An ominous looking sky brought rain and wind gusts clocked up to 41 m.p.h. just as parents
were dropping off their sons for the start of the second annual Blue & White Friday Night,
an entertaining and fun evening  for prospective Jays in grades 4-7
that was held on October 9, 2009. 

Undaunted, Blue Jays whipped out the umbrellas and formed a brigade of sorts,
escorting their young guests safely inside the auditorium.

Austin North, a 6th grader at St. Angela Merici, stays dry while entering the auditorium.

A pair of welcome lines takes up the center aisle of the auditorium
with Blue Jays giving out high fives to their honored guests.

Marc Belloni, a Jesuit alumnus from the Class of ’83 who teaches social studies and is
moderator of the Philelectic Society, introduces the Phils’ Improv Group...

... whose actors perform sketches to the delight of their audience.

Patrick LaCour, a 7th grader at Christian Brothers, enjoys a front row seat...

... as does Lee Blosser, a 4th grader from Christ the King, and...

... Joshua de Boisblanc, a 7th grader at St. Louis King of France.

The Blue Jay Band’s Drum Corps reenacts the sounds of what it’s like to be
in the stands cheering for the Jesuit football team.

The sound and light show captures the faces of the audience.

The Drum Corps is essentially important to maintaining and boosting support and Blue Jay Spirit.

Collin Gillen is a 6th grader at Christian Brothers. 

Matthew Foley (left), a 7th grader at St. Francis Xavier, is astonished by the magic
of Jesuit senior Michael Mentz, a magician whose act enraptured the crowd.

The magic also casts a spell on Foley’s classmate, 7th grader Fritz Newburger of 
St. Francis Xavier, as well as...

... these two students from St. Andrew the Apostle — Eli Sisung (left), a 5th grader and
6th grader William Waguespack.  

Magician Mentz leaves the stage via the center aisle to the high fives of the audience,
including these two 7th graders from St. Francis Xavier — Cole Delery (left) and Michael Baroni.

This trio gets ready to move on to the Jesuit gym. From left are St. Francis Xavier
5th grader Christian Crout and Christian Brothers 6th graders Cristian Archaga
and Richard Vanderbrook.

Richard Johnson is a 6th grader at St. Anthony of Padua.

All eyes are on the Jesuit cheerleading squad which performs a few of its routines.

Assistant football coach Richard Bohn (back left) introduces four players, including
senior Blue Jay quarterback Ethan Oddo, senior wide receiver Cooper Petagna, 
sophomore linebacker Debo Jones (40), and junior defensive lineman Chris Andrade (95).

Senior Brady Hadden takes his turn at 3-point jumpers.

The audience enjoys a demonstration put on by the Jesuit wrestling team.

Senior Patrick Mullins starts his solo performance...

Mullins catches the ball on his back (left). Carefully balancing the ball, Mullins gets down on the floor...

... and performs several push-ups before reversing the routine. Bravo! Bravo!

Senior baseball players Briggs Barrios and Derrick Dunham put on an
exhibition. Barrios pitches and Dunham smacks the nerf balls into the crowd.

Jesuit president Fr. Anthony McGinn, S.J. watches the boys leave the gym.

In the Jesuit cafeteria, the boys have a choice between nachos and cheese or grilled hot dogs.
Many guests opt for both.

Jayson welcomes his guests to the Student Commons, a central gathering spot for all Blue Jays.

Hunger and thirst satiated, this group in the Student Commons gets ready to head home.
From left are Will Tullis, a 6th grader at St. Dominic; Christian Brothers 6th graders
Crew Jacobs, Evan Ruppert, Trey Hollander, and Brad Ingram; Claudio Aguirre,
a 6th grader from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton; and, Sean Lozowski, a 7th grader
from St. Rosalie Middle School. 

These six guys are all 7th graders at St. Catherine of Siena. Front row, from left are:
Freeman Matthews, Austin Pfister, and Ethan Martinez; back row, from left:
Zachary Jeffries, Jack Beuler, and Stephen Browning.

John Doyle, a 6th grader from St. Matthew the Apostle, stands in the middle of two friends, 
Travis Huizar (left) and Kyle Carpenter, both of whom are 5th graders at Harahan Elementary.

To Our Guests Who Were Undaunted by the Stormy Weather:
Jesuit Thanks You for Taking Time to Come to This Event.
We Hope Everyone Enjoyed the Evening.
If You Will Be in Grades 4-7 Next Year,
Make Plans with Your Friends to Attend the
3rd Annual Blue & White Friday Night in October 2010!