Our GameTime Yurview Louisiana matchup features two long standing rivals in the Catholic League as the St. Augustine Purple Knights visit the Jesuit Blue Jays. It’s the district opener for these two teams, who have had mixed results during the first three weeks of the season.
St. Augustine, who is led by third year head coach Al Jones, is 2-1. The Purple Knights had an impressive 6-0 win over McDonogh #35, but lost the following week to a very good De La Salle club. St. Augustine easily defeated Capitol High last week.
Jesuit and head coach Mark Songy recorded their first win of the season last week as it handed the Central Wildcats a 42-10 loss. The Blue Jays lost to two very good teams, 40-14 to Warren Easton in the season opener and 31-6 to St. Paul’s the following week.
The Purple Knights have won a couple of games even though they’ve played several different quarterbacks. Starter Dwayne McGill suffered an ankle injury in the jamboree, then Michael Mims hurt his knee in the De La Salle game, which has forced wide receiver Josh White to serve as the primary signal caller.
White is small for a quarterback at 5-foot-8, but he has a strong arm and good speed. He rushed for two TDs in the win over Capitol. It’s likely he’ll split snaps with Mims and McGill in the Catholic League Opener.
Jesuit has a promising quarterback in Alex Watermeier. The 6’4 junior has thrown for nearly 300 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. The Blue Jays have a balanced offense with playmaker Michael Torry as the primary ball carrier. Torry returned a kick 83-yards for a touchdown to start the game last week.
The Blue Jays also have a solid group of wide receivers led by Noah Varnado and Robert McMahon.
St. Augustine will look to establish the run with Texas Tech commit Garland LaFrance. The senior is versatile, who is dangerous when he gets outside of the tackles with his 4.45 speed.
The Purple Knights also have a deep group of receivers. Joseph Walker has excellent speed, Jamaal Jolla is a big target, Broderick Martin has big play potential and Khi Mathieu is extremely athletic. He’s a cousin of current NFL star Tyrann Mathieu.
Both teams played excellent defense last week, and they look to keep that going as district play starts.
Jesuit defensive end Perry Ganci is off to a great start this season. He has 22 solo tackles and four tackles for a loss. Cornerback Ethan Kerrigan intercepted two passes last week and has 16 solo tackles for the season.
The Purple Knights recorded eight sacks in their season opening win over McDonough. St. Aug’s best pass rusher is Tulane commitment Juan Monjarres.
In the secondary, St. Aug’s top player is Nicholls State commit Donneil Ward-Magee, who last year returned two interceptions for touchdowns.
Friday’s matchup at the Shrine on Airline is the 52nd meeting between these Catholic League rivals. St. Augustine leads the all-time series 26-25 and has won the last two matchups. Jesuit’s last win versus the Purple Knights was in 2014. That was a special year for the Blue Jays as they won their first state championship since 1960.
Tune in to GameTime on YurView this Friday, 9/22 at 6:30pm CT for St. Augustine vs. Jesuit. Or watch the live stream here.
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