REPLAY: Jesuit starts fast, holds off Holy Cross 28-20

HAMMOND – The Golden Football will remain at the corner of Carrollton and Banks for a third straight year.

Jesuit scored touchdowns on four consecutive possessions in the first half and held off a Holy Cross second-half comeback to defeat the Tigers 28-20 in the 101st meeting between the longtime rivals Saturday at Southeastern Louisiana University’s Strawberry Stadium.

The game aired live on Cox Sports Television and Crescent City Sports. CST will reair the contest Saturday night at 7 and Sunday night at 8.

Using a tag team of Jack Larriviere and Luke LaForge at quarterback, the Blue Jays (2-1, 1-1 District 9-5A) jumped to a 28-6 halftime lead. The quarterbacks combined for 245 yards passing and 101 yards rushing, and LaForge added a key 39-yard reception from Larriviere.

The Tigers (1-1, 0-1), playing for the first time in 15 days, got things going in the second half behind the arm of John Dade Wooton and his favorite target, wide receiver Jalen Johnson. Wooton combleted 22 of 30 passes for 279 yards and three touchdowns, while Johnson had 13 receptions for 183 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Like last year, Holy Cross had the ball in a one-score game late, but without any time outs remaining, the Tigers ran out of time near midfield and the Jesuit bench celebrated their 59th victory in the series.

Jesuit faces St. Augustine next weekend at Tad Gormley while Holy Cross has a non-district matchup with Warren Easton.