Curtis handles Plant in Superdome showdown

NEW ORLEANS - In a matchup between two top-10 schools, Curtis (River Ridge, La.) served notice that it could hang with the big boys. The Patriots, ranked No. 8 by MaxPreps.com, rushed for 220 yards and got big plays from their special teams in a 33-3 rout of 10th-ranked Plant (Tampa, Fla.) at the Superdome.

However Curtis Coach J.T. Curtis, who earned his 508th career victory in convincing fashion, didn't want to rest on his laurels, insisting his team needed to get back to work for next week's game.

"First, this game is going to get us ready for next week against East St. John (Reserve, La.)," Curtis said. "We're going to learn from this game. We're going to get better. If we do that, then playing this type of team, you can get a lot of benefit from. If we get fat and happy with this, then we'll find ourselves behind the 8-ball somewhere."

Running back Sherman Badie led the way for the Patriots with 10 carries for 92 yards and three touchdowns, all in the first half. Richard Allen scored on a 42-yard punt return in the second half and also had a 38-yard return to set up Badie's first score, a 3-yard run.

Plant's offense struggled to get going and was plagued by penalties, finishing with 17 for 117 yards, while its lone points came on a 37-yard field goal by William Few as the first half ended. The top offensive performer for Plant was receiver Cameron Winter who finished with five catches for 98 yards.

The Panthers, who are the defending 8A state champions, did play without Florida State commit Richy Klepel, who suffered a concussion in practice on Wednesday, and lost both starting quarterback Aaron Banks in the third quarter and starting running back Wesley Bullock in the early second quarter to injuries. Banks was 9-of-12 for 55 yards while Bullock was held to four carries for eight yards.

Curtis' swarming special teams prevented Plant from getting good field position throughout the night. The Panthers averaged 12.7 yards per kickoff return and had an average starting field position of its own 16-yard line. Curtis on the other hand had an average starting position at its own 48-yard line.

"They were better than us in all three facets for the game," Plant Coach Robert Weiner said. "They were really good. You can't get ransacked early like we did. We gave up bad field position right away and had our backs against the wall."

The Patriots also made the most of their first and second down chances as Curtis was 0-for-6 on third down conversions (although the Patriots did go 3-of-3 on fourth down).

Badie scored on the Patriots second drive, after the Panthers had two quick three-and-outs, to give Curtis a 14-0 lead with 3:31 left in the first quarter on a 7-yard touchdown run.

Plant picked up a first down on the ensuing drive but running back Patrick Brooks fumbled and Curtis took advantage, scoring six plays later on a 5-yard run by Raekwon James.

The Patriots continued their offensive assault on their next drive, but this time used a trick play to get by the Panthers. On fourth down, Curtis looked as if they were going for it but instead ran out the punt team. As soon as the punt team was lined up, the ball was snapped to Badie, who was the up back, catching Plant off guard allowing Badie to rush up the near sideline for a 40-yard touchdown.

Both offenses stalled in the second half while Allen's 42-yard punt return stood as the lone score. Curtis had a chance to widen the gap but missed two field goals, from 30 and 25 yards, in the second half.

It the worst defeat for Plant since losing 49-0 to Armwood on October 29, 2004 in Weiner's first year as coach.