John Curtis to Get Big Challenge from Georgia School That Was Featured on ESPN | Prep Sports

John Curtis will open its season with a 4 p.m. game Friday against Rabun Gap-Nacoochee, a talent-rich Georgia school that has already played three regular-season games, including one televised on ESPN.

The visiting Eagles have five players committed to college. Wide receiver Marshall Pritchett is a 6-foot-5, 211-pounder from North Carolina who is a key passing target for a team that finished last season as state runner-up with a 13-1 record.

“They have good players, skill players,” John Curtis coach JT Curtis said. “A quarterback who is mobile. He throws the ball, I would say, more passing than running. I think they threw it 41 times in one game, 38, 39 times in another.”

Other college commitments include interior offensive lineman Justin Hasenhuetl (Georgia Tech), defensive lineman Terry Nwabuisi-Eseale (Wake Forest), linebacker Antoine Deslauriers (Syracuse) and cornerback Patrick Williams (Cincinnati). Offensive lineman Thomas Dumais is uncommitted.

“They’re a big, physical team on both ends of the court,” said Curtis, who has eight starters from a team that went 8-3 and lost in the quarterfinals last season. “Probably the biggest team we’ll play, both ways.”

Rabun Gap-Nacoochee, located near the mountainous Georgia-North Carolina border, competes in the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association. The Eagles lost in the Division I state final last season.

According to the school’s website, about 80 percent of the high school student population lives on campus in dorms. Rabun Gap plays in Class 4A, the largest enrollment classification in the NCISAA, which has 95 schools in four classes.

The Eagles are 2-1 on the season, with their only loss coming two weeks ago, a 21-14 loss to Chattanooga (Tennessee) Baylor that was broadcast on ESPN.

“This will be their fourth regular-season game,” Curtis said. “That’s just what (NCISAA) does. They were allowed to play early and they took advantage of that. It’ll be an advantage for them in terms of experience.”

The game will be part of a doubleheader pitting Rummel against Lafayette Christian, and is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. Both games will be held at The Shrine on Airline.

Jesuit will face Jesuit from Dallas

Jesuit football coach Ryan Manale followed the lead of Jesuit basketball and baseball teams in recent years and scheduled the season opener against Dallas Jesuit on Friday at 6 p.m. at Tad Gormley Stadium.

“It’s something I’ve seen with Jesuits from other states who come to play baseball and sometimes basketball,” said Manale, who was entering his fourth season as head coach. “I just thought it would be nice.”

Manale first reached out to coaches at other Jesuit schools across the country shortly after the school hired him in 2021. He was in “ongoing conversation with a couple different Jesuit schools” when Jesuit and Dallas Jesuit agreed to a two-game contract that begins this season.

This will be the second meeting between the schools. New Orleans Jesuit won 14-13 when the teams met in 2000. The teams will play a third game next season in Dallas.

“They play in the top division in Dallas, where you can play some really good football,” said Manale, whose team is 5-7 this season, including 2-4 in District 9-5A.

Dallas Jesuit quarterback Charlie Peters is committed to Dartmouth, who threw for nearly 3,000 yards with 32 touchdown passes and six interceptions last season. Dallas Jesuit, which was 8-4 and won a playoff game, opened its 2024 season with a 48-31 loss to Hebron last week.

Coaches and players from two Jesuit schools will meet on Thursday for Mass and dinner.

“When match day comes, we’ll treat it like a regular match day,” Manale said. “Yesterday night was really our team night.”

At the beginning

De La Salle’s opener against Central-Baton Rouge on Thursday at Tad Gormley Stadium will be a rematch of last season’s opener, when De La Salle won 27-20.

Also Thursday, Chalmette and John Ehret will meet in non-district opponents after the schools played in the same district for the past 11 seasons. Chalmette won 21-12 last season. Junior running back Axton Lopez scored two touchdowns in that comeback from a 12-0 deficit.