Preview: John Curtis vs. Brother Martin

Catholic League football gets underway on Friday, September 23, as two of the top tier teams in the district go head-to-head under the lights at the Shrine on Airline when the John Curtis Patriots (3-0) host the Brother Martin Crusaders (2-1) for the inaugural matchup.

The Patriots are continuing their winning ways, as head coach J.T. Curtis led his fourth-ranked team in the state to convincing wins over Landry-Walker and West Monroe before pulling out a tight one at Parkview Baptist last week, 34-31. John Curtis was in control early, leading 20-3 at halftime, but needed a late 32-yard touchdown from running back Choncee Crum with 5:41 to go, and a fourth-down conversion from Marquese Albert, to put the game away. John Curtis kept their non-district winning streak alive, having not dropped a contest since 2013 when current LSU Tiger Leonard Fournette and St. Augustine got the better of them.

The Patriots are led by starting quarterback Blaine Hebert, who has accounted for 173 yards of total offense and two touchdowns on the season. Running backs Darryan Washington and Albert split the backfield for John Curtis, posting 129 yards on 17 carries with one touchdown and 220 yards on 36 carries with five touchdowns, respectively.

Curtis' real power, as always, comes from their defense. Having lost several key players to graduation, senior defensive back Garrett Wallow has stepped up in a big way, leading the team in tackles (19), tackles for loss (3) and tackles per game (6.3). Tyler Blanco and Brandon Davis man the defensive backfield alongside Wallow, while Andre Seymour is at the helm of their powerful linebacker core.

On the flip side, Brother Martin is coming off of a tough 55-46 loss to Class 4A powerhouse Edna Karr. After allowing just 27 points over their first two weeks, the Crusaders were stunned when five touchdowns and 210 yards from ESPN top prospect Bruce Jordan-Swilling was not enough to power their squad to victory. Not surprisingly, Jordan-Swilling is leading the team in most offensive categories, collecting 544 rushing yards on 80 carries and 11 touchdowns. Quarterback John Paul Pierce is having a good start to his year as well, completing 31-of-59 passes for 634 yards and four touchdowns, most of which have gone to his two favorite targets, Pat Hughes and Erick Lassair.

The Crusaders own a more balanced attack than the Patriots, but it remains to be seen if Jordan-Swilling and Pierce can break through the stalwart defense of John Curtis, whose head coach knows how to have his team ready for big games.

Catch this contest at 7 p.m. on Friday, September 23 at Zephyr Field, as two Catholic League foes go toe-to-toe in this heavyweight matchup, live on ESPNU, under the Friday night lights.