Jays’ Defense Hangs On to Hand Crusaders Their First Defeat, 17-14

Posted November 2, 2014 / Last updated November 6, 2014

Jays’ Final Game of Regular Season Kicks Off Against St. Augustine Friday, November 7 at 7 PM at Tad Gormley Stadium

Safety Mark Beebe (22) and linebacker Mitchell Melito wrap this Crusader up as the seconds tick off the clock.

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Jesuit scored two touchdowns in the first half and added a field goal in the fourth quarter, but it was the Jays’ vaunted defense that rescued the game from spiraling into a disaster for the Blue & White.

On a crisp, blue sky Saturday afternoon at Tad Gormley Stadium, the two crosstown rivals put on quite a show for their fans. Jesuit ended up spoiling Brother Martin’s Senior Day by dealing the Crusaders their first loss of the season, 17-14.

With Jesuit leading 14-7 and just over 4 minutes left on the clock, Crew Jacobs splits the uprights from 33 yards out to give the Jays a 17-7 lead. As it turned out, the Jays needed that field goal big time.

Senior running backs Chris Mills and Alex Rabalais each scored a touchdown to give the Jays a 14-0 halftime lead. In the second half, the Crusaders cut the lead to 14-7 before Jesuit kicker Crew Jacobs split the uprights for a 33-yard field goal to make it 17-7. But the Crusaders scored their second TD to pull within three points.

The outcome of the game was in doubt and came down to the final thrilling seconds with the Jays’ defense saving the day.

“What a war,’’ Songy told Nola.com’s Mike Strom. “They fought really hard. We fought really hard. We had a couple of times that we could have put the game away and we didn’t. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot. But good teams do that to you. They were an undefeated team for a reason. Our defense keeps coming up big for us. People have to take our defense very seriously. That’s been seen in the last two games. But we’re going to have to play a lot better to beat St. Augustine.’’

Jesuit closes out its regular season against St. Augustine on Friday, November 7 at Tad Gormley Stadium. Kickoff is 7 p.m. Advance game tickets will be sold at the Jesuit switchboard Monday through Friday during regular hours (8 a.m. – 4 p.m.).

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Football 2014 (Week 9): Jesuit vs. Brother Martin; Saturday, November 1

The Blue Jay Marching Band forms a circle to get in tune, right in tune, before each game. Band director Joe Caluda '79 is in the circle with senior drum major Patrick Fine.
Everyone stands for the invocation. The Blue Jays occupy the visitor's side of Tad Gormley Stadium.
Senior captains for this 45th game between Jesuit and Brother Martin are Trey LaForge (11), Hunter Robert (51), Jonatthan Giardina (43), and Chris Mills (25).
The Jays call it - heads - but the ref's coin comes up tails. The Crusaders defer and will kick off to the Jays.
Some last-minute reminders are conveyed by head coach Mark Songy and assistant coach Benny Baptiste '81.
Chris Mills finds an opening to run through, courtesy of the Jays' big offensive lineman Austin Reed (72).
Some of the Blue Jay fans are momentarily distracted from football.
Chris Mills runs through a gaping hole in the Crusaders' defense, sprinting past the defensive backs...
... Chris Mills goes 47 yards untouched for Jesuit's first touchdown of the game.
On the next offensive series, wide receiver Malachi Hull can't hold on to a bomb thrown by quarterback Trey LaForge.
A couple of plays later, Trey LaForge goes right back to Malachi Hull who picks up a first down.
Charles Jackson skirts the corner and heads for the end zone. Almost a touchdown, except Jackson steps out of bounds on the 6-yard line. Principal Peter Kernion and athletic director Dave Moreau see the misstep.
Trey LaForge finds a wide-open Alex Rabalais in the end zone for the Jays' second touchdown.
The Jays defense is tenacious as Mitchell Melito (38) and Justin Helm (14) force the Crusader runner to cough up the ball...
... The Crusaders get a break when one of their own picks up the loose ball.
The Crusaders drive all the way down to the Jays' goal line, but Jesuit's defense prevails. Linebacker Jonathan Giardina goes high in an attempt to block this pass...
... to the corner of the end zone where Dillon Knight (28) and Jakirai Wiley (4) knock the ball away from the Crusader receiver.
Defensive linemen Hunt Robert (51), Zack Robert (92), and Osman Torres (91) leap high in an effort to block a field goal attempt. The ball sails wide of the crossbars and the Crusaders come up empty.
The Jesuit crowd applauds the defense.
Wide receiver Kalija Lipscomb catches a short pass from Trey LaForge and it takes four Crusaders to bring him down.
Trey Laforge completed 14 of 27 passes for 127 yards.
Crew Jacobs handles punting and kicking for the Jays.
The Blue & White's Big D swarms this Crusader. From left are Zack Robert (92), Mark Beebe (22), Dillon Knight (28), Jonathan Giardina (43), Osman Torres (91), and Justin Helm (14).
The Blu Jay Marching Band and the Jayettes entertain the crowd at halftime.
From atop his perch, senior Patrick Fine conducts the Blue Jay musicians.
Several Blue Jay Band alumni showed up for the game, including some with their own instruments. Organizing the musicians' reunion are (front row from left) Adam Boe '14 and his father Ken Boe '85.
Hunt Robert (51) and Robert Lobrano (55) team up to tackle this Crusader.
The Jays' offense takes a break to talk strategy with tight end Foster Moreau (82) adding his observations to the discussion.
Jesuit's quarterbacks discuss their strategy with assistant coach Anthony Scelfo '05. From left are junior Peter Hontas (15), senior Trey LaForge (11), and sophomores Denny McGinnis (8) and Jacob Marshall (2).
Coach Mark Songy often likes to get low to watch his players on the field.
With 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and facing fourth and 1 at Jesuit's 1-yard line, the Crusaders go for it and fumble, the ball bouncing on the goal line. However, Brother Martin recovers the ball and the referees rule a touchdown to cut the Jays' lead to 14-7.
The coaches argue no touchdown, unsuccessfully of course. The Crusader who recovered the fumble should have been ruled down because his knee was on the turf in front of the goal line. Later, the video of the play shows the coaches were correct.
Return specialist Jakirai Wiley holds on tight as a Crusader tries to strip him of the ball.
The Jays go back to work on offense with tight end Foster Moreau (82) catching a short pass for a 5-yard gain...
... Foster Moreau goes up and over, coming down hard on Gormley's artificial turf.
Middle lineback Robert Lobrano had 25 tackles to his credit, including 9 solo and 16 assists. His impressive play was recognized by WWL-TV, which named him District 9-5A's Player of the Week.
Robert Lobrano just misses nabbing this Crusader for a loss...
... But safety Mark Beebe (22) and linebacker Mitchell Melito (38) are in place to back up Lobrano and tackle the runner.
Linebacker Jonathan Giardina had 7 tackles, including 3 solos such as this one.
Kalija Lipscomb had 8 receptions for 86 yards.
Charles Jackson glides across the turf on one of his 15 carries. He gained 90 yards running and also caught two passes for 15 yards.
A pass from Trey LaForge to Malcolm Ben in the corner of the end zone just misses.
With Jesuit leading 14-7 and just over 4 minutes left on the clock, Crew Jacobs splits the uprights from 33 yards out to give the Jays a 17-7 lead. As it turned out, the Jays needed that field goal big time.
The fans react to Crew Jacobs's field goal.
Sophomore linebacker Nathan Farley (33) makes a big effort to bring down the Crusader quarterback, who manages to slip away. Justin Helm (14) ends up pushing him out of bounds short of the goal line.
Defensive end Zack Robert (92) and cornerback Dillon Knight (28) have a piece of the Crusader runner, but it's not enough as Brother Martin scores from two yards out to make it a 17-14 ball game with about three minutes left on the clock.
On the ensuing kickoff to the Jays, Charles Jackson fumbles and a mad scramble takes place...
... The refs wade into the pileup and dismantle it, one player at a time. Foster Moreau (right) faces the sideline and breaks the news that the Jays retain possession.
Trey LaForge's season stats thus far has him completing 129 passes on 216 attempts (60%) for 1,797 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Kalija Lipscomb has caught 45 passes this season for 696 yards and 10 touchdowns. On this play, Lipscomb fights for every yard.
The refs bring out the chains from the Brother Martin side all the way to the Blue Jay sideline. The Jays have a crucial first down by a scant nose of the football.
The Jesuit side starts to breathe a little easier... and a little too soon as they're about to find out.
Charles Jackson turns a corner and picks up a first down to keep the drive going...
... Charles Jackson is shoved out of bounds, perhaps a little too forcefully, judging from the reactions of assistant coaches Troy Baglio (left) and Dan DeVun III '08.
The Jays are in control and driving towards Brother Martin's red zone with 90 seconds left in the game. Charles Jackson picks up about 5 yards but in the process, a Crusader strips him of the ball...
A tough break for the Jays as the Crusaders are awarded possession.
The Crusaders pull out their trick book and run a "hook and lateral." A short pass to the Crusaders' wide receiver is lateraled to one of their running backs...
... The Jays chase the runner, the coaches get excited, and the Jesuit fans seem to be stunned by the sudden turn of events...
... Mark Beebe (22), with Mitchell Melito (39) on his heels, finally rides the Crusader out of bounds, but not before picking up a first down near the 40-yard line with about 80 seconds on the clock. It's the longest minute and 20 seconds the Jays experience so far this season.
Defensive end Osman Torres (91) and linebacker Jonathan Giardina (43) pressure the Crusader quarterback.
A pass is broken up by Robert Lobrano (55) and Hunt Robert, whose arms are wrapped around the intended receiver.
Fewer than 30 seconds are left on the clock as this Crusader runner is brought down by Harrison Daste (39) and Jonathan Giardina (43).
Osman Torres (91) slows the Crusader quarterback who manages to throw a desperation pass downfield...
... Jakirai Wiley (4), Mark Beebe (22), and Foster Moreau (82) signal the pass is incomplete as the clock ticks off the last seconds of the game.
The Jays win their fifth consecutive game against the Crusaders, 17-14. The Jays also break the 22-22 tie in the series between the two schools. Jesuit now leads 23-22.
The Jesuit cheerleaders sing the Alma Mater.
The team and the fans sing the Alma Mater.
The rows of fans in the student section show their exuberance.
Coach Mark Songy talks to the players after the game, telling them, among other things, that they need to work on eliminating some mistakes before this weekend's game against St. Augustine. The Jays and the Purple Knights go after each other on Friday, November 7 at Tad Gormley Stadium. Kickoff is 7 p.m. The game closes out the regular season for both teams. The Jays are currently 7-2 on the season.