St. James 7 John Curtis 19
St. James Falls Short to Curtis 7-19
By Kenny HymelOctober
27, 2006
ST. JAMES, La – The St. James Wildcats got a rare opportunity to play one of the premier high school football teams in the country as they took on the John Curtis Patriots before a super-large home crowd at Wildcat Stadium.
John Curtis has been ranked as a top-5 high school in the nation by many national publications. It is no question that this Curtis team was perhaps the best football team St. James has ever played.
Lots of exciting build up created one of the most incredible atmospheres in Wildcat Stadium history.
St. James quickly got their fans fired up on the opening kickoff as Luther Ambrose nearly took it the distance. The Wildcat offense was able to reach the 1-yard line before Curtis defense came to life and forced the Wildcats out of downs.
The Wildcat defense – the “2006 Legion of Doom” – would face a very difficult challenge but the “Legion” rose to the occasion on the first defensive drive as they forced Curtis to a quick three-and-out.
St. James would move the ball some more on offense but was forced out of downs again. Curtis came back on offense and went to their key man, Joe McKnight as the Curtis quarterback hit McKnight on a deep pass down the sidelines. Wildcat safety Terry Isom would not give up on the play as he not only caught McKnight but also stripped the football out his hands allowing fellow Wildcat Jared Byers to recover the football in the end zone.
The fumble recovery gave St. James the ball at the 20-yard line and the Wildcat offense again got the ball moving. Curtis’ defense, however, made plays when they needed to.
The Wildcat offense would get one more chance just before halftime and the Wildcats nearly scored when a fade pass went just off the fingers of Craig Duronslet.
An outstandingly played first half on both sides ended in a 0-0 tie. The Wildcats did manage to limit Curtis’ offense to just one first down in the first half – an incredible accomplishment against a team of Curtis’ caliber.
Curtis would receive to begin the second half and this is where they would come up with a big offensive play that gave them the ball inside the 20-yard line.
A few plays later, Curtis would finally break the scoring drought as they scored on an 11-yard run. The extra point was no good and Curtis led 6-0 with 10:30 left in the third quarter.
The Wildcats then did the mark of a champion as they came back down the field and matched the Curtis score with a score of their own.
Wildcat quarterback Antonio Phillips rolled out and launched a pass downfield which was caught by Terry Isom for a 48-yard touchdown. Juarelle Narcisse kicked the extra point and St. James took a 7-6 lead on Curtis with 8:31 left in the third quarter.
Curtis was then beginning to use their size and depth to their advantage as they put together a long drive on the Wildcats which ultimately resulted in an 11-yard touchdown by Joe McKnight. Curtis elected to go for two but the Wildcats came up with the stop, thus Curtis led 12-7 with 4:33 left in the third quarter.
The Wildcats were forced to punt and then Curtis would go on another long “textbook” drive burning lots of clock and ultimately finishing the drive off with a touchdown as the Curtis quarterback scored on a quarterback sneak with just 1:18 left in the game.
Final score: Curtis 19 St. James 7
NOTABLES I don’t normally grade playing performance but I will have to give our Wildcats an A on this performance. To be on the field with a superior football team and put up this performance was quite an accomplishment. There is absolutely no reason any true St. James fan should be disappointed.
The Wildcats also played a sound game as they didn’t turn the ball over one time. St. James forced John Curtis to earn victory and there is nothing to complain about when you can do that.
Curtis may have also been the biggest high school football team I have ever seen. Someone compared the game as resembling “people running in a forest with moving trees.”
I never ever pick an MVP because football is a team sport but I will pick one this week only because I would give that award to the entire team.
In his post-game speech, Coach Gaille stressed to his team that it is important that they put this Curtis game behind them and shift all focus on the St. Charles Comets. He told them not to forget who put us out of the playoffs last year. He also told his players they need to work even harder because harder preparation could have been the difference in the game.
This definitely was one of the
best atmospheres I can remember and it was a great game on both sides.
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