FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. - When the Jesuit Tigers won their second football state championship, they gave their fans an early Christmas present. 

For a very special group, the win brought back a lot of memories. The 1968 Tigers team were the first to do it and they’ve been waiting a long time for another team to join them. 

The wait is finally over.

A proud group of Jesuit alumni enjoyed an epic comeback from their alma mater. A game for the ages. A game for some of Jesuit’s most aged. 

1968 team member David Strouse had a special message for the newest state champs.

“Welcome aboard,” he said.

For 53 years, Strouse and his fellow 1968 teammates were the lone football champions at Jesuit. Now they have company.

The recent win brought back a flood of memories for the old guard.

“It’s a time of innocence and your whole life is in front of you,” he said. “And the most important thing is that night.”

He knows. He experienced a night just like it.

Every year, Strouse and his 1968 teammates get together to celebrate their ultimate glory day. Normally, they gather on Dec. 20th, the anniversary date of their historic win. But the Tigers recent trip to the Class 6A title game in Ft. Lauderdale gave them an excuse to party a little early.

A host of Jesuit alumni gathered at a nearby pub before the game. They’d been waiting a long time for this moment. And Strouse had been waiting a long time to bring out an oldie but a goodie - his jersey from 1968. So special, he let his son wear it.

“It’ll bring us good luck tonight,” Deuce said. “We’ll bring it home.”

But was it a lucky jersey? It didn’t appear that way in the first half when Jesuit dug themselves a deep hole with turnovers and shaky play.

Strouse couldn’t help but think what his high school coach, Wild Bill Minahan, would have said to the current Tigers team at halftime.

“He’d probably go in and shut the door and be there for awhile,” he said.

The second half didn’t get much better as Pine Forest increased their lead to 15 points late in the third quarter. But Strouse and the Jesuit faithful held out hope the Tigers would mount a comeback.

And they did. Jesuit battled back to win 35-29. 

Was it the cheering? Was it the prayers? Was it the jersey, a priceless piece of wardrobe that brought some extra mojo? Whatever it was, the Jesuit alumni celebrated like it was 1968.

“They deserve it,” Strouse said. “They had great heart and great passion. And they took it away. They wanted it more.”