California Dreaming: John Curtis opens on West Coast for first time
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
Louisiana’s most storied football program will add a new chapter to its glorious resume.
Twenty-eight-time state champion John Curtis Christian will make the longest road trip in school history when it plays in the two-day California Classic Bowl hosted by San Juan Hills High School in San Juan Capistrano.
“We’re looking forward to it,” said John Curtis head coach J.T. Curtis, the nation’s winningest coach, who begins his 57th season with a 600-116-6 record. “It’s an experience where 99% of these kids will never have to travel like a college away game. We wanted to make that experience for them and see what that’s like.
“We’ve told them we’re going there to win a game,” Curtis said. “I think they’re focused on what we need to do and not get sidetracked by the distractions.”
John Curtis embarks on the start of its 1,900-mile journey, arriving at New Orleans’ Louis Armstrong International Airport between 3:30-3:45 a.m. Thursday for a 5:30 a.m. flight with a 100-member travel party. There was a layover in Houston with the final destination of Irvine, where they later practiced.
The Patriots are opening their 2025 season against Cathedral High of Los Angeles (1-1) which will be playing its third game of the season when the two kick off at 6 p.m. (CST) Friday. The game will be streamed on YouTube by the John Curtis broadcast team.
There’s another game scheduled following the Curtis-Cathedral contest and another doubleheader on Saturday.
“It looks like it’s going to fall into place comfortably,” Curtis said. “We’ll get a good workout over there, watch some tape, and let the kids relax a little. We’ll have our pregame and walkthrough on Friday and play.”
The Patriots will have another workout Saturday morning, make a trip to famed Knott’s Berry Farm – one of the nation’s most visited theme parks – attend a church service on Sunday morning and return home to New Orleans.
“I’ve never been,” Curtis said of Knott’s Berry Farm. “People say it’s really nice.”
Curtis has long been more of a regional brand that’s witnessed the Patriots venturing to play games in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Texas.
Curtis explained that the promotional group behind the California Classic had been looking to extend an invitation to the Patriots to take part in one of their events.
All of the logistical elements finally aligned for this season, and the fact that the Patriots were able to play in the first game of the first day made it more advantageous, Curtis said.
The Patriots host Northshore in their home opener on Sept. 12.
“We thought it would be a good opportunity to get out there,” he said. “We liked the idea of playing early. It gives us a little more recovery time, rest time to get ready for our next game.
“That’s why workouts are so important,” he said. “It’s not jumping on a plane and hurrying back. We’ll try and let them recover and have a good workout on Saturday, get in some recovery time. We think we have a pretty good idea of how to do it. We’ll see. You don’t know 100%. The kids have to buy in, and they’ve done that.”
Curtis said as it’s customary in Louisiana, both teams swapped three game films this summer from the 2024 season, and two from this season, with Cathedral head coach Vincent Jefferson.
The only difference, though, is that the Phantoms, who were 10-1 a year ago, have already played two games, and this game marks the ’25 debut of Curtis. The Patriots, 7-6 with a loss to Alexandria in the Division I select state semifinals, have scrimmaged St. Paul and defeated East Jefferson, 36-3, in last week’s jamboree.
“This will be their third game, which would be the one disadvantage,” Curtis said. “We had a good scrimmage with St. Paul and then our jamboree last week. We’ve got a pretty good idea of what they do and vice versa. The cooperation there was really good.
“East Jefferson had a late coaching change and is going through some growing pains,” he said. “It was a good rehearsal. That’s what jamborees are for. Sometimes we get caught up in jamborees, and they don’t count. You want to work out any special team problems, make sure of your substitution, and that sort of thing. I thought from that standpoint the jamboree worked out fine.”
Curtis explained that each player – all 75 – were responsible for packing their entire uniform and equipment into large travel bags that were checked in at the New Orleans airport all the way through to Irvine.
Junior quarterback Jaden Jefferson is the leader of Cathedral’s offense, having completed 36 of 53 passes for 550 yards and 6 TDs thus far. A year ago, he accounted for more than 3,000 total yards with 2,641 through the air on 182 of 267 passing with four interceptions and 30 TDs.
“It’s a typical team from California with big people,” Curtis said. “They’re going to be in the shotgun and throw it all over the park. They have a quarterback that can really run and can throw it on the run really well. We’ve worked on trying to keep him in the pocket, not let them him get out into open space. When he does that, he’s a different player. He makes plays. He’s a two-year starter. They’re counting on their offense being able to make some things happen.”
The Phantoms’ top player is arguably 6-foot-3 junior wide receiver Quentin Hale, who caught 63 passes for 995 yards and 14 TDs in ’24. The state’s No. 6 prospect in the Class of 2027 is a four-star recruit, the nation’s No. 11-ranked 11 wide receiver with USC and Oklahoma as his top choices per On3/Rivals.
“They have other guys that can make plays, too,” Curtis warned. “You’re going to have to be very selective with how we choose to stop him (Hale). A lot of it will be whether we can keep that quarterback in the pocket and make him find another guy. That will be a challenge for the defense to rush him, but not get out of our lanes to create space for him. You can’t double-cover him all of the time. They’ll throw the ball to other people.”
Curtis counters with a first-year starter at quarterback in sophomore London Padgett. He’s expected to share time with Luke Martinez, who will play wide receiver when not under center.
“We’ve been pleased with the play of our quarterback,” Curtis said. “He’s a first-year starter, and he’ll have some bumps in the road. His poise has seemed to be good. We’re going to play both him and Luke. He won’t be under the pressure all of the time, and we think that will work in his favor, and have an opportunity to grow a little bit without everything having to fall on his shoulders.”
Running back Jacobi Boudreaux returns after rushing for 737 yards and 5 TDs on 104 carries and looks to follow experienced right tackle Willie Bolden.
Given the matchup with Cathedral’s high-octane offense, the Patriots have a secondary with enough experience and skill to present a challenge, Curtis said.
Senior outside linebacker Jeffrey Curtis, the grandson of J.T., was a New Orleans All-Metro first team choice and honorable mention Class 5A All-State with 116 tackles and 14 stops behind the line of scrimmage.
“Jeff will have to do a nice job of communicating with the front because it’s pretty new,” Curtis said. “We have two outside linebackers that have played well for us. The strength would be our secondary play, and they will be challenged this week. We have some depth there and some guys that have played in some big games. Hopefully, that will be good for us.”