State Championship Top Performers: John Curtis vs. Brother Martin
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Typically run-dominant John Curtis raised a few eyebrows with a deep passing play to get on the board, but most of the recipe looked more on-brand from there. The Patriots smothered Brother Martin’s offense with a stout, shutout defensive performance…
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Continue ReadingTypically run-dominant John Curtis raised a few eyebrows with a deep passing play to get on the board, but most of the recipe looked more on-brand from there.
The Patriots smothered Brother Martin’s offense with a stout, shutout defensive performance and the clock with their chain-moving, veer rushing attack en route to the 23-0 victory in the Division-I select state championship game.
“A lot of people don’t think we can throw,” legendary coach J.T. Curtis said after the Catholic League rivals’ rematch in the Caesars Superdome. “We throw. We work diligently on throwing the football. And I’ve got to tell you that Mike did a great job of running routes. We’ve had big plays all through the playoffs.
“Against Catholic (in the semifinals), we had the big play-action pass that we had, and the play-action game has been very effective for us. And that’s because of how we run the football. A lot of people call it old-time. I call it innovative and new, because to stop the option, you have to get people involved in the secondary and that can open up some things for you.”
Dagan Bruno (6-0, 175 QB | 2024)
The Patriots’ junior quarterback may have earned his team’s Outstanding Player honors as much for his overall decision-making and game management as for the big plays he made with both his arm and his legs. Bruno completed six of 12 pass attempts for 109 yards — a notable number for the run-dominant offense — and a 38-yard score to Michael Turner Michael Turner 6'1" | 145 lbs | ATH John Curtis | 2024 State LA Jr. and rushed 11 times for 29 yards — third-most among all players in the game — and a a goal-line score. Legendary coach J.T. Curtis praised Bruno afterward for his pre-snap choices to ensure the Patriots were in the right play and keeping the chains moving.
Michael Turner Michael Turner 6'1" | 145 lbs | ATH John Curtis | 2024 State LA Jr. (6-1, 165 WR/DB | 2024)
The long, lean pass-catcher ran open deep to haul in the 38-yard first-quarter strike to put Curtis on the board and added another 14-yard reception on the night. And on the other side of the ball, Turner corralled a bobbling interception in the second quarter to help set up a short field and quick score to all but put the game away at 20-0.
Austin Ackel Austin Ackel 6'3" | 215 lbs | DL John Curtis | 2023 State LA (6-2, 215 LB/DL | 2023)
The Curtis defensive effort to bring the prolific postseason of Brother Martin running back Torey Lambert Torey Lambert 6'0" | 190 lbs | ATH Brother Martin | 2023 State LA largely to a halt and completely shut down the Crusaders warrants a long list of credit. The aforementioned Turner and below mentioned Callio made arguably the biggest splash plays with a takeaway in his half. But the Patriots set the edge, shut down gaps and bust into the backfield almost constantly to frustrate their familiar foe.
Ackel, one of the senior leaders, was quick off the edge for three tackles, including a pair for loss that tied with senior defensive lineman Adrian Martin for the team high. Cat-quick and vicious-hitting Texas Tech-bound Justin Horne Justin Horne 6'1" | 210 lbs | LB John Curtis | 2023 State LA had five tackles. Sophomore linebacker Hayden Delatte and sophomore defensive back Jason Curtis lead the team with seven and six tackles, respectively, including a combined 1.5 for loss. Junior linebacker Zachary Drake added four tackles, including 1.5 for loss. And the list goes on, all the way to freshman linebacker Jeffrey Curtis Jeffrey Curtis 5'9" | 190 lbs | LB John Curtis | 2026 State LA hopping on a Martin-forced fumble in the final moments to help put the final bow on the win.
Jermal Callio Jr. Jermal Callio Jr. 5'11" | 175 lbs | DB John Curtis | 2024 State LA (5-10, 170 DB/ATH | 2024)
The speedy junior defensive back chipped in to the stout efforts near the line of scrimmage with a tackle for loss and helped the Patriots’ prove equally stingy in the secondary when Brother Martin took to the air. Callio recorded a pair of pass breakups to tie for the game-high in the statistic and then snatched a fourth-quarter interception and returned it 39 yards almost all the way to the end zone to help ice away the title.
Jadon Weber (6-0, 200 LB | 2025)
The evening was a frustrating conclusion to a memorable run by the Crusaders to reach their first title game since 1989. But the performance of sophomore linebacker Jadon Weber on the big stage was among the bright spots. The Outstanding Player for his team flew around for a game-high 12 tackles, including a handful of solo stops that also marked among the contest’s leaders.