Jesuit’s Invigorated Offense Tallies Four TDs and Two Field Goals in 34-13 Win Over Escambia

Connor Prouet (20) and Peyton Cox (65) burst through this week’s football tapestry, the artistic work courtesy of the Jesuit Cheerleaders and Student Council.

Into the Lens: View the Jesuit – Escambia Photo Gallery

On a tropical and muggy September Friday evening at Tad Gormley Stadium, it was a highly satisfying accomplishment for the Blue Jays (2-1) to score four touchdowns and two field goals in defeating those pesky Gators (1-3) from Escambia, FL.

Jesuit head coach Mark Songy is fond of saying the Blue Jays “grew up” in describing the extent of his team’s improvement and the significance of their 34-13 victory over Escambia.

Ashton Loria leaps high to snag a 14-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Alex Watermeier to open the scoring for the Blue Jays against Escambia.

“Alex grew up a little bit tonight.” he said, referring to the Blue Jays’ starting quarterback, junior Alex Watermeier. “Our offensive line got a little bit better tonight. Our defense continues to play well.”

In the first two weeks of the season, Jesuit’s offense produced only two touchdowns, a meager output for any team in the competitive Catholic League — a two-yard run by running back Connor Prouet against Warren Easton and a 57-yard pass from Watermeier to wide receiver Bryce Musso in the St. Paul’s game.

Against Escambia in Week 3, Jesuit’s offense came alive and “grew up.” That’s what happens when the Jays notch four touchdowns — a pair in the first half and the other two in the final five minutes of the game. Jesuit’s offensive output of 24 touchdown points expanded another 10 points, courtesy of the laser accurate right foot of senior kicker Jake Chanove, who was perfect on all four PATs, as well as a pair of 26-yard field goals.

Here is a recap of the Blue Jays’ scoring festival against the Gators:

∗ On Jesuit’s first offensive possession, Watermeier directed a 70-yard drive with a commanding and sure presence. When the opening drive stalled, as it did on two occasions, the Jays buckled down and converted on fourth down, opening holes in the line for Prouet to keep the team moving forward. Watermeier capped the three-minute long drive by lofting a 14-yard pass to wide receiver Ashton Loria in a near corner of the end zone. As the ball hung in the humidity, initially it looked as if Watermeier might have overthrown his intended target. But Loria out-jumped and out-muscled his sole defender, leaping high to snag Watermeier’s pass in a terrific circus-like catch if there ever was one. Loria came down with both feet inside the end zone, a mere inch or two away from being out of bounds.

With Patrick Rooney pressuring from the left, Matt McMahon (41) penetrates the Gators’ punt protection to successfully block this kick. McMahon got a hand on the ball, which was recovered by Jesuit’s special team.

∗ After Matt McMahon blocked a Gator punt and Jesuit’s special team recovered, another drive began. With eight minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Jays drove to Escambia’s three-yard line. On second down, Prouet crashed through the Gators’ defensive line to score Jesuit’s second touchdown, giving the Jays a 14-0 lead.

∗ In the waning minutes of the first half, Jesuit’s kicking unit was dispatched and kicker Jake Chanove lined up for a 26-yard field goal. Denny McGinnis took the snap and Chanove split the uprights to increase Jesuit’s lead to 17-0.

∗ The Gators scored a touchdown on a 22-yard jaunt in the first two minutes of the third quarter to close the gap to 17-6. More on how that happened in a moment. The extra point attempt was wide.

∗ Chanove kicks another 26-yard field goal with 5:40 left in the third quarter. The field goal makes it a 20-6 game.

∗ However, with a little more than two minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Gators plow their way into Jesuit’s end zone from the 10-yard line. The PAT is good and suddenly, Jesuit’s lead is trimmed to 20-13.

∗ In the fourth quarter, the Jays’ offense is able to move the ball on a couple of drives, even when the Gators intercepted a Watermeier to Musso pass on the Jesuit sideline. Meanwhile, Jesuit’s defense snaps out of the reverie and rises to the occasion, thwarting any real threats posed by Escambia. With the clock winding down to under four minutes, a pair of Blue Jay reserve running backs iced the game with touchdowns. Sophomore Willie Robinson and junior Michael Torry, playing in place of injured starters Prouet and Kai Rozas, peeled off several nice runs. Torry scampered 40 yards, the longest of the game for the Jays, but the play was negated by a penalty. At the 3:40 mark, Robinson burst up the middle from five yards out, wedging himself into a hole opened by Jesuit offensive linemen Peyton Cox and Ross Talbot. Robinson crossed into the end zone standing up and Chanove added the PAT to make it a 27-13 game. The Jays’s defense yielded nothing on Escambia’s next series and Jesuit’s offense trotted back on the field with about two minutes remaining. At the 1:52 mark, the Jays were on the Gators’ 9-yard line when Torry sprinted for the outside. A block by sophomore tight end Talbot allowed Torry to cruise untouched into the end zone. Chanove’s fourth PAT ended the scoring and the game with the Jays enjoying a 34-13 win over a formidable Florida team that last week snatched a 36-32 victory in the waning seconds over crosstown rival Pensacola Catholic.

Sophomore Willie Robinson got some playing time in the second half and scored his first touchdown as a Blue Jay.

Jesuit’s solid defense twice went soft in the third quarter, allowing the Gators to chomp their way into the red zone and score a pair of rushing touchdowns. The Jays defensive experience in quarter number three could be likened to temporary vertigo, sustained when they were hit with one of the more unusual penalties of prep football. And the infraction happened when the Jays weren’t even on the field.

Maybe that was the problem — the Jays should have been on the field. Several coaches and sideline observers (on the Jesuit side) could not recall the refs ever flagging a team for emerging late from their locker room to start the second half. Generally, halftime at a prep game is 15 minutes. For homecoming and special events, the time can be extended to 20 minutes or by mutual consent of the principals of both schools. Specifics about halftime rules and what constitutes a violation of the rules are not easy to find. Supposedly, teams are given a five-minute first warning to get ready to take the field as halftime will be over soon. When those 300 seconds expire, the teams supposedly are given three additional minutes to take the field. When that time’s up, the ref apparently has much discretion whether or not to fling his yellow flag to the turf.

Surprisingly, the infraction for a team that takes too long to emerge from the locker room is not “delay of game,” but rather “unsportsmanlike conduct,” which is what the Jays were cited for as they ran onto the field. The penalty for such tardiness is, indeed, hefty — the driver’s equivalent of receiving one of those speeding tickets in the mail with a photo of your license plate next to the amount of the painful fine — and it’s imposed prior to the kickoff.

Instead of kicking from their 30-yard line, the Gators moved up to the 45-yard line, and they wisely decided to toss a hand grenade at the Jays in the form of an onsides kick. The Gators executed the trick flawlessly and recovered the ball on Jesuit’s 35-yard line. Two minutes later, Escambia scampered into the end zone to finally light up the visitor’s side of Gormley’s scoreboard. That the PAT attempt went wide, and that the Jays still had a 17-6 lead, was of some consolation.

Michael Torry gets a block from big tight end Ross Talbot and sprints untouched into the Gators’ end zone for Jesuit’s fourth touchdown of the night.

Chanove’s second field goal, another 26-yarder, split the uprights with just under six minutes remaining in the third quarter and padded the Jays’ lead to 20-6. Give those Gators credit for not slinking back to the Swamp in Florida because, with fewer than three minutes left in quarter three, they quickly cobbled together a touchdown drive that cut the lead to 20-13.

“We had a penalty to start the second half,” said Coach Songy. “I’m not even going to comment about that one. (The penalty) put us on our heels coming out at halftime and our defense had their backs to the wall. Escambia is an explosive football team. They’re young, very talented, and they’re very well coached. They stuck it to us in the third quarter and made a ball game of it.”

Coach Songy explained to reporters after the Escambia game that the two touchdowns the Jays posted in the fourth quarter were the result of better execution.

“We rebounded and played well, and we executed a little bit better,” said Coach Songy, adding that Escambia’s defensive unit in the second half appeared to tire, especially in the fourth quarter.

“We got a little banged up and had some guys that had to go out,” he said, referring to injuries that sidelined senior running backs Connor Pruitt and Kai Rozas, and offensive lineman (and center) Nick Gauthé.

Rozas missed the first two games with a foot injury that he got from gross negligence truck accidents. Against Escambia, Rozas had the green light to play and entered the game on Jesuit’s second offensive series. However, on his first carry, Rozas reinjured the same left foot, in the same place. Meanwhile, Prouet sustained an unspecified  injury to his left hand that made it awkward for him to carry the ball. Coach Songy agreed with the recommendations of the coaches and team doctors and Prouet prowled the sideline in the second half. Gauthé suffered an ankle injury when a defensive lineman rolled over it in the third quarter. Rozas and Gauthé joined three teammates already using crutches, including senior wide receiver Jacob Marshall, who blew out his knee on a reception in the St. Paul’s game.

Coach Mark Songy shares a laugh with the Blue Jays following their 34-13 win over Escambia. The Jays open Catholic League play against St. Augustine on Friday, September 23, at Tad Gormley. Kickoff is 7 p.m. and Jesuit will occupy the visitor’s side of the stadium, on the Roosevelt Mall side. Pre-game tickets will be sold at Jesuit’s switchboard starting Wednesday, September 21 – Friday, September 23, from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

It’s football and injuries happen. Coach Songy has this to say: You get banged up playing the schedule we play with really good talented hard-hitting football teams. Some of our young guys really stepped up and our offensive line started opening some holes the in the second half. I don’t know the extent of the injuries, but we’re deep up front on offense. Hopefully, Nick can get back soon.”

As for running backs Torry and Robinson, Coach Songy is counting his blessings.

“I like them a lot,” he said. “They’re young, so they have to grow up, and that takes time. The only way they grow up is to play on Friday nights. They got the opportunity tonight to touch the football a lot, and they grew up some.”

Coach Songy said he was very proud of the way the Blue Jays handled Escambia, especially with district play starting next week.

“Defensively and on special teams we continue to play real well and I’m happy about that because we’re going into league play,” said Coach Songy. “You have to play real well on defense and special teams in order to be successful in this Catholic League.”

NEXT UP – WEEK 4: Jesuit vs. St. Augustine; Friday, September 23, at Tad Gormley Stadium. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. The Blue Jays are the visiting team this year and will be on the Roosevelt Mall side of Gormley. Pre-game tickets will be sold at the Jesuit switchboard beginning Wednesday, September 21 – Friday, September 23, from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. (and on Friday in the Student Commons during lunch).

Read More… 

The New Orleans Advocate: Jesuit slows Escambia throughout, pulls away late for 34-13 victory

Nola.com: Jesuit 34, Escambia (Fla.) 13: Blue Jays run for 228 yards despite losing two running backs