Patriots race to early lead and hang on for 24-13 victory.
George Moreira scored twice to lead John Curtis to a victory over Bergen Catholic.
Photo by Roddy Johnson
showed why it's the nation's No. 8-ranked team--and the defending national champion--as it defeated
Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) 24-13.
Curtis raced to a 24-7 lead at half-time and withstood Bergen Catholic's second-half comeback efforts.
George Moreira led the Curtis offense. He rushed for the first of two scores--a 78-yard dash--to give the Patriots an early 7-0 lead.
Corey Russo, Bergen Catholic
Photo by Jann Hendry
Bergen Catholic, led by head coach Nunzio Campanile, marched right back down the field and answered, in the form of a 1-yard touchdown run from
Corey Russo to make it 7-7.
Curtis began to pull away following a 9-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback
Abby Touzet.
Shortly after, Moreira scored his second touchdown. With a field goal just before half-time, Curtis led 24-7 entering the locker rooms.
In the second half, a game that appeared to be on the verge of a blowout soon became a much closer contest. Russo scored his second rushing touchdown of the game for Bergen Catholic to narrow the gap to 24-13.
Despite its defense clamping down, Bergen Catholic would get no closer. It missed a 40-yard field goal with under a minute to play that would have made it a one-score game.
The win was the 29th-straight for Curtis, which has an even bigger interstate showdown next week when it takes on St. Thomas Aquinas, ranked No. 5 in the Xcellent 25.
For Bergen Catholic, which goes up against one of the nation's most challenging schedules, it will hardly get easier. Next week, it travels to Utah to take on defending Class 5A champion Jordan before hosting Nevada powerhouse Bishop Gorman.
