Thursday Night Football: Karr looks to rebound against McDonogh 35

Most teams like to get a game or two under their belt before stepping up in class.

When you are the best, you most often do not have much of a choice. Not many potential opponents will return your phone calls.

That was the case for John Curtis Christian and Edna Karr a week ago.

The two best teams in the state in any class squared off in an epic week one battle which the Patriots prevailed in.

Karr is looking to bounce back from the tough 42-39 loss, snapping a 27-game win streak for the three-time defending Class 4A state champion.

Despite the defeat, Karr coach Brice Brown liked his team’s effort.

“I was pleased with how we played,” Brown said. “We made some mental mistakes and week one jitters. There are things we needed to iron out, basic things that you always seem to get in week one. Everyone does not play a top five team in the country in week one. It was only our second loss in the last four years and our first time losing at home since 2015. We have to improve our kicking game. I think we’ll be fine.”

Karr has enjoyed the benefit of having great quarterbacks over the last 30 years, including Patrick Surtain, Munchie Legeaux, Tonka George, Speedy Noil, Aldon Clark, Skylar Perry. You can Leonard Kelly to that list.

Against John Curtis, quarterback Leonard Kelly was sensational, accounting for 477 yards and all six touchdowns that Karr scored. He was 21-of-35 for 408 yards and five touchdowns and he rushed 37 yards for the sixth score.

“This is my 14th year at Karr,” Brown said. “I’ve coached a ton of great quarterbacks here and that was one of the best passing performances I’ve ever seen at Karr,” Brown said. “We had five to seven drops. He could have had even better numbers. He was terrific.”

Aaron Anderson and Destyn Pazon each had a pair of touchdown catches against Curtis.

McDonogh 35 opened with a 24-13 loss to St. Augustine. The Roneagles were plagued by three turnovers, struggling offensively despite playing solidly on defense.

A year ago, Karr shutout McDonogh 35, borrowing the numerical significance in the school name in a 35-0 victory. The Cougars have won 10 straight against the Roneagles. The last win in the series for McDonogh 35 was 21-6 win in 2009 over the Cougars.

“We have to put the Curtis game behind us,” Brown said. “McDonogh 35 will be scrappy and will play multiple coverages. It is a rivalry. The kids will be ready. They will be ready for us. We will not take them lightly. They play a lot of bump-and-run coverage and put pressure on the quarterback. We go from facing the triple option to more spread and isolation. We are a bit banged up but we are back on track and ready to play again.”

Louisiana Prep Football Schedule for Thursday, Sept. 12

New Orleans Area

Centerville vs. Haynes, 6:30 p.m. at Joe Yenni Stadium

Douglass at West Jefferson, 6:30 p.m. at Hoss Memstas Stadium

Karr vs. McDonogh 35, 7 p.m. at Pan American Stadium

Around Louisiana

Kinder at Iowa

Pickering at East Beauregard

Pine Prairie at Oakdale

Rayville at Oak Grove

Sacred Heart at Oberlin

Welsh at Iota, LHSAA Game of the Week live at CrescentCitySports.com