State championships thoughts: 2A Curtis gets redemption

MVP:
It could have been any number of players, actually. Blaine LeBlanc, despite a bout of fumbl-itis, came through with 75 yards, a touchdown and some very big runs when the Patriots needed him.

Matt Saucier ran the offense very efficiently, going 5 of 5 for 93 yards and a touchdown, while running for 87 yards and a touchdown.

Vincent Allen caught four passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. Time and again - well, four times - he came through with big plays. When he got open, he got the ball and he held onto it. In an offense when passing is a rarity, being able to catch is at a premium.

Alex Lauricella came up with the play of the game, returning at interception 47 yards for the touchdown that all but put the game out of reach. He finished with four tackles, two of which were for a loss.

Game thoughts
Despite this game starting out poorly - several fumbles before the game hit the 6 minute mark - once both teams settled down, it was fairly obvious that Curtis was on a mission. A mission of redemption, maybe. A mission to regain pride that was on the line after losing to St. James in the penultimate week of the regular season? Definitely.

Most involved would agree that this was not the cleanest game of the weekend. And by clean, I mean few turnovers and penalties and such. It was a hard-hitting game, no doubt.

To me, the game turned not on Lauricella's interception return, though that was a huge part of the game. It turned when Curtis answered St. James.

After Lauricella's interception, the Wildcats marched down the field in four plays, capped by Luther Ambrose's 63-yard touchdown run. The score cut Curtis' lead to 21-13 (St. James missed the extra point). In most games, this would constitute getting back in the game.

But the Patriots answered - and this was the turning point. Saucier led the team down the field, taking nearly six minutes off the clock. Against Curtis, a 14-point lead, let alone a 15-point lead, is going to be tough to overcome with only 10 minutes left in the game.

Curtis deserved to win the game, and St. James certainly deserved to be in it.

Perspective
This might be J.T. Curtis' best job of coaching in a long time. This team, while certainly talented in its own right, didn't have the special players last year's team did. It did not have the game-breaker, a.k.a. Joe McKnight. It wasn't going to be the Patriots team that overpowered and out-athleted opponents.

But what it did have was heart, and that was mighty apparent two weeks in a row. First, when St. James beat Curtis in week nine, the Patriots trudged off the field, heads down. It was the school's first in-state loss in more than two years. It hurt. Whatever J.T. did that week worked. The Patriots came out and worked Newman 50-0, going up 47-0 at halftime before he called off the dogs.

That very next week tragedy struck, as a classmate and friend of the school committed suicide on campus. That's tough, and it would be expected for teenagers to lose focus. But J.T. and his teachers and parents rallied around each other. The family became tigheter knit.

A lot of coaches - and teachers - would have lost their players and students at that point. This speaks volumes about the leadership at the school.

Your thoughts
All right, I've given you my thoughts. Give me yours. Let me know what you think about Curtis' championship game win. Let me know what you think about this season. Will Curtis be better next year? Will it be worse?

Comment below, or email me at bhandwerger@wwltv.com and I'll post the email.