Familiar opponents Curtis, St. Paul’s face off in playoffs with new QB in the mix

Being unafraid to make a daring move.

In all aspects of life and sports, taking bold steps are essential in striving for the biggest prize.

That is clearly the case with St. Paul’s, who will face powerhouse John Curtis Christian Friday night at 7 p.m. in the Division I quarterfinals at The Shrine on Airline.

Clearly a good team, the Wolves seemed destined to a typical playoff result of one-and-done or one win and done as a result of a squad that lacked consistency on offense and had turnover issues.

Wolves head coach Ken Sears was faced with a daunting decision. Should he stay with a talented junior in Johntae McDowell at quarterback or should he consider making a change at the most important position on the field near the end of the regular season?

McDowell had an outstanding sophomore year and was poised for an even bigger junior season.

St. Paul’s played an extremely challenging schedule early on and turnovers became an issue, not all landing at the hands and feet of McDowell. Still, there was the lingering issue of finding the one wild card that could change the direction of the season, that could lift the level of play of the Wolves.

Sears entered week nine off of a surprising and disappointing 28-14 loss to Mandeville. A once promising season was on the brink as the Wolves fell to 5-4 and were out of the race to win District 6-5A.

The veteran head coach made a tough decision, switching leaders, going with junior Jack Mashburn against Fontainebleau.

“I think it was a move to spark the team,” Sears said. “We were just playing inconsistent. Going into the final week, we needed to change it and get some wind in our sails. Jack responded and played consistent in the final regular season game against Fontainebleau and he was even better against Holy Cross. He took care of the ball, threw it well and ran it well. It was something the entire team was feeding off of. It had a positive impact.”

Mashburn guided the Wolves to a 42-28 win over Fontainebleau. He followed it up with a brilliant performance in a 27-24 victory over 10th-seed Holy Cross in the opening round of the Division I playoffs. Mashburn completed 23-of-32 passes for 271 yards and a touchdown and rushed 18 times for 131 yards and two touchdowns.

On the season, Mashburn has completed 73-of-116 passes for 884 yards and six touchdowns with five interceptions and has rushed 54 times for 234 yards and two scores. Senior Corey Williamson is the leading rusher with 185 rushes for 939 yards and 13 touchdowns. Senior Grant Grosch is the top receiver with 41 catches for 753 yards and seven touchdowns.

Now, the seventh-seeded Wolves (7-4) turn their attention to second-seed John Curtis Christian.

The Patriots (9-1) have won 26 state championships on the field, with one recently stripped by the LHSAA.

“The kids are excited for the opportunity to face Curtis this week,” Sears said. “Johntae has been preparing well, in case he is needed. Both kids have handled it well, to do what is best for the team.”

The Patriots and Wolves know each other quite well.

“We have seen each other in scrimmages, regular season or the playoffs for many straight years now,” Sears said. “They are an outstanding program from top to bottom and you find out quickly what you need to improve when you face them.”

The two teams scrimmaged in August.

“They are a much different team now than they were then, just as we are,” Sears said. “Collin Guggenheim did not play in the scrimmage and he is an outstanding player throwing it and running the veer and he is fast. They are again excellent on special teams. That has been a factor in past matchups with them. We cannot give up big plays in the special teams if we want to beat Curtis.”

Curtis beat St. Paul’s 37-30 in the 2015 Division I quarterfinals at Hunter Stadium.

“There is familiarity with them in lining up against them,” Sears said. “Our kids know it is a daunting task but they are ready for the challenge. I know they will give us a performance we will be proud of.”

The Patriots had a bye last week after going unbeaten in Louisiana and in District 9-5A, winning the league for a second consecutive season.

“The bye is a double-edge sword,” Curtis head coach J.T. Curtis said. “It is an advantage to heal up but you want to keep momentum going and keep things flowing when things are going well and they were going well for us. We were able to take a couple of days off and re-charge the batteries.”

A sophomore, Guggenheim has stepped up his game, both running and throwing. Guggenheim has completed 54-of-97 passes for 938 yards and seven touchdowns with two interceptions and he has rushed 83 rushed for 778 yards and 16 touchdowns.

“We played them two years ago in the playoffs and we’ve scrimmaged them every year for the last five years,” Curtis said. “We know each other very well. There are no secrets. The biggest difference for them is that they changed quarterbacks. Mashburn is a bigger kid who can run it effectively and can throw it very well. They are very aggressive on defense with an odd front. They show you a lot of formations and motion on offense trying to create mismatches. You must prepare well for them.”

The Patriot defense has forced turnovers and pitched a pair of shutouts this season.

“Our secondary has played very well,” Curtis said. “There is a lot of throwing in our league. The continued maturity of our offensive line and the play of our quarterback has really been positive. Losing Marquese Albert like we did was tough but we had two backs step up. We felt we had great depth at the position. Darryan Washington and Malik Wells have really stepped up with their leadership as well as their play.”

Washington, a senior, has 111 carries for 643 yards and eight touchdowns while Wells has 60 carries for 446 yards and a touchdowns. Senior Tyrone Legette is the top receiver with 24 catches for 476 yards and five touchdowns. Blue-chip tight end Glenn Beal has 12 catches for 246 yards and two scores.

Since moving to Division I in 2014, Curtis has not won a state title, covering the last three years.

“We have not talked about winning Division I,” Curtis said. “That’s the goal of every team and there are many teams capable of winning it. We are not consumed by not having won it yet. Our emphasis is on trying to defeat St. Paul’s. You have to approach it that way. There are too many good teams.”