John Curtis avenges last loss, downs East St. John 34-7

By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

The last meeting between John Curtis and East St. John came in 2005, where the Wildcats triumphed. That game, in the 05′ season’s opening week, represented the last time Curtis fell to anyone.

The Patriots didn’t forget.

Curtis’s Blain LeBlanc rushed for 117 yards and the Patriots scored two defensive touchdowns as Curtis defeated host East St. John soundly, 34-7 at Joe Keller Stadium.

&#8220We made it really difficult for ourselves,” said East St. John Coach Larry Dauterive. &#8220We turned it over, made bad penalties to kill drives.”

&#8220We shot ourselves in the foot all night. We shot ourselves all the way to our ankles and knees.”

Alex Singleton had another strong night for East St. John (1-1), rushing for 99 yards on 18 carries. Reynaldo Young scored the Wildcats’ only touchdown on a 99-yard kickoff return.

The game carried a playoff-like atmosphere, something Patriots Coach J.T. Curtis wanted to prepare his squad for entering the game.

&#8220We expected a physical game from East St. John, and that’s exactly what we got,” Curtis said. &#8220We came in wanting to set the tone early on offensively, and match their intensity.”

&#8220It was a playoff type situation. It’s why we schedule the way we do, to prepare us for the nature of those contests.”

Curtis did not take long to put the game’s first score on the board. LeBlanc took the handoff and broke free from the defense, scoring a 61-yard touchdown to make it 7-0 at the 9:43 mark of the first quarter.

At the 7:30 mark of the second quarter, Curtis quarterback Matt Saucier extended the Patriot lead to 13-0 after scoring on a 35-yard run.

LeBlanc would make it a three touchdown advantage with his second touchdown of the game, a 27-yard run that followed a block of an East St. John kick, placing the ball in Wildcat territory for Curtis to take advantage of. That made it 21-0 at the 9:27 mark of the third quarter.

Less than two minutes later, it was 28-0, after Curtis’s Conner Mullins recovered a fumble in the endzone

Young briefly seized momentum back for his team on the ensuing kickoff, taking the kick back 99 yards to cut the lead to 28-7.

But East St. John struggled on offense for most of the night against an aggressive John Curtis defense. It culminated with 3:34 left in the game, when Jonathan McKnight intercepted a Kalen Henderson pass and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown, ending the scoring at 34-7.

&#8220This is a work in progress,” Dauterive said. &#8220We’ll keep fighting though. We’re going to work with these kids to get it right.”