John Curtis downs St. Augustine as JT Curtis moves closer to record

The quest for the all-time-record for the most wins in United States prep football history draws closer.

John Curtis Christian downed St. Augustine 36-26 Saturday evening at Tad Gormley Stadium to remain in the thick of the District 9-5A race.

While that is important and the goal for coach J.T. Curtis remains the same; to win a state championship, the importance of the win also focuses on numbers.

The victory was the 620th of the illustrious career of the brilliant head coach, pulling him within one of the national record of 621 of John McKissick of Summerville High (South Carolina).

St. Augustine jumped out to a 6-0 lead after one quarter on a 37-yard touchdown pass from Vashaun Coulon to Tulane commit Josh Jackson but the extra point failed.

John Curtis took the lead and took control of the game early in the second quarter as Jason Gabriel capped a drive with a 1-yard touchdown and the extra point by Lucas Kippers gave the Patriots a 7-6 lead with 11:19 to play in the half.

It was a lead which Curtis would not relinquish.

Robert Johnson hit Kaheam Smith with a 34-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-6 with 9:27 to paly in the half before Dagan Bruno hit Jason Gabriel with the big play, an 89-yard touchdown pass, to give the Patriots a 21-6 lead with 5:34 to play in the half.

On their next possession, the Patriots scored again on a 29-yard run by Smith and Johnson ran in the 2-point conversion to open up a 29-6 lead.

The Purple Knights stopped the run by Curtis as Coulon connected with Jackson on an 11-yard touchdown pass and the 2-point conversion was good and it was 28-14 at the half.

John Curtis restored order, expanding the lead to 36-14 on a 1-yard run by Gabriel with 7:05 to play in the third quarter.

St. Augustine did not quit, scoring on a 4-yard pass from Coulon to Hubert Caliste to cut the deficit to 35-20 with 10:04 to play in the game.

The Purple Knights made it interesting, with Keith Hill scoring on a 1-yard run with 28 seconds remaining. The chance to make it a one-possession game fell short as the 2-point conversion attempt failed.

John Curtis recovered the onside kick to put the game away.

The Patriots overcame three turnovers, including an interception by Georgia Tech commit Christian Pritchett while Curtis also lost a pair of fumbles. The Purple Knights also committed three turnovers.

Bruno completed 6-of-10 passes for 202 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Gabriel had 11 carries for 72 yards and two touchdowns while adding the 89-yard touchdown reception. LSU commit Michael Turner had three catches for 54 yards. Jeffrey Curtis had 12 tackles, including one for loss. Trey Brown had a pair of interceptions and a pass breakup and Jason Curtis added an interception.

“Dagan was nicked-up and we allowed Johnson to play,” Curtis said. “Overall, I thought we played well. Our defense played real well. They made some great plays. They made some great catches. I was pleased with the win. They are capable of playing very well. They played hard and they played well. Our secondary had a couple of good interceptions and we needed them. We made plays in the passing game as well. That helped us win the game.”

Coulon threw for three scores and Jackson had five catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns.

John Curtis (5-2, 2-2) returns to Catholic League play, hosting Brother Martin next Friday night at The Shrine on Airline as Curtis attempts to tie the all-time record.

“I think we are starting to find ourselves defensively,” Curtis said. “It’s a relatively young defense. It started with the Acadiana game and it has carried over. Hopefully, that continues. Brother Martin is a physical team that tries to dominate up front. We have to match that. We know the record number but it is no different for us. It’s the next game. I can’t change the past, I can’t predict the future but I can take care of today. If it happens, that will be great but we are focused on this game and focused on what is to come in the playoffs. We’re happy to have the opportunity to compete.”

St. Augustine (2-6, 0-5) lost its sixth straight game and the Purple Knights will face De La Salle next Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Tad Gormley Stadium in a non-district contest which you can listen to live on NASH ICON 106.1 FM.

FINAL
John Curtis 0 28 8 0 — 36
St. Augustine 6 8 0 12 — 26