Brother Martin hits on all cylinders in win over St. Aug

The defense never rests.

In five games, Brother Martin has given up just 31 points. When that happens, you are very, very unlikely to lose.

The Crusaders have won all five games, the latest an impressive 27-7 District 9-5A victory over Gentilly rival St. Augustine at Yulman Stadium Friday night.

While Brother Martin was sixth in our most recent CrescentCitySports.com Class 5A Top 10 rankings, the Crusaders did not even receive a vote in the Louisiana Sportswriters Association poll. That is certain to change. Brother Martin is serving notice that it is a real force to be reckoned with in 2019.

In another superb performance, the Brother Martin defense forced six turnovers which proved decisive. Four of the turnovers were interceptions.

Davonn Moore had the biggest play, a 46-yard interception return for a touchdown of a Kendell Sampson Jr. pass in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

Speaking on The Three Tailgaters Show on 106.1 FM NASH ICON Saturday morning, Brother Martin coach Mark Bonis was bullish on the overall play of Moore this season.

“Moore played on offense, defense and special teams,” Bonis said. “He is just a heck of a football player who makes plays. We are going to continue to use him. We urge those at the next level to take a serious look at him and ignore his height. He can really play. Watch him play an entire game.”

Luke Schexnaildre, Nick Turner and Jaiden Watson also had interceptions for Brother Martin.

“Our defense has been outstanding,” Bonis said. “The game plans our staff has come up with have been excellent. It has truly been a team effort on defense.”

The game was tied 7-7 at halftime after sophomore quarterback Garrett Mmahat tossed a 14-yard yard touchdown pass to Jaylon Spears to put the Crusaders on top before Sampson Jr. hit August Banks IV on a 30-yard touchdown pass to tie it prior to halftime.

The second half belonged to the Crusaders.

Spears rushed 29 times for 135 yards and a 3-yard touchdown and caught three passes for 38 yards and a score.

“Spears has done a great job for us,” Bonis said. “I think he is our leading receiver. Chris Smith was limited with an injury and Jaylon had to step up. He had to take a ton of carries. He really stepped up and he is a very good receiver as well.”

Jack Landry kicked field goals of 28 and 38 yards.

“We played well in spurts,” Bonis said. “There is tremendous room for improvement but that is a good thing. We’re excited to get the win. Our kids played really hard. The level of preparation is high. We are not concerned about rankings. We control what we can control. I’m fine with not being in the statewide rankings.”

With the win, Brother Martin is 5-0 for just the second time under Bonis in his tenth year on the job and the Crusaders are 2-0 in the Catholic League. St. Augustine (3-2) dropped to 0-2 in District 9-5A with its second straight loss.

That sets up a huge showdown with unbeaten and an elite Archbishop Rummel team next Saturday at 2 p.m. at Joe Yenni Stadium in a game that you can watch live at CrescentCitySports.com and listen to live on 106.1 FM NASH ICON.

“We have to ignore all of the noise and focus on each day and each game,” Bonis said. “We move on right away. We have to continue to improve. Rummel is a great football team. Having an extra day to heal up is going to be helpful. We enjoyed the victory against St. Aug but we cannot enjoy it for very long now that we are watching the video of Rummel. It will be another big challenge.”