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60 Years and Counting! JCCS celebrates its 60th anniversary year!
US AGAINST THEM
by Ricardo Sequeira
Despite what some rival schools might say, the JCCS football program has never been afraid to take on any opponent. The tough schedule that the JCCS coaches put together for this year’s preseason proves that. “You’re going to find out what you need to get better at in a hurry,” Coach J.T. Curtis said. Instead of picking easy opponents to try to rack up wins, the coaches challenged the players as much as possible to prepare them for the types of teams they will have to face during the playoffs. Before the season started, Curtis was only predicted to finish number 4 in the district, with critics predicting losses to Jesuit, Brother Martin, and Karr. Everywhere you look online, there have been doubts about if Curtis is still the team to beat and if someone else might take the throne of being the best team in the state. It’s an “us against the world” mentality with the team going day in and day out practicing their hearts out. Only Curtis knows how good Curtis is, which is a scary advantage when everyone underestimates you. Despite all the resentment and doubt thrown at the team, the Patriots are currently 5-1.
Here is a recap of the season so far…
JOHN CURTIS Vs. EAST JEFFERSON
Curtis’s first game of the season was a dominant performance from both sides of the ball, leading to a 30-6 win over East Jefferson at their home stadium on August 26, 2022. Everyone was excited to kick off the season with a decisive victory leading up to the game. The offense had a slow start, but it all kicked off with a 20-yard touchdown run by Senior quarterback Jordan Smith. The offense kept on dominating the rest of the game, with the defense making crucial stops to allow the offense to keep scoring. The only score for East Jefferson for the night was on a kick return touchdown, but the offense quickly responded with a touchdown run from Freshman quarterback Reggie Johnson. After the game, the reality of this being the Seniors' last first game of the season sat in their heads. Senior wide receiver, Paul Faciane, described this feeling by saying, “It felt pretty good because we won. We played good, and it was kind of crazy because I haven't been here that long, but it still shows how fast time flies by.” It was also the first game of their careers for the freshmen. Defensive linemen Braylon “Spider” Montero said, “I always wanted to play in varsity, and I felt like I did good, and I hope I can get more plays throughout my career.” It was a solid start to the season, but there’s always room to improve, especially with how challenging the next couple of games will be. This is the closest game Curtis would have to start the season, with the next three games combining for a total of 9 hours of travel.
JOHN CURTIS Vs. CENTRAL LAFOURCHE
The Patriots marched into Central Lafourche on Friday night, September 2, annihilating the Trojans in a 43-0 blowout win. It was a long trip to get there, but this didn’t affect the Patriots, as they still performed that night as if they were playing back home. Before the game, the defense was challenged by coaches to not only not allow the Trojans to score but also to not allow any first downs on the night. The defense played perfectly, and the Trojans didn’t get a first down the entire game. Senior defensive tackle John Morter said, “I did my role and execution was on point, we did defensively wise a tremendous job, and I’m just really proud of our defense, and I was excited about moving on to next week. It’s just moving on week to week, and we knew what Central Lafourche was and how they played, and we were just ready to move on to the next week.” The defense making stops the entire night opened up the offense to bulldoze over the Trojan’s defense. The second drive for Curtis opened up with a 45-yard touchdown pass from Dagan Bruno to Tyler Mitchell. The game was over by halftime, with a 30-0 lead for Curtis, which allowed younger players to join in on the action. Freshman offensive lineman Willie Bolden said, “It was a pretty good game. I’m a Freshman still young, still learning the blocks. I gotta say I think I did pretty good, and if I had to rate it, I’ll give my performance an 8 out of 10.” Everyone on the team knew that their next opponent, Zachary, would be a much more formidable opponent to face next week.
JOHN CURTIS Vs. ZACHARY
On September 9, 2022, the Patriots went on the road again to Zachary, Louisiana to take on the reigning Class 5A state champion. At the time of the game, Zachary was ranked number one in the LSWA's 5A state ranking. At the half, the Patriots were down by 7, with a score of 14-20. Unfortunately, the Broncos scored 20 points in the 3rd quarter, with the Patriots only scoring 7. The Patriots fought hard with high emotions but fell short to Zachary with a final score of 40-21. Though the outcome may not have been what the Patriots wanted, the lessons learned and experience gained during the game gave the Patriots a huge advantage for the playoffs.
JOHN CURTIS Vs. OAK GROVE
After a long Friday night drive to Oak Grove, Mississippi, Curtis beat the Warriors in a thrilling 28-23 victory on September 15, 2022. With last week’s outcome still fresh in the players' minds, they were determined to make a statement win. The entire game was marked by how hard Curtis fought throughout the whole game. They never gave up even during the direst situations, with Junior free safety Michael Turner making the biggest play of the game, tackling the opposing quarterback on Curtis's two-yard line after a huge run. A new opportunity to play allowed Senior linebacker Justin “Sensei” Horne to get a direct hit on the quarterback, causing a fumble which Senior defensive tackle John Morter recovered. Horne was asked about this enormous defensive stop, saying, “It was nice to have all the pressure on the defense, we all came out there and fight, we didn’t give up. Once we had all the right plays down and went the right way, it set us up for success, allowing me to cause a fumble.” The tackle made by Turner didn’t seem to affect the game at the time, but it ended up being the deciding factor for a Curtis victory. Curtis took control of the game after a touchdown pass by Dagan Bruno to Tyler Mitchell on a wide-open play, but it left enough time for the Warriors to rally a comeback. The game was 28-23, with the Warriors having the ball with 2 minutes left, but the defense held strong by causing a critical fumble that ate up crucial seconds for the Warriors. With no timeouts left for Oak Grove, they ran out of time before they could snap a play which caused the entire Curtis sideline to run on the field in celebration of a thrilling win. No one expected Curtis to win, especially after last week's loss, but they gave it their all on the field to remind everyone that Curtis is still a Championship winning team.
JOHN CURTIS Vs. JESUIT
A hungry Curtis team got their revenge against Jesuit at Tad Gormley Stadium with a 28-10 victory over the Blue Jays on September 23, 2022. The 2021 season ended in heartbreak with Jesuit beating Curtis 14-13, one point away from tying the game and potentially winning in overtime. Instead, Jesuit would take the momentum after the win and go all the way to the state championship game, losing to Catholic B.R. What made things worse was that it was the first time anyone could remember not having a Thanksgiving practice, a tradition that Jesuit ruined. No player could forget the bus ride home and waking up on Thanksgiving without practice, and that feeling stuck with them throughout all the practices. Everyone wanted to march into Tad Gormley and bring home some fried Blue Jays to prove to everyone that Curtis was still a top team, and they did just that. The first quarter was a defensive holdout, but Jesuit struck first with a field goal, and Curtis punched right back with a 35-yard run by sophomore running back Marlon Prout. The offense responded right back, thanks to a quick three and out from the defense, with a 2-yard touchdown run by Senior running back Aaron Johnson. The entire game was ruled by Curtis’s run game, thanks to a dominant offensive line, which allowed Marlon Prout to score three touchdowns and gather 143 yards on ten carries. When asked about his fantastic performance, Prout said, “I’m proud to beat Jesuit after the last losses last season. They upset us twice last year, once in the regular season and once in the quarter-finals. I credit my offensive line to how good I did, and without them, it wouldn’t have happened.”. Junior offensive linemen Bryce Godfrey was asked what he thought about the win. He replied, “Honestly and truly, we come in each and every game, and we just work, and we grind. There’s a new name for us. We go by "The River Ridge Bandits," and we’re just a bunch of guys who go get it every day. That just comes from practice. We start out every day Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We go hard. Thursday, we lock in, watch film, and study. Friday, it all paid off with a win, and we became 1-0 in the district.” This win sent shockwaves in the district; no one expected Curtis to beat Jesuit or even to be ranked above them. It shows how hard Curtis has worked to be considered a dominant threat in the district.
TOUCHDOWN BY JASON GABRIEL!!!
"THE RIVER RIDGE BANDITS"
-the offensive line
JOHN CURTIS Vs. HOLY CROSS
After a dominant game last week, Curtis had a slow start but came out firing in the 4th quarter for a 31-21 win over Holy Cross at Yulman Stadium. It was the first time in three years since Curtis played in Yulman, and the crowd was roaring for the return back. The game started slow, not true to Curtis's form. Holy Cross rallied early on with a 14-6, 8-point lead by halftime. The Curtis coaches made the adjustments at halftime to turn the tide of the game, and Curtis came out firing. The defense snapped back into it, causing a quick three and out, which allowed the offense to get back into their groove by scoring on a 45-yard quarterback run by Senior Jordan Smith. With the game being 19-21 at the start of the 4th quarter, the defense stepped up, causing another three and out. The offense took this opportunity and ran down the field for a touchdown by Marlon Prout, giving Curtis their first lead of the game. With the game at 25-21 with 3 minutes left, everyone in the crowd thought this gave Holy Cross too much time to score to win the game. The defense didn’t let up, with the front line pressuring their quarterback, Cole Canatella, and the defensive backs not giving the receivers any space. With Holy Cross on Curtis’s 35-yard line, Canatella threw a pass under pressure to a receiver, which was picked off beautifully by Blake Wibel, who ran it back for a touchdown with the crowd and sideline cheering. It wasn’t Curtis’s most dominant win, with the team being reminded of their slow and sloppy start, but it shows how Curtis doesn’t back down from a challenge. Sophomore defensive linemen Logan “Bubble Gum” Barnes was asked what he thought about the game and the slow start. He responded, “I’m proud of the team, I feel like in the first half we were pretty slow, and towards the second half, we got things together and started to play the patriot way.” With this win, Curtis now leads the district at 2-0, a fact many critics couldn’t fathom Curtis doing before the season started.
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