Patriots Dig Deep: John Curtis Rallies Late to Defeat Brother Martin 17-14

by: Mike Strom // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

METAIRIE, La. — Ask any coach, they will tell you.

It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but rather the size of the fight in the dog.

John Curtis coach J.T. Curtis delivered this very message to the state’s No. 5 ranked football team in Class 5A Friday night when it found itself trailing by a touchdown at intermission against a very game and determined band of Brother Martin Crusaders.

The Patriots listened, learned and proceeded to completely flip the script in recording a 17-14 District 9-5A victory against Brother Martin on a delightfully cool and crisp fall evening at the Shrine on Airline Stadium.

Curtis defensive backs Trey Brown and Prentice Mackyeon Jr. each recorded fourth-quarter interceptions that proved consequential in shutting out Brother Martin for the final three periods and Lucas Kippers kicked a 19-yard field goal to supply the winning points with two minutes, 39 seconds remaining as the Patriots won their third consecutive Catholic League outing.

“I told you before we came out here that we had to find some fighters. We found some,’’ Curtis told his team in its post-game huddle before elaborating further to the media.

“We knew it was going to be a fight in the second half and I told them at halftime we need to see who was going to step up and make plays and fight and give us chance to win,’’ Curtis, a Louisiana High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame selection, said. “I was pleased with how they did. I was pleased with how they played.’’

Point specifically, Curtis said, “I knew the second half was going to be a physical, minute-by-minute, yard-by-yard fight. I said we have to see who’s got the fight in the dogs. Not the size of the dog, it’s the fight in the dog. I thought our kids came out and played very, very well physically.’’

Curtis running backs A.J. Smith and Kolston Martinez each ran for touchdowns as the Patriots continued to employ a running back by committee approach this season.

Martinez ran in the game-tying touchdown with a leap over the top of a piled-up center of the line from 2 yards away to score the lone touchdown of the second half seven minutes into the third period. Kippers then kicked his second successful PAT to tie the score at 14.

Smith finished as Curtis’ leading rusher with 61 yards on 11 carries in addition to bullying his way 8 yards into the end zone in the opening period for the Patriots first touchdown. Smith’s score capped an 8-play, 65-yard drive on Curtis’ second possession.

Curtis (4-2 overall, 3-1 in District 9-5A) pitched a shutout for the final three quarters one week after recording a 13-0 Catholic League victory against Holy Cross. The Patriots entered ranked No. 5 in the state in Class 5A by geauxpreps.com and No. 9 in the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class 5A state poll.

Brother Martin (4-3, 1-3 in 9-5A) dropped a second consecutive Catholic League contest while sustaining its third defeat in four games to all but be eliminated from Catholic League championship contention. The Crusaders were coming off a 42-14 loss to two-time reigning District 9-5A champion Karr.

“We have our four core principles,’’ Brother Martin coach Mark Bonis said afterward. “We talk about ‘team, tough, compete, finish.’ Tonight we made unteam-like decisions and it cost us. We made selfish penalties. To me, those are team decisions.

“We talk about coming out here and being physically and mentally tough. So I thought we were mentally tough in the first half and then we lose mental toughness in the second half. Because we lose control. We lost control of our own selves, of our emotion.

“It’s an emotional game. Have fun and celebrate as a team. It’s that simple. That’s who we are. That’s who we strive to be. Tonight, that’s what I’m disappointed about. You had great effort for 90 percent (of the game). We had buy-in from 90 percent of our guys.

“In this district, which we talk about at the very beginning of the year, everything matters. Your practice habits, whatever you do, everything matters. Because every game in this district is going to be decided by a couple of plays, unfortunately, for us, that’s how it went.’’

Mackyeon’s interception came three snaps from scrimmage following Kippers’ game-winning field goal and ended Brother Martin’s final possession that had reached the Crusaders’ 42-yard line with 90 seconds remaining.

Brown recorded his interception on the fifth play of the fourth period to end a Brother Martin possession at the Crusaders’ 45-yard line. The theft helped ease the sting and impact of Curtis’ fourth and final turnover on the ensuing possession, an interception by Martin defensive back Kaeden Goodman.

Martinez’s touchdown run culminated an 8-play, 46-yard possession that followed a Brother Martin punt from the Crusaders’ 9-yard line. Brother Martin had been pinned back at its own 10 to start the second half after committing a blocking penalty on the opening kickoff.

On the ensuing Curtis possession after the Patriots tied the score, Brother Martin was called for a 15-yard pass interference penalty that negated an incompletion on third-and-9 and gave Curtis a first down at its 45-yard line.

One play later, Brother Martin linebacker Brady McCluskey intercepted a Curtis pass at the Patriots’ 42-yard line, but the field position was spoiled when the Crusaders were penalized 15 more yards for taunting.

“It was a taunting call,’’ Bonis said while dismissing a suggestion that the penalty was unfortunate. “It wasn’t a bad break. We should have been called for it.’’

The two interceptions by Brown and Mackyeon coupled with the additional mental mistakes compounded what proved to be an uphill climb for the Crusaders, who played turnover-free in the opening three periods.

“It was some more selfish behavior on the opening kickoff,’’ Bonis said. “You’re hoping to go down and put up a score and go up by two scores. We sit there and we do something that’s not coached. We get a guy in an undisciplined deal and where a guy has a holding call and instead of starting from the 30 or the 25-yard line, you’re half the distance to the goal.

“So it’s hard to get a start. It’s hard to get going when you’re backed up and you’re not in the field position you should be. Those are the things against a well-coached team like (Curtis) and in the district that will cost you games.

“Hopefully, there are some teachable moments from this. Hopefully, our guys learn something from this. It’s unfortunate that we have to learn from a loss. But maybe, maybe now when we talk about it, (the message) sticks. Because we lose a football game and that’s a big reason for a loss of a football game.’’

Brother Martin drove 68 and 69 yards on its first two possessions to score touchdowns that produced a 14-7 advantage at intermission. The Crusaders also forced and recovered two Curtis fumbles with the first setting up the game’s opening touchdown and the second stopping the Patriots’ fourth possession at the Curtis 48-yard line.

Quarterback Seth Dazet and wide receiver Easton Royal connected on a 50-yard scoring strike to culminate the opening possession that was set in motion when the Crusader’s defense forced and recovered a fumble. Dazet and Royal’s completion converted third-and-2 and Grayson Smith followed with the first of two successful PAT kicks in the first half good for a 7-0 lead.

Running back Alex Diaz answered Curtis’ first touchdown with a 1-yard scoring run on third-and-goal that culminated an 8-play, 69-yard march that included a Curtis facemask penalty for 15 yards and a Dazet to wide receiver Brodie Dumontier completion covering 21 yards three plays before Diaz’s touchdown.

Curtis rushed for 208 yards and recorded 17 first downs while compiling 256 yards total to out-distance Brother Martin’s 202 total. The Crusaders were limited to 78 rushing yards, including just 10 in the second half when Brother Martin only 45 yards of offense. Curtis, likewise, only managed 87 second-half yards as defenders dominated.

“I thought both defenses played really hard and gave their offenses opportunities,’’ Curtis said.

In addition to Smith, quarterback Reggie Johnson carried 12 times for 44 yards while running backs Nate Alario and Jacobi Boudreau had 39 yards on 4 attempts and 36 yards on seven carries respectively. Martinez had 10 yards on 4 carries with the tying 2-yard scoring run. Johnson was intercepted twice while completing 2 of 7 passing attempts for 48 yards.

Dazet and Royal were Brother Martin’s top offensive threats, with Dazet completing 12 of 15 passes good for 124 yards with the 50-yard scoring pass to Royal, who totaled two receptions for 64 yards. The two fourth-quarter interceptions proved insurmountable.

“Really, we kept our poise and kept playing and that’s what you’ve got to do,’’ J.T. Curtis said. “That’s a very good football team (Brother Martin). They’ve got good skill players. They’ve got good, physical size. I thought it was just a good Catholic League game and a battle back and forth. We were fortunate to make that last interception.’’

Mackeyon’s game-ending interception was followed by three Curtis kneeldowns and a celebration over the team’s fourth victory in five games recorded despite committing four turnovers and finishing minus-two in the turnover differential.

“We have got to clean that up, we really do,’’ Curtis said. “Part of that is effort. But we’ve got to get better at not giving (opponents) opportunities and creating field position for the other team.’’

Which starts with effort.

“In this league, you’ve got to muster that every weekend. Every weekend,’’ Curtis said. “And if you have one weekend where you’re not fighting for every blade of grass, you’re going to get beat. The teams are too good.

“I think in this league you can’t overlook anybody and if anybody does that, they’ve made a major mistake no matter who they’re playing on a Friday night.’’

Curtis resumes District 9-5A Catholic League play next Friday with a 7 p.m. home game against Jesuit while Brother Martin plays host to St. Augustine at 7 p.m. Friday at City Park’s Tad Gormley Stadium.

“Catholic League football championships are a special thing,’’ Bonis said in discussing his team’s fading hopes for a district title. “Right now, we’re not thinking about championships at all. We’ve got to get ready for our next opponent. We still have three left. They’re all tough. We’ve got St. Aug next, Warren Easton after that, and then Holy Cross. It’s still a very challenging schedule.

“We still can have a very successful season. But you’ve got to learn from your mistakes. We have to learn from our mistakes. We have to get back after it because there is no time to sulk about things.’’

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JOHN CURTIS 17, BROTHER MARTIN 14

Brother Martin         14  0  0  0 —  14

John Curtis                7  0   7  3 —  17

                                    BM                  JC      

First downs                 7                      17

Rushing                       78                    208

Passing                        124                  48

Total offense               202                  256

Passes                         12-15-2           2-7-2  

Punts                           5-31.2              1-44.0

Fumbles/lost                0-0                   3-2

Penalties                      7-64                 2-20

SCORING:

BM: Easton Royal 50 pass from Seth Dazet (Grayson Smith kick).

JC: A.J. Smith 7 run (Lucas Kippers kick).

BM: Alex Diaz 1 run (Grayson Smith kick).

JC: Kolston Martinez 2 run (Lucas Kippers kick).

JC: Lucas Kippers 19 field goal.