The 100th meeting of Jesuit vs. Holy Cross is on the horizon! This anticipated Rivalry Game is set for Friday, Oct. 4, 2019. At 4:00 p.m. on Roosevelt Mall outside Tad Gormley Stadium, Blue Jay fans will begin to enjoy the Rivalry Tailgate that begins with complimentary food and refreshments and ends with the Krewe of Rivalry parade (6:15 p.m.) into the stadium. Attendees are strongly encouraged to find their seat in Tad Gormley Stadium before 7 p.m. in order to enjoy the recognition of the Distinguished Military Alumnus, Legend of the Game, and Scholar Athlete. This ceremony will take place moments before kickoff.

Colonel Robert Friedrich ’59, USA

Distinguished Military Alumnus

During the National Anthem ceremony, Jesuit and Holy Cross will each honor an alumnus for his distinguished and meritorious military service to the United States. Jesuit proudly recognizes Colonel Robert Friedrich ’59. Col. Friedrich joined the Army in 1964 after receiving his degree from Loyola. During his 29-year career, he held command at numerous levels and served in staff positions spanning from Brigade through Department of the Army. Highlights of his postings include two tours of duty in the Republic of Vietnam with the 101^st Airborne. He served as the Recon Platoon leader for the 2/327th Airborne Infantry, and commanded the 101st Airborne Long Range Recon Platoon. On his second tour, he commanded B Company, 3/187th Airborne Infantry. Assigned to Iran, he served as the Executive Officer of the Technical Assistance Field Team. Returning stateside, he attended the Command and General Staff School at Ft. Leavenworth, earned his Master’s Degree, and served in the 2^d Brigade 8th Infantry Division in Germany. Colonel Friedrich was selected to command the Battalion 41st Infantry at Ft. Hood, Texas. His final assignment was with the Smart Weapons Office at Redstone Arsenal. Colonel Friedrich’s service earned him numerous commendations, including the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, three Bronze Stars for Valor, six Air Medals, and two Purple Hearts. Colonel Friedrich and his wife Judy have four children—Kathy, Karen, Kristina, and Robert, Jr.—and four grandchildren.

Legend of the Game

Both Jesuit and Holy Cross are recognizing their 1969 Football Teams as the 2019 Legends of the Game. Fifty years ago, the much-anticipated contest between the historic rivals was a showdown between the state’s top-ranked Blue Jays—victors over Bolton, East Ascension, and Redemptorist—and the second-ranked Tigers before 14,000 anxious and excited fans. Future Tulane standouts Bryan Alexander and Mark Olivari led Jesuit’s stubborn defense in a game described as an “‘eyeball-to-eyeball’ confrontation on the Gormley turf” and “a hard-knocking fierce-tackling fray from the opening whistle,” and back-up quarterback Steve Foley made his varsity debut in replacing injured team captain Kurt Forshag late in the game. Coached by Ray Coates and assistants Billy Murphy, Easton Roth, and Gene Tarzetti, the Jays fought valiantly throughout a classic Catholic League nail-biter. Although the Tigers were able to slip past the Blue Jays with a late field goal to break a scoreless tie, the game will always be a remembered as a hard-fought match in which both teams left everything on the field. The Blue Jays bounced back in their next game, the first-ever contest between Jesuit and the newly established Brother Martin High School, by defeating the Crusaders 19-14.