By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

KENNER — East St. John kept things tight with host John Curtis for a quarter Friday night, but eventually the nationally-ranked Patriots proved to be too powerful.

Tyrone Chevalier’s seven carry, 162-yard performance paced Curtis in a 42-13 victory at Muss Bertilino Stadium.

JCC rushed for five touchdowns and 224 first half yards.

“We didn’t tackle the dive,” ESJ coach Phillip Banko said. “You can’t play John Curtis and not tackle dive. We’ve got to get better. The effort’s there, and the competition … they’re a top team in the nation. But we know where we need to improve.”

The teams were tied 7-7 after a quarter of play, Ahmani Martin’s 2-yard run capping a 12-play, 63 yard drive for the Wildcats. 

Myles Washington, Dontae Jones and Chevalier each scored touchdowns for Curtis in the first half, though, and Curtis held a 21-7 halftime advantage. The Patriots scored two third quarter touchdowns — both by Santos Moreira, from 23 and 62 yards, respectively — and never looked back. 

Curtis (3-0) rushed for over 200 first half yards.

East St. John (1-2) rushed for nearly 200 yards in the game, paced by Xavier Lewis and Nigel Anderson. Lewis led the Wildcats with 100 yards on the ground.

Phil Adams and Jaylon Brown connected on a 60-yard touchdown play in the fourth quarter to round out the Wildcats’ scoring.

“We moved the ball tonight,” Banko said. “Defensively, we didn’t do the job. Our defensive line needs to step up and answer the challenge and as a group. We need to do a much better job tackling.”

Banko said nobody in the Wildcats’ locker room is hanging their heads after the loss.

“Look, we lost, and that’s not something any of us come out and work for,” Banko said. “We’re angry. But I do know we’re getting better. This made us better, and what it comes down to is what we’re going to see when district starts next week and South Lafourche comes to town. We’re healthy and we’re more prepared for that than we were a week ago. So I, personally, can’t wait.”