Jesuit shakes off turnovers for 37-0 rout of Holy Cross

Mike Strom, The Times-Picayune, September 09, 2011 11:46 p.m.

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Holy Cross wide receiver Wardell Robinson leaps to catch a pass, as Jesuit defensive backs Rhett Reynolds, bottom, and Ryan Helm, left, cover him during their game Friday at Tad Gormley Stadium. - (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune)

The state's oldest continuous high school football rivalry produced seven turnovers, six in the first half and four in the first 13 minutes. But none of that derailed Jesuit from an impressive 37-0 non-district victory in its 42nd consecutive meeting with Holy Cross on Friday night at Tad Gormley Stadium.

Playing before a crowd of approximately 8,000, the Blue Jays brushed off two interceptions and a lost fumble in rolling to a 23-0 halftime lead, protecting a No. 5 Metro ranking and No. 9 state ranking.

Junior quarterback Tanner Lee threw scoring passes of 48 and 5 yards to senior wide receivers Matt Baldwin and Justin Poole, and middle linebacker Deion Jones returned an interception 75 yards.

The Blue Jays' defense also scored by tackling Tigers running back Kevin Joseph in the end zone for a 2-yard loss and a second-quarter safety, and Ralph Freibert kicked the first three of five successful extra point attempts.

"First of all, this is a rivalry between two tremendous scholastic, athletic and spiritual schools that I am honored to be a part of and our kids are honored to be a part of,'' said Jesuit Coach Wayde Keiser, who improved to 4-1 versus the Tigers. "Our kids played with great intensity, and we had to, to match their intensity. I'm proud of my kids for that.''

Jesuit (2-0) defeated its oldest rival for the fourth consecutive season to increase its series lead to 53-37-1. Holy Cross (0-2) suffered its worst loss to the Blue Jays since consecutive 42-0 losses in 1996 and 1997.

"They are a better team than we are,'' Holy Cross Coach Barry Wilson said. "They got after us, and we couldn't do anything. They did a tremendous job. They're very well-coached and very well-organized. We were just really bad, just horrible.''

The Blue Jays tacked on third-quarter touchdowns on runs of 17 and 67 yards by Cameron Dobbins, the first coming as a quarterback and the second as a tailback behind Lee.

Dobbins rushed for 112 yards and starting tailback Paul Stanton for 100 yards, as the Jays piled up 296 yards rushing, and 442 total, with 16 first downs. Lee completed seven of nine passes for 109 yards and the two touchdowns while playing in a reserve capacity and sharing series with Dobbins. Baldwin caught four passes for 65 yards, and tight end Jay Pyburn had four catches for 49 yards.

Jones and defensive back Alex Yacoubian also had interceptions. Yacoubian's pick set up Jesuit's first touchdown, the Lee-to-Baldwin 48-yard completion.

Jesuit's impressive yardage total made its four turnovers — two interceptions and two lost fumbles — feel like nothing more than a speed bump.

"We don't want turnovers,'' Keiser said. "That's one of the goals on our board, no turnovers. So we didn't get one of our goals tonight.''

Two Holy Cross second-half touchdowns were negated by penalties. Cornerback Ed Eagan returned a kickoff 99 yards after Jesuit's fourth touchdown, but it was wiped out by an illegal block.

Joseph later broke free for a 99-yard scoring run that was called back by another illegal block.

Tigers quarterbacks Tucker Herzog and James Tabary combined to complete 20 of 35 passes for 173 yards. Herzog threw three interceptions in the first half. Joseph finished with 78 yards rushing on 12 carries.

"This is two games in a row that we've made a lot of mistakes and had a lot of penalties,'' Wilson said. "We're laying it on the ground so much. We're throwing picks. You can't do that. If we don't straighten that out, we won't win.''

"What can I say about Debo (Jones),'' Keiser said. "Debo plays hard. He does what we ask him to do. I thought our defensive line did a great job of putting pressure on Herzog.''

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Mike Strom can be reached at mstrom@timespicayune.com or 504.883.7057.

East St. John's Darion Monroe, Jesuit's Deion Jones chosen All-Metro Large Schools Players of the Year

Mike Strom, The Times-Picayune, December 18, 2011 6 a.m.

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All-Metro Large Schools football honorees are Wayde Keiser and Deion Jones of Jesuit and Darion Monroe of East St. John. - (Rusty Costanza/The Times-Picayune)

East St. John quarterback Darion Monroe and Jesuit middle linebacker Deion Jones likely have played their final game at their respective high school positions.

Individual accolades are another story.

Monroe and Jones have collected the top individual honors on the All-Metro large schools football team selected by The Times-Picayune.

Monroe has been chosen Offensive Player of the Year and Jones as Defensive Player of the Year.

Wayde Keiser of Jesuit is Metro Coach of the Year.

Monroe is a nationally-ranked cornerback prospect and a Texas A&M commitment at the position, who accounted for 3,077 yards and 33 touchdowns with his running and passing while leading East St. John to an 8-4 record and a share of the District 8-5A championship. The Wildcats advanced to the regional round of the state playoffs where they fell to Jones and Jesuit.

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior also participated in seven games defensively at cornerback, enough to be considered a starter, where he recorded seven interceptions. He also returned punts.

"I'll never see another one like him for a long, long, long time, even if I'm lucky,'' East St. John Coach Phillip Banko said. "He's at the top of his class academically. He's a tremendous leader. He could have done anything we asked him to do. There's not another kid in our school that we could have done that with. He made plays and that's what great players do. The best thing I can tell you about him is he's a coach on the field.''

Monroe passed for 2,484 yards and 20 touchdowns while completing 146 of 271 attempts to earn District 8-5A Offensive Player of the Year honors as well. He ran 126 times for another 593 yards and 13 touchdowns in earning All-District honors as a quarterback for a second consecutive season. Georgia Tech continues to recruit him as a quarterback.

Defensively, Monroe also recorded eight tackles, six passes defensed, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

"I'm going to miss (playing offense),'' said Monroe. "I like being the guy with the ball in his hands at big times. I don't shy away from being that guy. That's why I'm probably going to look into doing punt returns (in college). But change is something that happens in life. You've got to make changes in your life sometimes. Being a (defensive back) is probably better for me, being 5-11.''

Jones, a LSU commitment, earned All-Metro honors for a second consecutive season as a middle linebacker in addition to adding Player of the Year recognition for the first time. A returning Class 5A All-State selection, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound senior projects as an outside linebacker/strong safety hybrid at the next level.

In his final schoolboy season, the Blue Jays whirlwind was a force on defense and special teams in ranging sideline to sideline to record 179 tackles, with 105 individual stops and eight sacks, plus five forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and three interceptions in 12 games for a Jesuit team that finished the regular season 10-0 and won a District 9-5A championship. Jones returned one of those interceptions for a touchdown.

"I think I played well this season,'' Jones said. "I put in a lot of hard work for this season. I try to bring a lot of enthusiasm to the team, making sure that everyone is hyped for practice and hyped for games and making sure I do the same. I actually didn't know I had that many tackles. I was just playing. We got to the third round last year, so I was just hungry for the Dome.''

As far as his switch to a new position in college, Jones said, "I really don't mind playing a different position if they need me to play another position. I just like playing the game. So it really won't change me.''

Keiser, 51, directed his alma mater to the finest season of his five-year tenure. In addition to winning an undefeated District 9-5A championship, the Blue Jays won their second straight district title and recorded the school's first 12-0 start in more than six decades dating to Jesuit's 14-0 state championship team in 1946.

Jesuit's 10-0 mark was its first since 1962 and the outright district championship was the first since 2004. The Blue Jays advanced to the Class 5A state quarterfinals for a second consecutive year to complete a 22-4 run over the past two seasons.

"We are proud and honored to be able to do this for our school,'' Keiser said. "I didn't know that (about the various milestones achieved by the team) until somebody told me about it. One of the things that our staff and the kids did well was focusing on the next opponent. We didn't concern ourselves with the Jesuit historical thing at the time.''

Mike Strom can be reached at mstrom@timespicayune.com or 504.883.7057.

 

Times-Picayune All-Metro football teams

The Times-Picayune, December 18, 2011 4 a.m.

THE TIMES-PICAYUNE ALL-METRO FOOTBALL TEAMS

LARGE SCHOOLS

OFFENSE

Pos. Name, School Ht. Wt. Class

WR Kedrick Banks, McDonogh 35 5-9 180 Sr.

WR Jarrell Bennett, Karr 5-9 155 Sr.

WR Patrick Bethley, West Jefferson 5-10 175 Sr.

TE Jay Pyburn, Jesuit 6-3 230 Sr.

OL Derek Edinburgh, Karr 6-8 320 Sr.

OL Jude Bourgeois, Shaw 6-0 310 Sr.

OL Dominick Bilich, Rummel 6-3 285 Sr.

OL Todd Jacquet, Jesuit 6-5 270 Sr.

OL Kenneth Santa Marina, McDonogh 35 6-7 330 Jr.

QB Darion Monroe, East St. John 5-11 185 Sr.

RB J.J. Brown, Rummel 5-6 165 Sr.

RB Leonard Fournette, St. Augustine 6-0 215 So.

RB Paul Stanton, Jesuit 5-10 175 Sr.

ATH Dylan Long, St. Paul's 6-0 220 Sr.

DEFENSE

Pos. Name, School Ht. Wt. Class

DL Marcel Andry, St. Augustine 6-3 290 Sr.

DL Titus Charles, Karr 6-0 300 Jr.

DL Julien Obioha, Brother Martin 6-4 250 Sr.

DL Leonard Washington, Karr 6-1 285 Sr.

LB Deion Jones, Jesuit 6-2 205 Sr.

LB Terrance Jones, Rummel 5-10 185 Jr.

LB Otha Peters, Covington 6-1 220 Sr.

LB Sterling Doss, Salmen 6-0 215 Jr.

LB Preston Winget, Mandeville 6-2 210 Jr.

DB Quadry Antoine, Belle Chasse 6-0 215 Sr.

DB Ed Eagan, Holy Cross 5-11 175 Sr.

DB Jerqwinick Sandolph, Hahnville 6-2 190 Sr.

DB Dane Stubbs, St. Paul's 5-8 190 Sr.

SPECIALISTS

Pos. Name, School Ht. Wt. Class

P Ralph Freibert, Jesuit 6-0 210 Sr.

PK Trent Domangue, St. Paul's 6-1 140 Sr.

RS Asphenn Gaines, Belle Chasse 5-6 160 Sr.

Offensive Player of the Year: Darion Monroe, East St. John.

Defensive Player of the Year: Deion Jones, Jesuit.

Coach of the Year: Wayde Keiser, Jesuit.

 

DISTRICT 9-5A

Offense

Wide receivers: Cyril Grayson, Rummel, 6-0, 175, Sr.; Patrick Bethley, West Jefferson, 5-10, 175, Sr.

Tight end: Jay Pyburn, Jesuit, 6-3, 230, Sr.

Offensive line: Todd Jacquet, Jesuit, 6-5, 270, Sr.; Jace Atkinson, Chalmette, 6-1, 250, Sr.; Ronald McClelland, West Jefferson, 6-3, 275, Sr.; Ryan Hoefield, Brother Martin, 6-2, 250, Jr.; Dominick Bilich, Rummel, 6-3, 285, Sr.

Quarterback: Damian Williams, Rummel, 6-1, 215, Jr.

Running backs: J.J. Brown, Rummel, 5-6, 165, Sr.; Jabbar Singleton, Brother Martin, 5-11, 185, Jr.; Paul Stanton, Jesuit, 5-10, 175, Sr.

Athlete: Cameron Dobbins, Jesuit, 5-10, 170, Sr.

Offensive Player of the Year: Damian Williams, Rummel.

Defense

Line: Michael Gogreve, Jesuit, 5-10, 225, Sr.; Colin Laborde, Chalmette, 6-0, 205, Sr.; Julien Obioha, Brother Martin, 6-3, 250, Sr.; Scott Migliore, Rummel, 6-1, 210, Sr.

Linebackers: Myron Chapman, Brother Martin, 6-3, 195, Sr.; Deion Jones, Jesuit, 6-2, 205, Sr.; Terrance Jones, 5-10, 185, Jr.; Teyhones Lundy, West Jefferson, 5-11, 205, Sr.

Backs: Jordan Frost, Rummel, 5-8, 170, Sr.; Larry Jordan, Brother Martin, 5-10, 180, Sr.; Parry Nickerson, West Jefferson, 5-10, 180, Jr.; Raymond Major, Chalmette, 5-9, 165, Sr.

Defensive Player of the Year: Deion Jones, Jesuit.

Specialists

Place-kicker: Michael McCarthy, Brother Martin, 5-10, 170, Sr.

Return specialist: Ronald Lewis, West Jefferson, 6-0, 180, Jr.

Punter: Ralph Freibert, Jesuit, 6-0, 210, Sr.

Coach of the Year: Wayde Keiser, Jesuit.

DISTRICT 10-4A

Offense

Wide receivers: Larry Dace, St. Augustine, 5-9, 180, Sr.; Lorenzo Doss, St. Augustine, 5-10, 185, Sr.;

Wardell Robinson, Holy Cross, 5-8, 165, Jr.

Line: Damien Daniels, St. Augustine, 6-3, 305, Jr.; Theron Lazard, St. Augustine 6-0, 265, So.; Nathan Lewis, Easton, 6-3, 310, Sr.; Austin Poche, East Jefferson, 6-0, 250, Jr.; Taj Smith, Holy Cross, 6-0, 255, Sr.

Quarterback: Toi Jenkins, St. Augustine, 5-10, 185, So.

Running backs: Leonard Fournette, St. Augustine, 6-0, 215, So.; Patrick Hill, Easton, 6-0, 235, Sr.; Eugene Wells, East Jefferson, 5-8, 160, So.

Athlete: Sydie London, St. Augustine, 6-4, 205, Sr.
Offensive Player of the Year: Leonard Fournette, St. Augustine.

Defense

Line: Marcel Andry, St. Augustine, 6-3, 290, Sr.; Kelan Chairs, St. Augustine, 6-1, 220, Jr.; Terry Floyd, Riverdale, 6-2, 195, Sr.; Kris Kholes, East Jefferson, 6-3, 260, Sr.;

Linebackers: Dejean Albert, East Jefferson, 5-8, 200, Jr.; Trey Hooper, Holy Cross, 6-1, 200, Sr.; Kievon Jackson, Riverdale, 5-11, 175, Sr.; Edward Williams, Easton, 6-2, 230, Jr.

Backs: Roscoe Bienemy, St. Augustine, 5-11, 190, Sr.; Ed Eagan, Holy Cross, Holy Cross, 5-11, 175, Sr.; Dominick Jones, St. Augustine, 6-0, 195, Sr.; Derrick Raymond, East Jefferson, 6-1, 175, Sr.

Defensive Player of the Year: Marcel Andry, St. Augustine.

Specialists

Place-kicker: Peyton Nelson, St. Augustine, 6-0, 180, Sr.

Punter: Josh Johnson, Easton, 6-0, 150, So.

Return specialist: Cornell Stewart, Easton, 5-7, 140, Sr.

Coach of the Year: David Johnson, St. Augustine.