John Curtis, Jesuit square off for second time in Division I quarterfinals

After defeating Archbishop Shaw 33-0 in the opening round of the playoffs, Jesuit coach Mark Songy had a minute or two to enjoy the victory before focusing on what was to come next against 26-time state champion and defending Division I state champion John Curtis Christian.

“We’re kind of seeing each other for round two,” Songy said. “It is what it is. We’ll lineup and get ready to go and get after it. We are very familiar with them, we are putting a great plan together and our guys will give great effort. We’re excited about playing.”

The Blue Jays were able to move the ball a bit in the first meeting, a 35-14 Curtis win at Yulman Stadium on Oct. 18.

John Curtis picked off three Grant Jordan passes, including a pair by Dante Thomas and a third by Kerry McMillion. Jordan accounted for 207 total yards for Jesuit.

“They are great defensively,” Songy said. “They close on the ball so fast when you get down to the compressed end of the field. That starts to cause you problems because you don’t have much room to work.”

The problem for Jesuit was dealing with the vaunted running attack of Curtis. Quarterback Collin Guggenheim, an Army commitment, ran for three touchdowns while Georgia commit Corey Wren scored on touchdown jaunts of 46 and 26 yards.

“The key is to try to prevent the big plays on offense,” Songy said. “They make so many explosive plays and score quickly on you with their speed.”

Despite the tall task ahead, Songy is looking forward to the challenge.

“We are very familiar with them, we are putting a great plan together and our guys will give great effort. We’re excited about playing.”

Jesuit defeated John Curtis 17-14 in the Division I state championship game. Since then, the Patriots have won the last six meetings against Jesuit over the last five years.

J.T. Curtis put his Patriots through specific drills as his team enjoyed a bye week by earning the third overall seed in Division I.

“You don’t know until you play the game but I thought we had a good week working on things you cannot spend time on during the season,” Curtis said. “That included goal-line defense and the kicking game. We felt like we got some of that done.”

It is safe to say that Curtis is not a fan of the split in the LHSAA and the diluted Division I playoff bracket of just 12 teams, seven from the Catholic League.

“I’m sure I’m not the only who feels this way,” Curtis said. “There are eight teams in the 5A bracket with losing records. You take the top eight to 10 teams from our bracket and you have a pretty salty bracket and you are playing different schools. It is unfair to our kids to repeat the same people over and over again. I hope we can get something worked out to get everyone back together.”

The Patriots were penalized 10 times for 102 yards in the first meeting, a luxury they may not be able to afford the second time around.

“What I noticed about Jesuit as the season progressed is that their offense improved as their quarterback improved,” Curtis said. “Even in the loss to Rummel, they moved the ball effectively but just didn’t score. I’m sure they have done what we’ve done by studying us to make corrections. We will play as hard as they can and I know we will, too.”