Holy Cross Triumphs: A Fresh Chapter in Catholic League Rivalry
by: Mike Strom // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
GeauxPreps.com Contributor
Catholic League parity has struck, again.
This time it arrived in the 106th meeting between Holy Cross and Jesuit on a damp and humid Friday night at City Park’s venerable Tad Gormley Stadium.
Holy Cross running backs Ke’Rynn Smith and Kaden Andoh accounted for the lion’s share of a 190-yard rushing attack with each scoring a touchdown and cornerback Cedrick Harmon Jr. returned a fourth-quarter interception 63 yards for the game’s final touchdown to pace the Tigers to a 21-7 District 9-5A victory in the storied series that dates to 1922.
Holy Cross (2-3 overall, 1-1 in District 9-5A) recorded its third consecutive victory in as many games in two seasons against its arch-rivals under Holy Cross alum and Coach Scott Wattigny.
The unranked Tigers’ victory trimmed Jesuit’s advantage to 61-43-1 in the 103-year-old series that carries a quirky distinction of the 1937 game, a 6-6 tie, being declared a no contest by the Louisiana High School Athletic Association due to a disagreement over the then tiebreaking procedures.
Jesuit (3-2 overall, 1-1 in 9-5A) entered unranked, but having won its last three outings, including a stirring 17-5 victory against previously undefeated Brother Martin last week at Gormley that served as one of the first punctuation marks of what early on is proving to be a topsy-turvy race.
“It’s the district,’’ Jesuit coach Ryan Manale said. “This is THE district. This district is so competitive. You’ve got to play your best ball week in and week out or you’re going to get beat.
“Holy Cross did a great job of taking it to us early. We played hard for four quarters. We had opportunities and just weren’t at our best. And that had a lot to do with Coach (Tommy) Connors (Holy Cross’ defensive coordinator) and that defense and Coach Wattigny and his whole group of staff and coaches.’’
Having lost their previous two outings, including a devastating 9-7 defeat at Chalmette two weeks earlier, the Tigers started strong in each half of the Great American Rivalry Series against Jesuit. Holy Cross scored on its first offensive possessions of the first and third quarters. Defensively, the Tigers forced four fumbles with safety Luke Appe recovering one to go with the late interception by Harmon that accounted for two turnovers.
“It was a tremendous effort by our team, tremendous again (the) defensive effort,’’ Wattigny said. “We played complimentary football on offense. We won in the four-by-fours. We won in the first four-by-four, the first four minutes of the game. The four minutes before half, we held them to a stalemate. That was huge.
“We came out in the second half and we took frigging six and a half minutes off of the clock with a score. That was huge. Then we finished the game when we really had a chance to kind of give it away. We wound up finishing. The defense bowed up and played tremendously. I couldn’t be more proud of our guys.’’
In addition to an offense that featured a new, unannounced starting quarterback in senior Jonah Olsen, the Tigers unveiled several different formations and personnel packages that featured Andoh as a Wildcat quarterback and Smith at tailback.
The duo accounted for 162 of Holy Cross’ 190 rushing yards with each scoring a touchdown as the Tigers totaled 233 yards and 14 first downs to Jesuit’s 138 rushing yards, 261 total and 16 first downs.
Smith, a 5-foot-8, 180-pound junior, carried 19 times for a game-high 96 yards with a 6-yard scoring run that accounted for the game’s first touchdown and a 7-0 lead. Andoh, a 5-foot-9, 185-pound senior, rushed 17 times for 66 yards with a 1-yard scoring run to cap the first drive following intermission that produced Holy Cross’ second touchdown good for a 14-0 lead.
Olsen’s numbers were modest beyond the two scoring drives he helped guide. Olsen completed 5 of 8 passes for 43 yards without being intercepted.
“We made a move (not injury related). It was just a personnel move,’’ Wattigny said of Olsen being inserted in place of fellow senior Jake Leveque. “It was what we needed. We needed a spark and (Olsen) created a spark. The first play of the game he pulled it and we picked up almost 30 yards.
“Was it perfect? No. But he commanded the offense. That’s what we needed. We needed someone to command the offense and he did that. He managed the game well.’’
As for some of the fresh-looking formations and personnel groupings, Wattigny said, “We dabbled in this last week (in a 45-20 loss to Karr). We switched Ke’Rynn and Kayden. Ke’Rynn was originally the guy who was the Wildcat quarterback. We switched it this week. Kayden handles snaps a little better than Ke’Rynn does.
“They are just two selfless individuals. They both want to touch the rock. They both scored touchdowns tonight. But Kayden is being the featured guy in the offense we’re running right now. I’m just super proud, super proud.’’
The Tigers additionally rekindled some traditions from years past by donning new brilliant (Notre Dame-like) gold helmets worn with white jerseys and forest green pants.
But it was their play on the field, not any uniform gimmicks, that carried the day.
“The focus was to come out and play strong, to get the first lick (in) of the game,’’ Andoh said. “In this game we had to focus on the (Jesuit) defense, how they were pulling, how they were watching our (pulling offensive linemen). We knew we had to juggle in this game. Me and Ke’Rynn had to take over this game at the end and the offensive line did the best they could.’’
“This victory means a lot,’’ Smith said. “This is our second year in a row we’re beating them. We held them to seven points, so we’ve been pretty dominant. That’s good. Thanks to our defensive coach. We’ve got the best in the city, I feel. Our defense is doing everything. Our running game is looking strong. And our receivers are soon to come (on), don’t count them out yet. They’ve still got more to come, for sure.’’
There also still is more work to be done in this series, Wattigny said.
“We’ve just got to keep turning this rivalry around,’’ Wattigny said. “Eighteen games (down) is still a long way away, but we’ve got three in a row now, so that’s a positive.’’
In the second half, the Tigers defense was a shining positive, limiting Jesuit to 12 yards rushing while forcing a three-and-out on the Blue Jays’ opening series and then twice more stopping the Jays on downs in Holy Cross territory at the 35- and 42-yard lines.
The Blue Jays did total 123 yards passing to Holy Cross’ 43, but 81 of Jesuit’s passing yards came via two late completions to wide receiver Roman Larre’ and wide receiver Gavin Palmisano covering 55 and 26 yards. Jays quarterback Taylor Horton was harassed throughout as evidenced by his completing only 9 of 30 passes with an interception returned for a touchdown.
Horton’s 55-yard completion to Larre’ on Jesuit’s third of five second-half possessions set up a 4-yard scoring pass to tight end Frank Finicle with 5 minutes, 49 minutes remaining that averted a third consecutive shutout by the Tigers. Jesuit’s score halted a stretch of 11 scoreless quarters that included 30-0 and 42-0 victories in last year’s regular season and Division I Select state playoffs respectively.
“I think we were 100 percent locked in for Holy Cross,’’ Jesuit’s Manale said in dismissing any suggestion that the Blue Jays may have overlooked the Tigers. “I just think you’ve got to play your best ball week in and week out or you get beat in this district.
“There’s things that we do that are key to winning football games. We weren’t able to capitalize on our keys to winning and our kids know what they are. So we’ll go back to work (Saturday).’’
Holy Cross defenders turned back Jesuit’s offense on downs three additional times in the first half, giving the Tigers’ five in total for the game.
Holy Cross’ pivot from its two-game losing streak reflected a challenge Wattigny posed to his team two weeks ago, questioning their level of preparation and making an urgent case for the need to practice like a champion.
“We have been’’ practicing like champions, Wattigny said. “You don’t win this type of game if you’re not doing it (preparing with urgency). We’ve had to have a kind-of look in the mirror, a reality check, all of our guys, coaches included, and these guys have done a tremendous job. I couldn’t be more proud of them. This is just a tremendous win. We could have caved it in and we didn’t.’’
“We have to overcome adversity,’’ Andoh said. “The whole team, we have to buy in as a whole at practice. We practiced our butts off every week since we lost (to Chalmette) and it came out with a good outcome.’’
“Our coach, he is always looking for the best in us and that’s with all of our coaches,’’ Smith said of Wattigny and the HC staff. “When we fail to meet that expectation, that’s a downer. That’s a disappointment to all of us because we know what we’re capable of. We’ve got skills. We’ve got true skills on this team. We’ve just got to get (play-makers) the ball and we’ve got to execute.’’
The visiting Tigers wasted no time executing and establishing their superiority by driving 66 yards in six running plays on their opening possession to take a 7-0 lead four minutes into the game. Smith ran 6 yards for the touchdown on his third carry and Noel Mora Jr. kicked the PAT.
The Tigers ripped off runs of 22 yards by Olsen, 10 and 19 by Smith, and 4 and 15 yards by Andoh as a wildcat quarterback prior to the touchdown.
Jesuit threatened three times in the opening half. The Blue Jays lost a fumble on a swing pass at the Tigers’ 25-yard line to end a second possession that had covered 55 yards. The Jays then were turned back on downs on a failed fourth-and-1 quarterback sneak at Holy Cross’ 45 and finally had time expire in the first half at the HC 4-yard line following a bad shotgun snap on first-and-goal with 9 seconds remaining.
The Blue Jays opted to run a play with no timeouts remaining rather than attempt a 21-yard field goal.
Appe recovered Jesuit’s first fumble, one of three in the first half by the Blue Jays.
Holy Cross threatened twice more as well, but lost a fumble inside Jesuit’s 20-yard line after a short completion went awry. The Tigers later reached Jesuit’s 39-yard line, but Olsen was sacked for a 7-yard loss by linebacker Wyatt Mire and defensive end Griffin Ellis on fourth-and-3.
The two sides statistically were basically even in the first half with Holy Cross holding a 133-132 edge in yardage and 9-8 advantage in first downs. The Blue Jays rushed for 126 yards to the Tigers’ 96, but were out-gained 37-6 in passing yardage.
“The part that was different was coming out in the second half ready to kill them,’’ Smith said. “They knew. They were ready to come play and we had to execute. We had to get right. The whole week we’ve been working on execution. Last week we went toe to toe with Karr until the second half. That was because of our execution. Now that we’ve got that down, we’re fighting to keep executing.’’
Holy Cross resumes Catholic League play versus John Curtis at 7 p.m. next Friday at the Shrine on Airline Stadium in Metairie while Jesuit faces a 7 p.m. Saturday district game against state-ranked St. Augustine at Gormley.
“What you saw is just one game,’’ Wattigny said in cautious summation. “We’ve got five more to go. But we’re going to enjoy this one and we’re going to get ready for our next opponent (John Curtis). They owe us, too (after Holy Cross’ 42-41 victory last season). So (Jesuit) owed us, too. This next team (Curtis) is going to owe us and we’re playing at their place. So I couldn’t be more excited.’’
“Go Tigers,’’ Smith proclaimed. “We’re on our way. Don’t count us out yet. We’ve got the best coaching staff in the city. We’re coming.’’
Notes
Holy Cross defeated Jesuit, 30-0, in the 2023 regular season and, 42-0, in the Division I Select playoffs to sweep two games from the Blue Jays in the same season for the third time in the century-old series.
The previous occasions came in 1963 when the Tigers prevailed in the regular season, 7-0, and then downed the Blue Jays, 14-6, in the state championship final. The Tigers defeated the Blue Jays, 20-13, in the 1951 regular season before adding an 18-14 victory in the City Championship game.
Jesuit has not defeated Holy Cross twice in the same season. The Blue Jays do own the longest winning streak in the series, eight games, from 1926-33. The Tigers’ longest winning streak is five games, accomplished three times. The Blue Jays also have four other five-game winning streaks in the series.
HOLY CROSS 21, JESUIT 7
Holy Cross 7 0 7 7 — 21
Jesuit 0 0 0 7 — 7
HC JES
First downs 14 16
Rushing 190 138
Passing 43 123
Total offense 233 261
Passes 5-8-0 9-30-1
Punts 5-32.4 4-38.0
Fumbles/lost 1-1 4-1
Penalties 6-76 7-45
SCORING:
HC: Ke’Rynn Smith 6 run (Noel Mora Jr. kick).
HC: Kayden Andoh 1 run (Noel Mora Jr. kick).
J: Frank Finicle 4 pass from Taylor Norton (Ethan Cabos kick).
HC: Cedrick Harmon Jr. 63 interception return (Noel Mora Jr. kick).