following its showing in a shaky 14-7 victory over Holy Cross (2-2) last Saturday.

Warren Easton is No. 4, and you know what happened to the Eagles when they faced Karr, despite the gifted win by forfeit. And the No. 5 team in D-I select is Captain Shreve, which lost to Byrd 25-20 last week.

Although ranked Nos. 12 and 13, respectively, John Curtis and Brother Martin appear to be the best teams the Cougars will face in the district. Both are 3-1.

Surprisingly, Jesuit and Holy Cross, the Catholic League’s oldest rivals, may be playing for the district cellar on Oct. 28. Neither has had a breakout performance.

St. Augustine gave its fans a tantalizing 24-20 upset win over then-No. 1 Zachary – the reigning Class 5A champion – two weeks ago before being humbled by Karr, in a lopsided game that ended with a running clock. And that just doesn’t happen to a Catholic League team.

In the record book
P.J. Martin’s feats with a football under his arm in De La Salle’s 27-14 win over St. Charles Catholic last week put the 200-pound senior running back in the school’s record book.

Martin carried the ball 36 times and most of the Cavaliers’ offense, gaining 283 yards and scoring three touchdowns. That achievement followed a 267-yard feat a week earlier in a victory over St. Paul’s.

Martin’s effort for one game ranks third on the De La Salle rushing list behind Montrell Johnson (345 yards vs. Riverside in 2018) and Therral Hatfield (327 yards against New Iberia in 2001).

But the best effort by an athlete in the three-parish metro area this season was turned in by Booker T. Washington’s Arnold Barnes, who rushed for 365 yards on 21 carries with six touchdowns against John Ehret, a distance that ranks third on the all-time, single-game rushing list.

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