By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

It was hardly the beginning that anyone expected. But the end result was one that everyone has become accustomed to over the past 39 years.

St. James and John Curtis lost fumbles on four of the first five possessions of their Class 2A championship matchup inside the Superdome on Friday. But it would be Curtis once again celebrating a state championship, its 22nd, at the game’s end, a 28-13 winner over the Wildcats.

The Patriots’ (12-2) win ended an 11-game winning streak for St. James, which was attempting to become the first team to ever defeat Curtis twice in one season. The Wildcats defeated the Patriots 16-14 on October 26 to lock up the District 10-2A crown.

“Tonight, they were simply the better team,” said St. James Coach Rick Gaille. “We knew we’d have to play extraordinarily well to win. They are a great team that played up to its capabilities.”

Curtis Coach J.T. Curtis explained that the Patriots’ increased physical play from a month ago was no accident.

“We left after (the first St. James game) that we weren’t as physical as we needed to be,” Curtis said. “We made the commitment then. You take the chance of getting guys banged up doing that, but we felt it was necessary to win the state title.”

“They were absolutely more physical than the last game,” said the Wildcats’ Luther Ambrose. “It was harder to block them, to push them where you needed them to go.”

St. James managed to gain 161 yards on the ground for the game, compared to 237 for Curtis. But Curtis allowed nothing through the air, holding the Wildcats to -2 yards on four attempts.

Gaille said that Curtis’s ability to play the run with only seven men in the box kept St. James from finding any holes to attack in the Curtis secondary.

“We want to get the secondary involved in run support,” said Gaille. “We just couldn’t get them to come up.”

After St. James punted on the game’s first possession, each team lost a to end of the next four drives.

“We’re not supposed to fumble,” Gaille said. “In a game like this, you can’t match that team mistake for mistake and expect to win.”

But the teams settled down. St. James took a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter on a 1-yard Juarelle Narcisse touchdown run. The touchdown capped a 13-play, 54 yard drive – all runs.

Curtis answered on the very next possession. Blaine LeBlanc’s 16-yard touchdown run capped a 12-play, 70-yard drive and tied the game.

After forcing St. James to punt, Curtis only took a minute and a half to score again, as Matt Saucier found Darien Allen on a 30-yard post route for a touchdown. Curtis took a 14-7 lead into halftime.

(See ST. JAMES Page 11A)

The lead grew to 21-7 after a key defensive play midway through the third quarter. The Patriots’ Alex Lauricella intercepted St. James quarterback Marcus Dumas, and he followed a convoy of blockers into the endzone for a 47-yard score with 5:38 left in the quarter.

“I saw the play fake, and I knew what was coming,” said Lauricella. “I ran his route, and just ran to the endzone.”

St. James responded on its next drive with the game’s biggest offensive play, a 63-yard Ambrose scamper that cut the lead to eight, 21-13. The extra point attempt was no good.

Curtis would mount a 13-play, 71 yard drive to make it a two score game yet again. Saucier’s 1-yard touchdown run with 10:01 remaining in the game capped a methodical drive that took almost six minutes off the clock.

From that point forward, the Curtis defense was unbreakable. The Patriots did not allow the Wildcats to gain over two yards on any play for the remainder of the game.

Ambrose led St. James with 67 yards rushing on 15 attempts, while Kenny Zenon added 51 yards on 11 rushes.

For Curtis, Saucier was a perfect 5-of-5 for 93 yards and a score passing, while adding 87 yards on the ground.

The title win was Curtis’s fourth straight.

Gaille said that while he was disappointed to see the loss, that it’s a part of the growing process of his team.

“That’s why we aren’t in Ancient Rome, where you kill the loser,” said Gaille. “You learn from these games. At the end of the day, you have to be able to look at yourself and know you gave all that you possibly could. It’s a painful, not fatal loss.”