Rummel’s Grit Outshines the Score in Physical Win Over John Curtis
by: Mike Strom // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
Do not be misled by the final score.
The District 9-5A football opener between Rummel and John Curtis Friday night at Joseph Yenni Stadium was not intended for the faint of heart.
After staging 48 minutes of rock ’em, sock ’em, hand-to-hand combat, the host Raiders parlayed two rushing touchdowns by running back Norman Taylor with a defensive resurgence that overcame allowing a game-opening touchdown drive to force two turnovers and produce three scoreless quarters to end the contest and keep Rummel undefeated in this battle of state-ranked teams.
“It definitely was a hard-fought game, (with) a lot of aggression, a lot of physicality,’’ Taylor said. “But we came out with the win. So that’s all that matters. I’m definitely bruised up. I’m going to have to go soak (in ice) after this one for sure. It definitely was a physical game.’’
Rummel (4-0 overall, 1-0 in District 9-5A) recorded its fourth victory in as many games against a state-ranked opponent, adding the Patriots to a list that began with wins against Lafayette Christian, University, and Shaw.
The Raiders entered ranked No. 9 in the geauxpreps.com Class 5A state Top Ten in addition to being ranked No. 9 in the Class 5A Top Ten poll conducted by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. Rummel defeated Curtis for a second consecutive season.
“(The game) was exactly what you thought it would be,’’ Rummel coach Nick Monica said. “You knew the line of scrimmage was going to be a big deal. I thought both defensive lines did a fabulous job. I thought they got after us up front on defense and really did a great job of kind of containing our run game.”
“Then defensively, I can’t say enough about our guys. I thought they fought their butts off. They’re undersized, but played really hard and played well. We had to tweak a couple of things after that first (Curtis) drive. But I thought they played their butts off.’’
John Curtis (1-2 overall, 0-1 in 9-5A) entered ranked No. 4 in the geauxpreps.com Class 5A state Top Ten, and No. 4 in the LSWA state poll. The Patriots had an open date last week after defeating Northshore, 27-7, following a season-opening 27-12 loss to national power Rabun Gap of Georgia.
“It was physical, across the board, just both teams laying it on the line,’’ Curtis coach J.T. Curtis said. “It doesn’t get more physical than this. And that’s what we anticipated it would be. This is a veteran team that (Rummel) has and especially offensively I thought they played that way.’’
Curtis started off like gangbusters, driving 51 yards in six plays for a touchdown on the game’s opening possession following a 39-yard kickoff return by wide receiver Xavier Brown. Running back A.J. Smith capped the snappy drive with a 10-yard run that Lucas Kippers followed with a successful PAT kick good for a 7-0.
Little did the Patriots know, those points would be their last.
The Patriots fumbled on their second possession with defensive end Fred Banks recovering for the Raiders at the Curtis’ 18-yard line. Taylor scored from 7 yards out four plays later and Spencer Misuraca kicked the PAT for a 7-7 deadlock that remained into halftime.
Curtis then had a three-and-out before mounting their most impressive drive of the game, marching 69 yards in 16 plays before stalling at Rummel’s 6-yard line. A fumbled snap on an ensuing 22-yard field goal attempt produced an incompletion into the back of the end zone by quarterback Reggie Johnson.
Curtis produced only 47 yards and three first downs thereafter after out-gaining the Raiders 2-1 in yards in the first half, 141-40. The Patriots also fumbled three times losing two.
“We’ve obviously got to take advantage of our opportunities,’’ J.T. Curtis said. “You can’t not score at the (6)-yard line, it’s that simple. We’ve got to learn to make those plays. We’re a younger team and we’re going to continue to mature and grow. Games like this is what we’re going to expect every week. That’s what it’s going to be.’’
Rummel, meanwhile, seemingly won the game of adjustments on both sides of the ball as the Raiders out-gained the Patriots, 118-44, in the final two 12-minute periods. Rummel also killed the final 5:10 by running nine times for 46 yards to end in victory formation with quarterback Generald Buggage Jr. kneeling for the last play.
“I couldn’t be happier with the defense after giving up seven points on the first drive and then settling in and keeping them off of the scoreboard,’’ Monica said.
As for Rummel’s offensive adjustments, Monica said, “We were expecting them to show some multiple looks on defense and they really didn’t. They just got after us. I thought they out-played us upfront. That’s going to be the story (for us). If our offensive line doesn’t play well, we’re not going to move the ball. That’s what you saw tonight.’’
“We didn’t give ourselves a real chance to win because of the mistakes,’’ J.T. Curtis said. “We’ve got to clean that up. That’s on us. We’ve got to find a way to do that. Again, if we score down there on the (6)-yard line . . . We had opportunities.’’
Rummel totaled 188 yards to Curtis’ 185, although the Patriots did out-rush the Raiders, 137-122, thanks to their 109 rushing yards gained in the first half. The Raiders held a 12-10 edge in first downs after out-first downing the Patriots, 8-3, in the second half.
Buggage finished with modest passing numbers while directing a turnover-free Rummel offense. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior quarterback completed 8 of 15 passes for 66 yards and no touchdowns without being intercepted.
In addition to Taylor’s rushing, sophomore running back Coryan Hawkins contributed 25 yards on seven carries. Wide receiver Kendrick Joseph was Buggage’s favorite target with 3 receptions good for 22 yards.
“Our coaches really got on our (offensive) line,’’ Buggage said of Rummel’s halftime locker room offensive adjustments. “(The coaches) felt like they weren’t really playing up to how they know they can play. (The coaches) really got on them. In the second half, they fixed some things and they got after it.’’
Curtis quarterback Reggie Johnson completed 4 of 10 passes for 48 yards and no touchdowns without being intercepted in addition to rushing for a team-leading 54 yards on 11 carries. Smith the running back totaled 28 yards on six carries while junior running back Jacobi Boudreaux rushed 5 times for 26 yards.
Taylor ran for touchdowns of 7 and 6 yards in the first and third periods while rushing for a game-high 82 yards on 17 battering carries. A deceptively powerful 5-foot-9, 175-pound senior, Taylor totaled 100 of Rummel’s 188 yards after also catching two passes for 18 yards.
Rummel’s defense, meanwhile, overcame a shaky opening series on the game’s first possession that resulted in a 7-0 deficit to keep the Patriots in check thereafter. The Raiders allowed only 134 more yards during the final 45 minutes and 30 seconds while forcing two turnovers via lost fumbles, one of which set up Taylor’s first touchdown.
The two sides played to a 7-7 stalemate in the first half despite Curtis outgaining the Raiders, 2-1, in yardage with 109 rushing yards and 141 total to Rummel’s 70 that included just 40 yards rushing.
Photo Courtesy: Rummel Raiders Yearbook Staff
Curtis scored on its opening drive after winning the toss and opting to receive. Wide receiver Xavier Brown kick-started the possession by returning the kickoff 39 yards to set in motion a 51-yard march that had no third downs. Smith capped the six-play drive with a 10-yard scoring run followed by Lucas Kippers’ PAT kick with only 2 minutes 29 seconds expired.
Rummel followed with a three-and-out but recovered a Curtis fumble two plays into the Patriots’ second possession to ignite the offense.
Taylor ran 7 yards to culminate the quick, 18-yard drive and Misuraca kicked the PAT for the 7-7 tie with 5:39 remaining in the opening quarter. Curtis was penalized for a horse collar tackle on Buggage Jr. allowing Rummel to convert a third-and-17 into a first down one play before the touchdown.
Curtis had one other first-half scoring threat with a 16-play, 69-yard march to Rummel’s 6-yard line where a fumbled snap on a 22-yard field goal attempt by Kippers resulted in an incomplete pass into the end zone.
“We had numerous opportunities that we just didn’t finish,’’ J.T. Curtis said. “And for whatever reason, we just didn’t finish the way we needed to and we’ve got to get that cleaned up. It’s that simple.’’
Rummel resumes Catholic League play against Brother Martin at 7 p.m. Friday at Joseph Yenni Stadium where the Crusaders will be the home team. John Curtis also resumes District 9-5A action with a 7 p.m. Friday home game versus Warren Easton at the Shrine on Airline Stadium in Metairie.
“Right now you take them any way you can get them,’’ Monica said. “It doesn’t matter what it looks like. When you play really good teams like this, that’s the goal, score more points than them and get out of here. Then try to reset for next week. We’ve been able to keep doing that and we’ve got to show up Monday and get ready for another big one next week.’’
“It was a very physical game, a very hard-hitting game,’’ Buggage said. “We played a really good team. They’re really disciplined. We didn’t even play our best game. To be honest, I didn’t even play as well as I know I should have played. But at the end of the day, we got the win and fought hard.’’
“Getting a 1-0 start in district most definitely is exciting,’’ Taylor said. “(This victory is) just one more step in getting to the district championship and that’s the end goal right now, being district champs.’’
RUMMEL 14, JOHN CURTIS 7
John Curtis 7 0 0 0 — 7
Rummel 7 0 7 0 — 14
JC RUM
First downs 10 12
Rushing 137 122
Passing 48 66
Total offense 185 188
Passes 4-10-0 8-15-0
Punts 2-38.5 5-38.0
Fumbles/lost 3-2 0-0
Penalties 9-84 7-67
SCORING:
JC: A.J. Smith 10 run (Lucas Kippers kick).
R: Norman Taylor 7 run (Spencer Misuraca kick).
R: Norman Taylor 6 run (Spencer Misuraca kick).