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The Football Tradition for the Prep League in
1930:

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Editor's Note: Some folks might find it curious that a few star athletes seemed to play on beyond their normal time.  That is due to the rules that existed back then, allowing boys to come back after graduation for another football season, in hopes of obtaining a football scholarship to college.  This was permitted, so long as the athlete had not reached his 21st birthday.  The post graduate rule was abolished in about 1952.

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Tom Daigle, one of the very best to ever don the Blue and 
White of Jesuit High School.  Tom captained the 1929 
and 1930 Blue Jays.  

 Copyright (c) 1930 the New Orleans Times-Picayune Publishing Company

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from the Times-Picayune in 1930:

JAY ATTACK STRONG WITH JOINT, RIZZO

Blue and White Almost Double Easton Score Over Micks

By Clifton Dreyfous

Jesuits took the lead in the Class A prep grid race when it swamped Holy Cross 63-0 Sunday afternoon at Loyola Stadium.  The Jays hold the lead over Warren Easton due to the fact that they have played one more game, though both teams are undefeated.

The Blue Jays showed a charging line and a powerful set of backs in tallying its ten touchdowns.  With George Joint and Ray Rizzo in the game, the Jesuits team looked much stronger than it has in the past.  Joint led the team in scoring, putting over three touchdowns and two extra points and passing to Ryan for another.  Rizzo also scored a touchdown on a plunge through the line.

Tom Daigle was up to his usual form with his off-tackle jaunts.  He put across two scores and placed the ball in position on more than one occasion.  The other scores of the game were made by Eschmann, who put over two, Beter and Manion.

Beach Again Strong

Joe Beach was again the outstanding player for the Micks, but he could not break loose for any scores.  His passes at times were dangerous, but often he was rushed, so although the tosses were long and straight, they were easy to intercept.  Intercepted passes cost Johnny Lynch’s men many yards.

The battle between the two lines was much in favor of the Blue Jays.  The Blue and white forwards were charging and opening up big holes on the offense, while it was nearly impregnable on the defense.  The result of the line play brought Jesuits 16 first downs to but two for the Micks.

“Red” Berner, playing almost the entire game, showed up well for the victors.  He often broke through the opposing line to smear the Cross backs.  Henry Beter’s work at end was exceptional.  He showed much ability in snatching passes and played a fine defensive game.  Every one of the Jay forward wall, include all of the many substitutes that Coach “Doc” Erskine used, were battering throughout the fray.

LaRocca Stars

For the Micks, Vic LaRocca played the best game of the linemen.  Ribs Favret, who usually plays the best of the Mick linemen, hurt his ankle early in the game.  He was taken from the field.  He had to be carried out.  Chet Wooton also suffered an injury to his leg.

Daigle started the scoring in the first quarter with a 59-yard run off left tackle.  That ended the touchdown making for the period, but the Jays had advanced the ball deep into Micks territory during the end of the period and, early in the second quarter, Rizzo plunged over the line for another score.  Joint hit center for the extra point.

When Beach’s punt was blocked and the Jays recovered on the Cross 10-yard line, the Jesuits eleven again went over.  Two plays brought the ball to the four-yard line and Joint took it over the goal.

Daigle did all the work on the next scoring effort.  He got 22 yards around end to the 10-yard line.  After Joint failed to gain and Rizzo fumbled and recovered for an eight-yard loss, Tom circled left end for the remaining 18 yards.  Joint to Rizzo was good for the 26^th point.

Joint Goes 20 Yards

Just before the half ended, Joint intercepted a pass from Beach and ran 20 yards for a score. 

Using mainly substitutes in the third quarter, the Jays again put up a pair of tallies.  A bad pass from center gave Jesuits the ball on the Cross 12 yard line and, after three plays, Manion took the ball over.      

Joint put over the other in the quarter when, after intercepting a pass on the 35-yard line and returning it to the 12, he carried the ball once and Manion once before George broke through.

A pass from Eschmann to Beter for 20 yards was good for the first score of the final quarter.  Eschmann put over the last two touchdowns, going through center on a spinner play for 43 yards and then intercepting a pass from Beach and running 30 yards.

Besides Beach’s passes, which at times connected for good gains, the only other tack that gained any yardage for the Micks were off tackle runs by Beach.

The Jesuits band offered a fine spectacle in their new uniforms, parading before the game and between the halves.  There are 94 pieces in the band and good music is played by the Jays.

Starting lineups were:

Jesuit (63)                                Holy Cross (0)

Beter                LE                    Guizerix             

Carey               LT                    Favret

Finnan             LG                   Cosse

Kaack              C                     Massett

Winters            RG                   Mouton

Berner              RT                   LaRocca

Ryan                RE                   Wooton

Joint                 QB                   Vitter

Robichaux        LH                   Sciortino

Daigle               RH                   Beach

Rizzo                FB                   Gerchow

Substitutes for Jesuit were: Eschmann, Manion, Ballatin, Childress, Leininger, Brownson, Daigre, Mabel, Blanchard, Addington, Ficarra, Duignon, Carey.

Holy Cross subs were: Brunner, Piedra, Ryan, Nuccio, Ubietta, Gilbert, Cressione, Privat, Fernandez, Panting.

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1922, Jesuit 32-0 (inaugural game)

1923, Jesuit 40-0

1924, Jesuit 48-0

1925, Holy Cross 45-0

1926, tie 7-7

1927, Jesuit 72-0

1928, Jesuit 13-6

1929, Jesuit 8-0

1930, Jesuit 63-0

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As the season wound down, Easton and Jesuit were to face off for the Class A title.  Daigle led Jesuit to a 65-0 triumph over Baton Rouge in the first night game ever played in high school in the city.  When the meeting with Warren Easton neared, the public school prevailed upon the Catholic school not to play their two backfield stars, Joint and Rizzo.  Perhaps those two would have made a difference, but it was not to be the Jays' day.  Easton prevailed  by 18-13 in a thrilling contest.

Nevertheless, records were to reveal that Easton's "Kid" Sambola was no kid, after all.  He was already 21 and ineligible. Easton had to forfeit the six games in which he played.  This made Jesuit the city champions and allowed them to enter the state playoffs for the first time ever.  Sambola had been christened at Our Lady of the Rosary Church in September, 1909. 

Daigle became ineligible just after the Easton game, reaching 21 years of age.  The Jays entered the semi-final game against Lake Charles, who prevailed by 21-6.  In September of 1931, Prep League officials voted to allow Easton to keep the 1930 Prep championship trophy despite the forfeits, since they had conducted themselves in good faith and had not known of Sambola's true age.

This was to be the final year of Easton's "pick of the litter" advantage as the only boys' public high school, since an new uptown school, Fortier, was inaugurated.  Fortier would prove to thin the public school ranks a bit and would become a competitor in their own right soon enough.

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