Business as usual for John Curtis in victory over Jesuit

For John Curtis Christian to be unbeaten entering the final run in the regular season is no surprise.

The 26-time state champion Patriots are the defending Division I state champion and they have not lost a district game since 2015.

That streak continued Friday night with a solid 35-14 victory over Jesuit at Yulman Stadium.

The Curtis ground game was excellent, per usual, pounding out 284 yards and five touchdowns.

Georgia commit Corey Wren rushed 10 times for 116 yards and two touchdowns while Army commit Collin Guggenheim rushed 14 times for 76 yards and three scores. Shane Goins added 11 carries for 77 yards. Guggenheim completed 4-of-7 passes for 70 yards.

Speaking on The Three Tailgaters Show on 106.1 FM NASH ICON Saturday morning, Patriots coach J.T. Curtis noted how his team has become a big-play offense over the last two years.

“We do have excellent team speed in the backfield,” Curtis said. “When we get a crease, we have made big plays. We are going to continue to run the ball. We threw the ball well last night. When people jam the line-of-scrimmage against us, we will throw it. We have the ability to do so.”

Grant Jordan threw a pair of touchdown passes for Jesuit but he was picked off three times by the Curtis defense, including two by Dante Thomas and one by Kerry McMillion. Matthew Jayne had nine tackles for Curtis while Elinus Noel had seven tackles, including three for loss with a sack.

“We have been pleased with our secondary but we think there’s more juice in the tank,” Curtis said. “We think they turned it up last night. We think there is ability there and they are betting better and better each game.”

The Patriots overcame 10 penalties for 102 yards.

“It was two teams that battled and it was the type of game we expected in this league,” Curtis said. “It was physical and tough and we were happy to make plays and persevere.”

Both teams are back in Catholic League action next Friday night. John Curtis (7-0, 3-0) will play Holy Cross at Yulman Stadium while Jesuit (4-3, 2-2) travels to Joe Zimmerman Stadium to face Archbishop Shaw.

Looming the following week is an inevitable showdown for the Patriots against unbeaten Archbishop Rummel at Joe Yenni Stadium on Nov. 1.

“We’re going to get ready to play Holy Cross,” Curtis said. “They played well against Rummel. They are a good football team. On any given night, teams are capable of getting beat. We have to focus on the opponent this week. It is truly one game at a time. You have to have that approach. Our focus is clearly on Holy Cross.”