John Curtis Christian to induct Leon Curtis and Corey Buttone as 2022 Hall of Fame class

The John Curtis Christian School athletic department would like to announce their 2022 Hall of Fame inductees. This year’s inductees have been, and continue to be, two staples in the Patriot athletic department. Coaches Leon Curtis and Corey Buttone will be this year’s inductees.

Preston “Leon” Curtis is a 1968 John Curtis Christian graduate. For those who follow the program closely, you might have noticed that no one wears the #63 on the football field. This is because of the accomplishments of Leon on the football field as a Patriot. Leon was the first All-State player in any sport at John Curtis Christian School when he was selected to the Louisiana Sportswriters All State team following the 1967 season.

Leon served his country in the height of the Vietnam War when he joined the Marine Corps following high school graduation.

Upon fulfilling his military duties, Leon returned home and would begin working towards his bachelor’s degree at Loyola University while working part time at John Curtis Christian School as a substitute and student coach. He was hired full time in 1975. He quickly entrenched himself into the school and football program, where he was immediately named defensive coordinator. That season, in 1975, the Patriots won their first state championship in football, which was the school’s first state championship in any team. Leon has remained the defensive coordinator and linebacker coach since that time.

Leon has been a part of all of the school’s 27 football state titles while boasting some of the state’s best defenses during that span. A few great defenses that Leon has coached were the 1984, 2012, 1980 and 1990 teams. The best defense, statistically, was the 1984 team. That team yielded just 37 total points in 15 games for an average of 2.5 points per game while pitching 10 shutouts that season. Remarkably, in that same season, they also held 7 opponents in a row off of the scoreboard, en route to the 1984 AA state championship. 2012’s defense yielded 60 total points in 14 games for an average of 4.3 points per game. The 2012 defense also held 7 opponents off of the scoreboard en route to the 2012 State Championship, after which the team was voted the consensus National Champions, the first in any sport in school history. The 1980 and 1990 defenses were just barely below them, statistically, while the team also won state titles in those seasons.

Coaching in his sixth decade this season, Leon has coached some of the school’s best players. Names like Mike Stonebreaker, Bobby Powers, Greg Dubroc, Troy Wetzel, Reggie Wilson, Vic Viloria, Duke Riley, Kenny Young and Nate Evans, among many, many others. Leon has coached over 50 linebackers that have gone on to play collegiately and 7 linebackers who have played in the NFL.

Leon coached all three of his sons, Preston (who played football at Tulane University), and Matt and Steve (who both played football at LSU). Leon’s wife, Sue, has also been instrumental in Leon’s career as both a coach, teacher and administrator as the school’s principal. Leon earned his master’s degree from Loyola University.

Corey Buttone has been instrumental in the development of the John Curtis Christian School athletic department since the mid 1970’s. Coach Corey has coached nearly every sport the school has offered and nearly every grade level from 3rd grade through varsity sports.

Learning from the vision of Mr. John T. Curtis, Sr. of what an athletic program looked like in terms of developing the student athlete at early ages in developmental programs, Coach Corey was able to fulfill that vision and implement the fundamentals of the game. He also implemented the base varsity systems throughout all of the elementary programs, which gave the young athletes an introduction into what the varsity program looked like. You will not see Coach Corey’s name recognized among many of the school’s state titles. However, he definitely had a hand in each and every one in a variety of ways.

Whether it was developing the student-athlete at a young age or helping coach a varsity player or coaching a varsity sport, Coach Corey’s fingerprints are all over the school’s 82 state championships.

Coach Corey was a 1968 graduate of Francis T. Nicholls High School. He was hired to direct the lower-level athletic program in 1970 and also to help coach varsity teams in many capacities. Coach Corey has coached hundreds of players throughout his time at John Curtis Christian School. If you know the name of a great athlete, male or female, that has come through John Curtis, there’s a very high chance that Coach Corey coached them.

An interesting connection: Coach Corey, Coach Leon and the late Coach Mike Robertson became the very best of friends during the school’s rise in the early years. All three began their careers at roughly the same time. They were important leaders in the foundation of the school and its athletic department. Coach Corey and Coach Rob both also taught in the school’s history department for many, many years while Coach Leon taught a variety of mathematics classes. Coach Leon and Coach Corey will join Coach Mike Robertson in the Hall of Fame, as Coach Rob was inducted in 2016.

Induction: The school will hold a reception on Thursday, October 20. Both coaches will be recognized at halftime of the St. Augustine game on Saturday, October 22. All are invited to attend the football game on Saturday to see Coach Leon Curtis and Coach Corey Buttone officially inducted into the JCCS Hall of Fame.