John Curtis knocks off Salmen, 28-7

Salmen suffered its first loss of the season Thursday night with a 28-7 setback to John Curtis as Patriot quarterback Evan Ingram rushed for two touchdowns at Muss Bertolino Stadium.

John Curtis is 2-1, while Salmen fell to 1-1.

The game was scoreless into the second quarter when John Curtis scored 14 points. The first TD came when Ingram kept the ball and scored from 7 yards out.

John Curtis scored again later in the period on a 50-yard drive that ended in another Ingram tally. Salmen trailed 14-0 at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Patriots went ahead 21-0 when running back Marchez Patterson hit pay dirt on a 23-yard run, and John Curtis took that advantage into the fourth period.

The Patriots tacked on one more score, and it came in the final quarter as Darien Allen caught a 42-yard pass from Bryce Jenkins.

Trailing 28-0, the Spartans mounted a drive. Senior quarterback Julien Troullier connected with Jamal Robinson, bringing the ball to the Patriots’ 42. Then Salmen avoided the shutout when Troullier hit senior wide receiver Isiah Tate on a 42-yard scoring strike. The extra point was good to make it 28-7.

Spartans’ receivers’ coach Stephen O’Shaughnessy said Salmen struggled on offense.

“I thought offensively we lacked execution,” he said. “Any time we had a play go our way, we would shoot ourselves in the foot with a penalty or sack. That put us in a position to having to throw the ball down field when the running game was working. We definitely have a lot of work to do before we play Independence.”

The game against Independence will be Salmen’s home opener Friday.

Longtime John Curtis coach J.T. Curtis said Salmen is a team to watch out for into the postseason.

“They are skilled and are going to make noise in the playoffs,” Curtis said. “We made some plays and put pressure on their quarterback, which helped.”

Curtis added that containing Troullier was a big part of the Patriots’ success.

“We were fortunate we didn’t allow him to make a long run,” Curtis said.