Suddenly the three-game losing streak to the end regular season now seems like a distant memory for John Curtis.
One week after knocking off No. 3 Acadiana, the No. 19-seeded Patriots handled No. 6 Teurlings Catholic 31-10 in the Division I select state quarterfinals Friday at Teurlings Stadium in Lafayette.
The Patriots (7-5) will now travel to the Alexandria-Byrd winner in the semifinals.
“We just put all the losses in the past,” Patriots junior halfback Jacobi Boudreaux said. “It’s all about the next game.
“Ball security, that’s what we preached all week long. Early in the season, we had some miscarries with the football, so we just preached ball security.”
Just like in the regional win over Acadiana, senior quarterback Reggie Johnson was right in the middle of the success in the quarterfinals as well.
Teurlings took some momentum into halftime with a field goal to cut it to 10-3, but Johnson answered with a 51-yard TD run on the fourth play of the second half for a 17-3 lead with 10:24 left in the third.
Johnson then connected on a 13-yard touchdown toss to Xavier Brown to put the game away at 24-3 with 8:22 left to play.
Cornerback Trey Brown quickly rode that momentum wave with a 24-yard interception return for a score to make it with 31-3 nine seconds left.
Johnson finished with seven carries for 71 yards and a score. He was 5-of-8 passing for 54 yards and a second touchdown.
“He’s the leader of our offense,” Boudreaux said of Johnson. “We all look up to him. He takes control of the offense, and we just trust him.”
Boudreaux added 94 yards rushing and a touchdown on 15 carries.
“It was just mental and physical preparation,” Boudreaux said. “We went into the game knowing this is a winner-go-home situation.”
Also playing a huge role in the win were sacks delivered by Lane Lecron, Jamari Horton and two by Jaden Keelan. Teurlings quarterback Alex Munoz was only sacked three times all season before Friday’s game.
Also, Munoz also threw his first two interceptions of the season against Curtis.
The first half was a matter of long drives for each team — some finished and most not.
“They’re good at what they do,” Teurlings coach Dane Charpentier said. “I feel like we played probably as good as we could defensively. We just didn’t put the ball in the end zone, and it was really the first time all year we hadn’t.”
The Rebels started it with a 48-yard drive on 11 plays in 5:20 thanks to Douge Viltz’s 48 total yards on the drive but settled for 32-yard field goal attempt that was blocked.
The Patriots then marched 64 yards on 16 plays in 6:44. The drive ended with a 32-yard field goal by Lucas Kippers on the first play of the second quarter for a 3-0 lead.
Teurlings tried to answer and again crossed midfield thanks to completions of 12 yards to Jack Purser and 19 to Jack Letchworth to reach the Curtis 19, but an intentional grounding penalty spoiled the drive.
That set up an eight-play, 81-yard drive in 3:43 for the Patriots to grab a 10-0 lead with 3:36 left until halftime.
A 19-yard completion to Nate Alario and a 33-yard run from Boudreaux on a quick snap put the ball on the Rebels’ 24. Four plays later, Boudreaux powered in from the 16 on fourth-and-2 for the double-digit lead.
It appeared the Patriots might build on that lead when Munoz was intercepted for the first time at the Curtis 41. A Seth Miller 12-yard sack of Johnson forced the Patriots to punt for the first time.
Things got worse for the Patriots after a 6-yard punt. Teurlings took advantage with a five-play scoring drive. A 23-yard screen to Viltz was the big play on the drive that ended with a Charlie Mader 32-yard field goal on the final play of the first half to cut the lead to 10-3.
