Bro. Neal’s Chat with Coach Bonis #9: John Curtis Review, St. Augustine Preview
November 4, 2022
Chat with Coach Bonis #9: John Curtis Review, St. Augustine Preview
by Brother Neal Golden, S.C. (CJ ’57)
“The Crusaders met the John Curtis Patriots at Tulane’s Yulman Stadium last Friday night in a key district game.
Curtis struck first when RB Aaron Johnson culminated a 54-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run with 4:00 left in the first quarter.
The Patriots extended their lead on a 1-yard sneak by QB Dagan Bruno to end a 12-play 87-yard drive. However, the PAT was missed to make it 13-0 with 8:33 left in the half. The biggest play in the march was a 49-yard run by Marlon Prout to the five.
The Crusaders then made a change at quarterback. Sophomore Seth Dazet took the snaps while Clayton Lonardo, Brother Martin’s version of the Saints’ Taysom Hill, moved to wide receiver. The combination sparked a touchdown drive when Dazet threw long down the middle to Lonardo, who tipped the ball to himself as he fell down at the Curtis 41 for a 36-yard gain. Senior HB Torey Lambert, returning to action after missing the Rummel game with an illness, zipped for 15 yards. Two plays later, Lonardo took the snap and kept to the two. It took three plays, but Lambert plunged over to make it 13-7 with 5:03 remaining in the second quarter.
Coach Mark Bonis said that he planned to use Dazet at quarterback in the Rummel game. “But when we were missing our starting running back, that put a damper on our plans. We wanted to play Clayton at receiver because he gave us a tremendous vertical threat last year when he was a 1000-yard receiver.”
Austin Tatum electrified the Brother Martin team and fans when he returned the second-half kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown to take a 14-13 lead.
Not used to trailing in the second half, the Patriots responded with a 12-play, 78-yard drive that ended with RB Jason Gabriel’s 3-yard plunge for a 20-14 advantage with 6:11 left in the third period.
Coach Bonis: “We return the second-half kickoff, and then Curtis comes right back. They converted on fourth down in their own territory on a quarterback sneak and completed a third-down pass for an explosive play.”
Curtis added to its lead on its next possession with a 24-yard field goal by Jaden Alphonso that made it 23-14 with 9:50 left in the game.
The Patriots held the Crusaders to just 24 offensive snaps in the second half while controlling the ball themselves by running for 275 yards for the game.
Martin finally mounted a drive deep into Patriots’ territory in the waning minutes until Dazet’s fourth-down pass was intercepted at the goal line with 13 seconds on the clock.
Coach Bonis says, “Our kids played very hard. My staff’s done a good job of making sure our guys live our creed in the face of adversity. In the last couple of weeks, we’ve had more collective buy-in of that. I’m proud of the way our kids battled. It wasn’t the result we wanted, but I’m proud of how they competed. Not that we’re content with what happened. I like the way we’re going coming up to the playoffs.”
Looking ahead to Friday night’s game against St. Augustine at Tad Gormley Stadium, Bonis says, “We think Seth has a bright future, especially with the ability to throw to Clayton, which frees up the other receivers too. Both will play quarterback against St. Augustine and play early.”
“St. Augustine is much improved. They’re one of the most talented teams we’ve faced all year. Their two losses were to Karr and Curtis, and the Curtis game could have gone either way. Offensively speaking, they’re strong everywhere. The quarterback, Amaré Cooper (#12), can throw the ball well, and they have a really good running game with a massive front line.
“Jeremiah Conerly (#96), a Georgia commitment who weighs 295 lbs, anchors the front four. Their two outside linebackers are really good. There’s not a weak spot on their defense. We’ll see quickly how improved we are offensively from Rummel to Curtis and now Curtis to St. Aug.”
The Purple Knights run a more traditional offense. “Their staff comes from Karr. So they’re similar to Karr offensively and defensively. The head coach was an assistant at Karr, and some of his assistants came with him. They have 17 first-year starters.”
7:00 p.m. tonight at Tad Gormley Stadium. Be there or be square!“
Be sure to join us in support of the Brother Martin football team vs. St. Augustine at Tad Gormley Stadium on Friday, November 4th at 7 PM!
