Rummel 36 Jesuit 13 finish regular season 6-1
Rummel 36 Jesuit 13 finish regular season 6-1
Good post. The Catholic league is really impressive this year and has been for the past decade. For many reasons the level of play you saw in the 60s and 70s from the Catholic league had tailed off and hadn't come back until after Hurricane Katrina.
I think that's one of the things that's hurt Curtis. The junior high kids in the NOLA area have a lot of opportunities. There are solid programs everywhere, both public and private.
The other thing that's hurt Curtis is the dismantling of the holdback program for 8th graders just after Hurricane Katrina. A lot of schools were doing it to a certain extent. But at Curtis it was a part of their program for basically every kid. You repeated the 8th grade and were then 18 or 19 for your senior year. The LHSAA outlawed it. I believe you now have to make that decision by the 5th grade, and schools can't have a system in place for it.
It was a mystery in the late 70s and early 80s as to how Curtis has built such a powerful program. And then one year in the mid 80s or so the LHSAA essentially outed them. The game program for the championship game in the Superdome listed the ages of the players. Curtis was a AA school and had 13 kids who had already turned 19 on their roster. I believe it was Peter Finney of the Times Picayune who wrote a column about it and started calling them John Curtis Junior College. The name stuck.
Last edited by The Historian; 11-22-2020 at 07:29 AM.
Very interesting post. I always thought there was an LHSAA rule that prevented 19 year olds --and older-- from playing high school football? When I was young I was told that it stemmed from the "good ole days" back in the 1930's and 40's, when some devious high school coaches would go to the woods and recruit grown "pulpwood workers" to play football on Friday night.
How in the world did John Curtis get away with having 19-yr olds on their roster? Does the LHSAA not have an age limit for high school players?
When I was coaching in HS as recently as up to 2008, the 19-yr-old rule was in place. I assume it still is and has been for....like ever! Maybe it has something to do when a kid turns 19...exact birthday date. But, I don't know. Or, let's say a kid turns 19 in December...they can play that fall and for all intents and purposes is practically 19 anyway in terms of physical maturity.
As for the Catholic League...it was the best in the state in the 1970's for sure. I played from 1973-76 and the district, which back then included Redemptorist (which was really a 2A level school), De La Salle, and Chalmette, which was a public school but wanted to play in the power district. It was a 9-school district and we played everyone, 8 district games, and 2 non-district games, which for Rummel was usually always East Jefferson and then some other school. St. Augustine was the powerhouse in the district for most of the decade, and our 7-6 win over them in 1974, gave us the district title.
Back to the present.....
Looking at the Division I Bracket...well, with Martin, Rummel and Catholic-BR all on the same side...it's gonna be tough to reach the Dome. Martin gets the winner of Rummel-Catholic-BR.
On the other side, Byrd, Scotlandville, St. Aug and Curtis are all legit contenders. Just watched the selection show, and one pundit picked a Curtis-Rummel matchup in the Dome. The other said, Rummel-Byrd, and the third guy was non-committal, just saying "it's tough picking anyone...or against anyone." Of course, I have complete faith in my Raiders, but...having to beat both Catholic and Martin, back to back...wow! A lot has to go right. It does take a little luck at this level. Each game is gonna be a war.
Byrd will play at home until the Dome...if they win out. Curtis will beat Scotlandville (the, ahem, #2 seed). Last year Bro. Martin lit up Scotlandville 46-13 in the playoffs. Provided Byrd can beat St. Augustine, they will be the highest remaining seed on that side of the bracket. One of the pundits was singing the praises of Byrd, mentioning the OL in particular.
I say this every year, and 2020 is no different in that regard...whoever wins the Division I state title would have earned it. There are no soft touches.
I'm so happy my 2020 graduate was not held back. Can you imagine all these holdback parents suffering through this 2020-21 season and recruiting process.
Mine now has 6 years to play 4 at the college level (much to the chagrin of this year's recruits and the available spots at the college level the next couple of years)
Oh, Hogdawg, I call him my natural holdback with a Oct. 2 birthday. Yeah, he would've been a stud this season turning 19, but he would not have played even close to a full season.
Louisiana Tech University
Flagship of the University of Louisiana System
Yeah, you guys did it the right way, T-Mo. You and your family are to be congratulated.
For the record, I don't like to see families, coaches and schools "bend the rules" (e.g., hold a good student back for athletic purposes) because it only ends up robbing someone else of their opportunity. For every 19-yr old playing high school football this year, there's likely a 17 or 18 year old student --a good student-- who won't see as much playing time as a result. It's just not right. Those 17-yr old seniors who turn 18 just before HS graduation in May, are at a disadvantage.
Now if only the boy can start playing college ball. The Great American Conference has 6 Oklahoma Schools, and 6 Arkansas. They "postponed" their fall schedule, but eventually canceled the year. The Harding coach told me they'll have two spring full-scrimmage games against two schools. One at Searcy, Ark., and one at Oklahoma City. Their 2021 11-game schedule is due to kickoff Labor Day weekend in 2021.
Measured him today. He's grown an inch to 6-2, 215.
Oughta be fun watching him at fullback in the Flexbone offense (similar to Navy with not as much passing).
Louisiana Tech University
Flagship of the University of Louisiana System
Not as much passing as Navy!? Navy averages something like 5 passes per game!