REPLAY: Jesuit earns spot in state title game with decisive win over Brother Martin

NEW ORLEANS – It was simply their time.

The Jesuit Blue Jays had lost eight straight times to Brother Martin, dating to 2014 when Jesuit won the Division I state championship, its first state title in 54 years.

The streak ended Friday night and Jesuit has a chance to win its ninth state championship overall after a convincing 28-10 victory over Brother Martin before a crowd estimated at just over 18,000 at Tad Gormley Stadium in a game seen live at CrescentCitySports.com and heard live on NASH ICON 106.1 FM.

Brother Martin defeated Jesuit 20-14 in triple overtime on Sept. 24 in a thriller.

This time, Jesuit left no doubt in a decisive win.

Jack Larriviere, the District 9-5A offensive most valuable player, accounted for all four touchdowns for the Blue Jays, passing for three scores and running for a fourth.

Things started well for the Crusaders.

Brother Martin drove 80 yards in 12 plays, taking 4:18 off the clock. From the 2-yard line, Torey Lambert carried to the goal line, was hit, fumbled but teammate Alejandro Ferreyra recovered in the end zone for a touchdown to give the Crusaders a 7-0 lead with 2:44 to play in the opening quarter.

Jesuit answered immediately, using just five plays to go 77 yards with Larriviere hitting Jace Larsen with a 54-yard touchdown pass to tie the game 7-7 with 41 seconds to play in the first quarter.

The Blue Jays then recovered the ensuing kickoff, a squib kick, at the Brother Martin 39-yard line.

Jesuit capitalized, needing just two plays to score on a 40-yard touchdown pass from Larriviere to Larsen to give the Blue Jays a lead they would not relinquish at 14-7 with 21 seconds to play in the first quarter.

The Blue Jays cemented the lead in the second quarter, driving 89 yards in 12 plays with Larriviere hitting Jaron Duplessis on a throwback screen pass for 13 yards and a score to increase the edge to 21-7 with 3:45 to play in the half.

The Crusaders pulled closer by halftime on a 22-yard field goal by Leyton Liuzza and it was 21-10 at halftime.

Jesuit opened up the lead to 28-10 with 1:48 to play in the third quarter on a 3-yard touchdown run by Larriviere to cap a 47-yard drive in nine plays.

The Blue Jay defense shut Brother Martin down the rest of the way, pitching a second half shutout to secure a solid victory.

“Our coaches on the defensive side just do an outstanding job,” Jesuit coach Ryan Manale said. “We’ve got leaders who play extremely hard. It’s really about the players and the coaches prepping them. They executed the game plan to perfection. I couldn’t be prouder of them. Up front is where you win football games and we’ve been getting better and better each week.”

Larriviere completed 6-of-11 passes for 155 yards and three touchdowns with an interception and finished with 18 carries for 96 yards and a touchdown. Garrett Mmahat completed 18-of-24 passes for 204 yards for Brother Martin but he was sacked six times by Jesuit and lost a fumble, recovered by Nick Jacobs. Austin Roberts had an interception for Brother Martin.

Brother Martin (5-6) saw its season end with its first loss on the field, falling in the semifinals for the second straight season and for the fourth time since 2014, falling short of reaching a state title game for the first time since 1989.

“This is definitely one of the most resilient group of young men I’ve ever been around,” Brother Martin coach Mark Bonis said. “Obviously, I’m disappointed for them. We didn’t play a very good football game but you’ve got to credit Jesuit for that. They came out and had a great plan. I wish them the best of luck. I’ve been very blessed to coach this group this year.”

With Celebration in the Oaks getting underway adjacent to the stadium, Jesuit began its celebration in the oaks in earnest with its biggest victory in seven years.

The Blue Jays (10-0) will take on top seed Catholic of Baton Rouge in the state championship game next Saturday night, Dec. 4 at Yulman Stadium at 7 p.m. Catholic rallied past No. 5 St. Paul’s 29-28 in the other Division I semifinal.

“We think the best is yet to come,” Manale said. “All together here, it is year one. How about the Blue Jays? I can’t wait for next week.”

The time has come a little earlier than most, if not all, expected for Manale and his Blue Jays. It was simply their time Friday night.

FINAL
JES 14 7 7 0 28
BM 7 0 0 0 10

Scoring
1st Qtr.
BM—Alejandro Ferreyra, fumble recovery in end zone (Leyton Liuzza kick)
JES—Jace Larsen, 54-yard pass from Jack Larriviere (Aidan Corbello kick)
JES—Jace Larsen, 40-yard pass from Jack Larriviere (Aidan Corbello kick)

2nd Qtr.
JES—Jaron Duplessis, 12-yard pass from Jack Larriviere (Aidan Corbello kick)
BM—Leyton Liuzza, 22-yard field goal

3rd Qtr.
JES—Jack Larriviere, 3-yard run (Aidan Corbello kick)

First Downs:
JES 15, BM 13

Sacks:
JES 6, BM 2

Turnovers:
JES 1, BM 1

Penalties:
JES 4 for 40 yards, BM 6 for 52 yards

Rushing:
JES 191 yards, BM 103 yards

Passing:
JES 155 yards, BM 204 yards

Total Yards:
JES 346 yards, BM 307 yards

Individual Rushing:
JES—Jack Larriviere 18 carries for 96 yards and 1 touchdown, Jaron Duplessis 17 carries for 91 yards, Harry Reinhardt 1 carry for 4 yards

BM—Torey Lambert 16 carries for 85 yards, Garrett Mmahat 14 carries for 14 yards, Jordan Thomas 4 carries for 4 yards

Individual Passing:
JES—Jack Larriviere 6-of-11 for 155 yards and 3 touchdowns, 1 interception

BM—Garrett Mmahat 18-of-24 for 204 yards

Individual Receiving:
JES—Jace Larsen 3 catches for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns, Matthew Reeder 2 catches for 19 yards, Jaron Duplessis 1 catch for 13 yards and 1 touchdown

BM—Clayton Lonardo 6 catches for 72 yards, Torey Lambert 4 catches for 40 yards, Jordan West 3 catches for 48 yards, Julian Oubre 2 catches for 27 yards, Simon Provenzano 2 catches for 13 yards, Nicholas Malek 1 for -2 yards