John T. Curtis Jr.

Last updated

[1]

John T. "J.T." Curtis Jr. (born 1947) is a high school football coach for John Curtis Christian School. In 2023, he broke the record of John McKissick’s record of 621 wins, securing his 622nd win against nationally recognized Edna Karr High School. [2] In 2010, he was inducted to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame [1] and in 2015, he was inducted to the National High School Hall of Fame. [3]

Contents

Following the 2024 season, his coaching record stands as 640 wins, 90 losses, and 6 ties in over 56 seasons. [4]

JT has 3 children with his late wife Lydia. JT eldest daughter Joanna Fabacher is married to Tommy Fabacher which she met at John Curtis Christian School in 8th grade. Joanna and Tommy have 2 daughters Reaghan and Rylee Fabacher. JT’s next child is his son John Thomas Curtis III (Johnny), Johnny also met his wife Dawn at John Curtis Christian School and the have 3 sons John Thomas Curtis IV (Jay), Michael and Jason. JT’s last child is Jeffrey (Jeff), Jeff met his wife at John Curtis Christian School and they have 5 children Anna, Abbi, Jeffrey Jr, Avery and Jackson. It was important to his late life Lydia to have a close family and you will see that in many pictures he has one of his children or grandchildren around him. JT has had the privilege to have his son in law and sons be by has side as an assistant coaches over the last 30 years.

Early life

Curtis is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana. Curtis graduated from East Jefferson High School in Metairie, Louisiana in 1966, where he was an all-state and All-American offensive lineman for the school's football team. [5] Curtis attended the University of Arkansas on a football scholarship for three years before transferring to Louisiana College in 1968, where he continued to play football. [6]

Coaching career

Curtis' father, John T. Curtis, Sr., founded John Curtis Christian School in River Ridge, Louisiana in 1962 [7] where he was named head football coach there in 1969 at the age of 22. [6] In his first season, the Patriots football team finished the year 0-10 and scored only two touchdowns the entire season. The following season the Patriots made the playoffs and by 1973 they had their first appearance in the LHSAA quarterfinals. In 1975, Curtis led his team to the school's first football state championship, defeating Notre Dame High School of Crowley, Louisiana by a score of 13-12.

The team have won 28 state championships to date, the most for any high school football program in Louisiana history, far surpassing the team with the second-most championships, Haynesville High School in Haynesville, Louisiana, who holds 17 state championships. [8]

J.T. Curtis is currently the winningest high school football coach in Louisiana history and the winningest American-football coach in history. [4] He achieved his 600th win, only the second coach in the nation to ever do so, with a 37-16 win over Archbishop Shaw High School in 2021. [9]

In 2012, the John Curtis football program was named the national champion by five national polls [10] after going an undefeated 14-0 and defeating Evangel Christian Academy of Shreveport, Louisiana 35-13 in the LHSAA Class 2A state championship game. It was the first ever national title for Curtis and the Patriots football program and the first by a team from Louisiana since West Monroe High School was named national champions in 2000, and they are also the only team from Louisiana to receive the honor since. In 2013, the Patriots football program was forced to forfeit 20 wins from 2013 to 2015, including their 2013 state championship, due to sanctions by the LHSAA around the eligibility of now former JCCS football player Willie Allen. [11] Curtis and the school have maintained to date that there were no improprieties regarding Allen.

In his storied career, Curtis has coached 14 players who played in the NFL including Joe McKnight, Malachi Dupre, Duke Riley, Kenny Young, and Mike Stonebreaker among others. [12] He has also coached dozens of high school All-Americans and players who went on to compete on the college level. He also had at least one player named first team all-state every year from 1975 to 2019, a state record. The Patriots won five consecutive state championships, the only team in Louisiana to ever do so, from 2004 to 2008. They have also won four consecutive titles once (1996–99) and three consecutive titles twice (1979–81, 1983–85). [13]

He has also won three state championships as head baseball coach at John Curtis.

Head coaching record

YearTeamRegular SeasonDistrictStandingPlayoffOverallFinish
John Curtis Christian School (1969–present)
1969 John Curtis 0-10--0-00-10Missed Playoffs
1970John Curtis---0-1-L LSHAA 1A Regional
1971John Curtis---0-0-Missed Playoffs
1972John Curtis---0-0-Missed Playoffs
1973John Curtis---2-1-L LSHAA 2A Quarterfinal
1974John Curtis---0-0-Missed Playoffs
1975John Curtis--1st5-0-W LSHAA 2A Final
1976John Curtis--1st4-1-L LSHAA 2A Final
1977John Curtis---5-0-W LSHAA 2A Final
1978John Curtis--1st3-1-L LSHAA 2A Semifinal
1979John Curtis--1st5-0-W LSHAA 2A Final
1980John Curtis--1st5-0-W LSHAA 2A Final
1981John Curtis--1st5-0-W LSHAA 2A Final
1982John Curtis--1st4-1-L LSHAA 2A Final
1983John Curtis--1st5-0-W LSHAA 2A Final
1984John Curtis--1st5-0-W LSHAA 2A Final
1985John Curtis--1st5-0-W LSHAA 3A Final
1986John Curtis--1st4-1-L LSHAA 3A Final
1987John Curtis--1st5-0-W LSHAA 3A Final
1988John Curtis--1st5-0-W LSHAA 3A Final
1989John Curtis--1st2-1-L LSHAA 3A Quarterfinal
1990John Curtis--1st5-0-W LSHAA 3A Final
1991John Curtis--1st2-1-L LSHAA 4A Quarterfinal
1992John Curtis--1st1-1-L LSHAA 4A Regional
1993John Curtis--1st5-0-W LSHAA 4A Final
1994John Curtis--1st4-1-L LSHAA 4A Final
1995John Curtis--1st2-1-L LSHAA 4A Quarterfinal
1996John Curtis--1st5-0-W LSHAA 4A Final
1997John Curtis--1st5-0-W LSHAA 4A Final
1998John Curtis--1st5-0-W LSHAA 4A Final
1999John Curtis--1st5-0-W LSHAA 4A Final
2000John Curtis--1st4-1-L LSHAA 4A Final
2001John Curtis---5-0-W LSHAA 4A Final
2002John Curtis--1st5-0-W LSHAA 4A Final
2003John Curtis--1st4-1-L LSHAA 4A Final
2004John Curtis9-03-01st5-014-0W LSHAA 4A Final
2005**John Curtis5-14-01st5-010-1W LSHAA 2A Final
2006John Curtis9-04-01st5-014-0W LSHAA 2A Final
2007John Curtis7-23-12nd5-012-2W LSHAA 2A Final
2008John Curtis9-14-01st5-014-1W LSHAA 2A Final
2009John Curtis9-07-01st4-113-1L LSHAA 2A Final
2010John Curtis8-16-01st4-112-2L LSHAA 2A Final
2011John Curtis9-06-01st5-014-0W LSHAA 2A Final
2012John Curtis9-06-01st5-014-0W LSHAA 2A Final#
2013John Curtis8-24-01st3-011-2W LSHAA DII Final
2014John Curtis9-14-01st2-111-2L LSHAA DI Final
2015John Curtis7-24-23rd1-18-3L LSHAA DI Semifinal
2016John Curtis9-06-01st1-110-1L LSHAA DI Semifinal
2017John Curtis9-16-01st2-111-2L LSHAA DI Final
2018John Curtis10-06-01st3-013-0W LSHAA DI Final
2019John Curtis9-15-12nd1-110-2L LSHAA DI Semifinal
2020**John Curtis5-33-24th2-1^7-4^L LSHAA DI Semifinal
2021**John Curtis4-34-23rd1-15-4L LSHAA DI Quarterfinal
2022John Curtis8-25-12nd4-012-2W LSHAA DI Select Final
2023John Curtis7-24-23rd1-18-3L LSHAA DI Select Quarterfinal
2024John Curtis4-53-45th3-17-6L LSHAA DI Select Semifinal
2025John Curtis7-25-23rd2-09-2W LSHAA DI Select Quarterfinal
John Curtis---195-24640-90-6
Total:----640-90-6
     State championship title        State championship appearance         Playoff appearance
  • *Hurricane Katrina shortened season
  • **Covid-19 shortened season
  • #National Champion
  • ^Includes forfeits
  • ^^Relinquished

Awards, recognition, records

State Championships

References

  1. 1 2 3 J.T. Curtis , retrieved May 7, 2022
  2. ↑ https://highschool.si.com/news/2023/11/04/louisiana-high-school-football-edna-karr-stunned-by-john-curtis-christianc [ bare URL ]
  3. 1 2 "Inductees by State". www.nfhs.org. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Coach record for John Curtis". www.footballfridaynight.com. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  5. ↑ Bonano, Jacquie (August 26, 2015), Guest Speaker - John T. Curtis - , retrieved May 7, 2022
  6. 1 2 "Legend Feature: Louisiana's J.T. Curtis Reflects on His Career". FNF Coaches. March 20, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  7. ↑ "John Curtis Christian School :: Our History". www.johncurtis.com. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Louisiana High School Football State Champions". 14-0 Productions. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  9. ↑ "High School Head Coach J.T. Curtis Reaches 600 Career Victories | NFL Play Football". playfootball.nfl.com. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  10. ↑ Advocate, Mark clements Special to The (January 11, 2013). "John Curtis recognized as national champion in five national polls". NOLA.com. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  11. ↑ Bennett, John (September 2016). "LHSAA forces John Curtis to forfeit wins and state title". www.fox8live.com. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  12. ↑ "John Curtis Christian (River Ridge, LA) Alumni Pro Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Consecutive State Football Championships". 14-0 Productions. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  14. ↑ "LSWA Coach of the Year". 14-0 Productions. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  15. 1 2 "John Thomas (J.T.) Curtis Jr. (1994) - Hall of Fame". Louisiana Christian University Athletics. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.