The Football Tradition for the Prep League in
1946:
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Click here for football program for Holy Cross vs. GCMA |
1946:
A BLUE AND WHITE BONANZA
Jays Capture all Major State Titles in a Single Year
Everyone that has
been raised in the Jesuit tradition is familiar with the legendary year of 1946.
In that single calendar year, Jesuit captured the Louisiana State
championships in Basketball, Track and Field, Baseball and finally Football.
To make it even sweeter, they captured the American Legion State and
World Series Titles. It is thought
that perhaps no other major high school in America has ever equaled such a
record in interscholastic athletics. The
Jays had a great bunch of athletes and put them to very good use.
Every first year student on Carrollton Avenue has had the experience of
wandering down the school’s Hall of Champions and looking in awe at the 1946
photographs and trophies.
The championships did not come without a struggle, of course, as many tough
games had to be won and many fine athletes had to be contended with.
Not the least of which was the now-perennial winners from Dauphine
Street. Holy Cross had indeed come
into its own under the capable tutelage of Coach Lou Brownson.
The Tigers also held their own in the other major sports and were in the
process of building a dynasty in Wrestling under their coach, Brother Melchior.
Lou Brownson set up a dream game early in the season with the famed Boys’ Town
of Nebraska. This game was a chinch
to draw a huge gate. However, it
all fell through when it was discovered that Boys’ Town’s quarterback and
one other player were Negroes. When
told that they would not be allowed to play in the segregated South, Father
Flanagan pulled out of the game. This
left the Tigers with a slate of only seven games for the season, a grave
disappointment.
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Jesuit handled all of their opponents with few scares that year.
They won their playoff games by comfortable margins and took the state
crown by beating Jennings 48-14. They
then defeated Gonzaga of Washington, D.C. 19-0 in the CYO classic to cap off a
13-0-0 season.
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Meanwhile, Holy Cross had an outstanding season of its own, going undefeated and
losing only to the
Jays in a disappointing game.
Now, for the official
article on the game played on Saturday, November 16, 1946
Copyright © 1946 the Times-Picayune
Publishing Co.
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JESUIT
HAS EASY TIME BLANKING HOLY CROSS
TIGERS UNABLE TO THREATEN
Petitbon, Villavaso Pace Jays to Triumph
By
Pete Baird
A record local crowd of 42,000 football fans saw the
veteran, hard-hitting Jesuit line and an equally hard-running backfield
overwhelm Holy Cross, 32-0, at Tulane Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Jesuit dominated the game all the way, stopping Al Hanzo, the league’s leading
ground gainer, and while the Jays couldn’t stop Floyd Duffy and Hank
Lauricella all the time, they held the gold-shirted backs pretty well in hand.
Never was Holy Cross able to make a serious threat.
On the other hand, John Petitbon and Charles Villavaso, running with vigor
behind that sharp-shooting Jay line, romped up and down the field for touchdowns
in every period but the first.
Holy Cross used a four-man line most of the time but changed its defense quite
frequently. Bobby
Heap played a great game at end but the Jays were not to be stopped.
Petitbon made three touchdowns, Villavaso one and Joe Shirer one. Hugh Oser
kicked two extra points but missed the others, which didn’t much matter.
The Jays showed a varied attack that worked every time they had a scoring chance
and a 5-3-2-1 defense that hemmed in Holy Cross constantly.
The Tigers also tried everything and showed, in Floyd Duffy, a fine running
back.
The Bengals were fighting just as hard and playing possibly better in the fourth
quarter than in the opener.
The two teams were slightly jittery at the start. Neither team could work up a sustained drive in the first
period, though Lloyd Duffy for the Tigers and John Petitbon for Jesuit made some
good gains.
Holy Cross was kept pretty much in the hole, but Hank Lauricella kept getting
off punts to keep the hard-hitting Jays at a distance.
Hugh Oser and Petitbon also kicked well and had the Tigers unable to get into a
position to take many chances.
Opening the second quarter, Lauricella kicked from his 15 to Petitbon on the
Jays’ 45and he brought it back in a nice run to the Tigers’ 30.
Al Hanzo nailed Petty for a two-yard loss at left end, but John gained it
back at the other end.
Then came a pretty play. Chuck
Villavaso completed a pass to Oser, who lateralled it to Monroe Caballero.
The play barely failed to gain a first down and Lauricella pretty soon
had to punt again. This time, Petty
returned it from his 47 to the Holy Cross 38.
Petitbon gained 11 yards at right tackle and repeated for two to move to the
Holy Cross 25. The Tigers went into
a four-man line and Pat Rooney was held to one yard over center.
Villavaso then passed to Oser for a first down on the Tiger 15 and Villavaso
went around left end – and the Holy Cross eight-man line – for the
touchdown.
Holy Cross started passing after the next kickoff and Petitbon intercepted one
of Lauricella’s tosses on the Jesuit 46, where he was downed.
Petty and Joe Shirer made a first down.
Villavaso gained three at left tackle and then ran 32 yards around left
end, where Heap brought him down.
Petty rammed it to the Tiger four. Shirer
went to the one and on the next play crowded it over for the touchdown.
Starting the second half, the Jays took the Holy Cross kickoff and
marched right on down. A
forward-lateral pass, with Villavaso carrying the ball gained seven and he
repeated for seven more through the line.
The Jays were stopped momentarily but, on an end around, Oser circled right end
for 27 yards on the Tiger 20.
A Holy Cross penalty for unnecessary roughness set the Tigers back to their 10
and Petty took charge, going for five on his first try, two on his second and
the payoff three on his third dash.
The Jays soon started again. After
Lauricella punted out on the Jay 41, the Jays soon punted back and a Holy Cross
fumble was recovered by Blue Jay Al Tauzier on the Tiger nine.
Petitbon this time rammed all they way on his first attempt to make it
26-0.
Starting the fourth, Jesuit took the ball on downs on the Tigers’ 30 when Holy
Cross elected to try to gain instead of playing it safe.
But the Tigers intercepted a Jay pass and Lauricella returned it to the Tiger
10. A fumble by Villars, however,
put them in misery again when Ralph Bayard recovered for the Jays on the Holy
Cross 26. Bayard got a yard, and on
the next play, Villavaso tossed a perfect pass to Petitbon beyond the Tiger
safety and it was another Jesuit touchdown, the final one making the score 32-0
for the Blue Jays.
NOTE: See additional article, below.
The Lineups
Jesuit (32)
Holy Cross (0
Oser
L.E.
Minyard
Rooney
L.T.
Dugas
Ford
L.G.
Burtchael
Thomas
C
Jenevein
Martin
R.G.
Hecker
Tauzier
R.T.
Korndorfer
Ward
R.E.
Heap
Caballero
Q.B.
Lauricella
Petitbon
R.H.
Villars
Villavaso
L.H.
F. Duffy
Shirer
F.B
Hanzo
Substitutes:
Jesuit: Burguieres, Clark, Schulte, McGill, Johnson, Brown, Rocker, Juge,
Landrieu, Chaney, Leach, Demma, Bayard, Smuck, Knowles, Rappold, McGinn, Thomas,
Pujol, Carroll, Glennon, Ryall
Holy Cross: Prats, Greer, Watkins, Corne, Breaux, Korndorfer, Callery,
Garrity, Nastasi, Stoltz, Adams, Schexnaydre, Cook, Howard, Mouier, Hymel,
Clair, Duffy, Dunn, Westcott, Nettles, Perret, Lucia, Musemeci.
Yards rushing
208
93
Yards passing
43
(Unknown)
First downs
10
6
Penalties
5-35
5-50
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Cumulative record, Jesuit leads the series 18-5-2
Season Record:
Jesuit: (Gernon Brown, Coach
Pensacola
24-6
Baton Rouge 41-14
St. Aloysius
13-0
Boys; High (Ga.)
20-0
St. Stanislaus
31-6
Nicholls
55-0
Peters
41-6
Holy Cross
32-0
Fortier
20-7
Warren Easton
27-6
Istrouma
19-6 (So. La. Championship
Jennings
48-14 (State Championship
Gonzaga (D.C.)
19-0 (CYO Classic)
Season Record: (13-0-0)
Season Record:
Holy Cross: (Lou Brownson, Coach)
Boys’ High of Atlanta
26-12
Gulf Coast Military Academy 19-0
Peters
82-6
Fortier
7-0
Warren Easton
6-0
St. Aloysius
7-0
Jesuit
0-32 (L)
Season record: (6-1-0)
A second article appeared in the Monday edition of the Times-Picayune:
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