Coach Mark Songy Sings the Praises of Jesuit’s Offense and Defense

Senior offensive lineman Nick Gauthé (62) acts as a bulldozer for senior running back Kai Rozas, who picks up a first down on this play.

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The Blue Jays rallied for two touchdowns in the second 15-minute half to defeat the Hahnville Tigers, 21-14, in Thursday night’s Hahnville Jamboree.

Lightning interrupted the junior varsity game about halfway through and officials decided to cancel the remainder of the JV contest. The varsity Jays and Tigers were scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. but the 45-minute delay pushed back the start time to 7:45. The fans, as well as the players, took it all in stride.

Quarterback Alex Watermeier can’t find an open receiver and is thrown for a four-yard loss while trying to elude a trio of Tiger defenders in the Hahnville Jamboree.

Senior Blue Jay running back Connor Prouet scored a pair of rushing touchdowns (seven yards and five yards) while racking up 116 yards of offense on 20 carries.

“We’re playing together as a team,” said Prouet, adding that Jesuit’s offensive line was focused on their assignments. “They picked up who they needed to pick up and I just ran through the holes they made.”

Senior wide receiver Ashton Loria turned a nine-yard screen pass from quarterback Alex Watermeier into Jesuit’s third touchdown. Senior kicker Jake Chanove was three for three on extra points. Junior running back Mike Torry chewed up 31 yards on three carries. The Jays’ other senior running back, Kai Rozas, sustained a foot injury early in the second half that kept him off the field. The seriousness of that injury will be known when Rozas has x-rays taken on Friday. If the injury is serious, it is advised to contact an experienced Personal injury Lawyer in Clearwater and claim compensation for the injury caused.

“We made some mistakes early but we bounced back and played our game,” said Coach Mark Songy, adding that the Jays, down 14-7 at halftime, regrouped, came back out, and controlled the second half. “We played really good defense the entire night. I think we’ve got some things we need to work on and that’s what this jamboree was for. It’s always nice to get out of here with a win, you learn a whole lot about yourself and what you need to get better at. We’re going to correct those things this week because they all start coming next week.”

Wide receiver Ashton Loria catches a screen pass from quarterback Alex Watermeier and breaks a tackle to score Jesuit’s go-ahead touchdown in the Hahnville Jamboree.

Jesuit and Warren Easton open regular season play with a non-district game in Week 1 on Thursday, September 1, at Tad Gormley Stadium. Kickoff between the two old rivals is 7 p.m. Jesuit will be on the visitor’s side of the stadium, along Roosevelt Mall.

Coach Songy gave credit to the Tigers. “They’re a really good football team, extremely talented, they’ve got some explosive players on offense and they play pretty good defense,” he said. “The sky’s the limit with Hahnville and you’re going to watch them get better each week.”

Watermeier quarterbacked the entire game, which consisted of two 15-minute halves, and completed six passes on 12 attempts.

“We went with Alex this week because he played real well in the scrimmage (against McDonogh 35) and we’ll continue to evaluate it,” said Coach Songy. “I think he probably played fairly well tonight. He’s a young kid though, he’s a junior, it’s his first time out. He’s growing up week after week and this was his first time under the lights running the offense.

“We’ll go back and find some things he did real well and ask him to continue to do that but to correct the mistakes he made, just like everybody else. We’ve got offensive linemen making mistakes, linebackers making mistakes, and special teams, too. They all have to be corrected.”

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The New Orleans Advocate: Jesuit claims 21-14 jamboree victory over Hahnville

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