J. T. Curtis, head football coach at John Curtis Christian School in River Ridge, LA, captured his 500th win Thursday in a 40-6 victory over J.S. Clark making him only the second coach in history-high school, college or professional--to reach that milestone.

Below is information provided by Jeff Curtis and Bill Curl:

After going  0-10 his first year of coaching in 1969¸ Curtis has never had a losing record since.  Spanning a total of 42 seasons, Curtis' teams have:

Won 23 state championships in 30 trips to the title game (both state records).

Reached the state championship game the past 16 consecutive years, winning 11 (1996-present).

Won 5 straight championships (2004-08), also a state record.

Recorded double-digit victories (10 or more wins) for the past 35 consecutive seasons-since 1st year of coaching-(1976-2010); record 499-44-6 through that stretch is winning percentage of 91.7%.

Won the district championship 34 of the last 35 seasons.

Reached the state playoffs the past 36 consecutive seasons.

Reached the state playoffs a total of 38 times.

Posted 11 perfect seasons.

Been undefeated in the regular season 16 times.

Curtis, who will be 65 years old on Dec. 6, 2011, has also coached the Patriots to six state baseball championships. In addition to his coaching responsibilities, Curtis is the school's headmaster, is an ordained minister and is a devoted family man with nine grandchildren and numerous family ties to the school's administration and coaching staff.  His father, the Rev. John Curtis, Sr., founded the school in 1962.

INCLUDING 2011 SEASON--GAMES PLAYED THROUGH 10/9

592  *John McKissack, Summerville, SC, High School, 60th season, 592-142-3 (.805)

500 *J.T. Curtis, John Curtis High School, 42nd season, 500-54-6 (.893)

481  *John Gagliardi, Carroll College. MT., St, John's Univ., MN, 64th season, 481-133-11 (.780)

455  *Larry Campbell, Lincoln County, GA, High School, 40th season, 455-78-3  (.852)

408  Eddie Robinson, Grambling State Univ., 46 seasons, 408-165-15 (.707)

408  *Joe Paterno, Penn State, 45th season, 408-136-3  (.749)

377  Bobby Bowden, Samford, West Virginia, Florida St., 44 seasons, 377-129-4 (.743)

328  Don Shula, Baltimore Colts, Miami Dolphins, 33 seasons, 347-173-6 (.665)

323  Bear Bryant, Maryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Alabama, 38 seasons, 323-85-17 (.780)

319  Pop Warner, Georgia,Cornell,Carlisle,Pitt,Stanford,Temple, 44 seasons, 319-106-32 (.733)

318  George Halas, Chicago Bears, 40 seasons, 318-148-31 (.682)

*still active

This Season to Date

SEPT. 2    CURTIS 34, FRANKLINTON 0  (at Muss Bertolino)

SEPT. 9    CURTIS 27, WESTGATE 7 (Sugar Bowl Prep Classic,Louisiana Superdome)

SEPT. 16  CURTIS 27, EAST ST. JOHN 18  (at East St. John)

SEPT. 22  *CURTIS 45, COHEN 0 (at Muss Bertolino)

SEPT. 30  *CURTIS 48, RIVERSIDE 0 (at Riverside)

OCT. 7      *CURTIS 60, CARVER 20  (at Muss Bertolino)

OCT. 14    *CURTIS 41, NEWMAN 0  (at Newman)

OCT. 21    (Open Date)

OCT. 27    *CURTIS 40, CLARK 6

NOV. 4      *South Plaquemines, at Muss Bertolino Stadium, Kenner

*District 9-2A

Note-Curtis opened the season with wins over three higher-classification teams.  Franklinton is the defending Class 4A State Champion; Westgate and East St. John are both in Class 5A.             

Clarification-the references below to Curtis the Coach and Curtis the team are interchangeable; all factual references to the team occurred during J. T. Curtis' coaching tenure.

The Championships:  Curtis has won state titles in three different classifications, 11 in Class 2A, 4 in class 3A, and 8 in Class 4A.  The enrollment has been a constant in Class 2A; Curtis chose to "play up" against larger classification teams when winning the 12 titles in 3A and 4A, but that ended when the LHSAA changed its rules in 2005, disallowing the play up option.  Curtis' record in championship games is 8-3 vs. Class 4A teams (1994-2004), 4-1 vs. Class 3A teams (1985-90), and 11-4 vs. Class 2A teams (1975-84 and 2005-09).

The Streaks:  Curtis won a state-record five consecutive championships in 2004-08.  The Patriots won four titles in a row in 1996-99, and had two three-peats (1979-81 and 1983-85).   . Curtis won 43 consecutive games in 1983-86.  The Patriots won 29 playoff games in a row in 2004-09.  Curtis won 136 straight district games ending in 2001.  The most recent district winning streak (to date), covers 23 games, stretching back to 2007.

The Honors:  J. T. Curtis was inducted into the Louisiana College Hall of Fame (his alma mater) in 1994 and the Louisiana High School Athletic Assn. Hall of Fame in 1992.  When he was elected into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2010, he was only the second active coach so honored.  He has been named the Louisiana Sport Writers Assn."Coach of the Year" five times and the Louisiana Football Coaches Assn. "Coach of the Year" nine times. 

The Coaches:The Curtis coaching staff, like the administration of the school, is truly a family business.  Serving as defensive coordinator is brother, Leon Curtis who has been on the coaching staff since 1972.  The oldest son of Coach J.T. Curtis, Johnny Curtis, is the outside linebacker and special teams coach and is now in his 16th year on the staff.  His brother, Jeff Curtis, is the quarterback and running backs' position coach and just started his 12th year coaching.  Son-in-law, Tommy Fabacher, serves coaching the defensive backs and has been coaching football a total of 17 years. Leon Curtis also has two sons on the coaching staff.  Matt Curtis, now in his 8th year as coach of the wide receivers and Steve Curtis,  who also coaches outside linebackers, came on the staff seven years ago.  The son of J.T.'s sister, Kathy Rickner, Lance Rickner, also begins his seventh year on the staff as a defensive line coach.   

The Start:  When the Rev. John Curtis, Sr., the school's founder, gave the keys to the football program to his then 22-year old son in 1969, J.T. prepared 39 playbooks and was greeted by six players for the first practice. The roster later swelled to 24, and Curtis' first venture into coaching netted an 0-10 record and a total of two touchdowns.  Success soon followed. The following year, Curtis rolled up an  8-1-1 record and earned the first playoff berth in school history.

The Stadium:   There isn't one. Curtis has built the program without ever having a true home-field advantage.  The Patriots play most of their "home" games at Muss Bertolino Stadium in Kenner, 6.3 miles Northwest of the Curtis high school campus in River Ridge, and occasional games at a larger venue, Joe Yenni Stadium in Metairie, 3.5 miles Northeast.  21 of Curtis' 23 State championships have been won in the Louisiana Superdome; the last 19 in the LHSAA Superdome Prep Classic.

The Hurricane:  When Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005 it inflicted major damages to the school and wiped out dozens of homes belonging to students and family, widely dispersing them across the country.  The Curtises diligently worked to get their properties and their lives back together.  The team served as the rallying cry for the extended school family, and the team remarkably rolled through the season.  It ended with a 350-mile trek to Shreveport to play in the championship game (which was moved from the Superdome because of the storm damage), where the Patriots scored an uniquely emotional triumph, beating St Charles Catholic, 31-6.  The moving story is chronicled in Neal Thompson's book, "Hurricane Season" published by Simon & Schuster in 2007.

Signature Wins: A 14-0 win over Delta Heritage in game 2 of the 1970 season was Curtis' first coaching victory after losing his first 11 games.  It started an eight-game winning streak, the first seven by shutouts, before a first-round playoff loss ended the season, a resounding 8-2 turnaround.  A 17-10 victory over Independence in 1970 was Curtis' first playoff win, and the first state championship came on a 13-12 triumph over Notre Dame (Crowley) in 1975.  Curtis upset the no. 1-ranked team in the nation, Hoover (Ala.), 28-14, in the fourth game of the 2006 season.  Played at Hoover, the game was nationally televised.  Curtis moved up to #1 until the final poll, when its' #2 ranking was the school's highest finish in history to date.

The Family:  Rev. John Curtis, Sr., the school's founder, and his wife, Merle, had five children, all of whom work at the school today: J.T., his brother Leon, and his three sisters, Alicia, Kathy and Deborah.  J.T.'s wife, Lydia, sings the national anthem at the home games after the invocation by Larry Manguno, Merle's brother, who has been principal at the high school since 1964.   J.T. and Lydia have two sons, John Thomas Curtis  III, "Johnny," and Jeff, both members of the coaching staff. His oldest child, Joanna is married to Tommy Fabacher, a member of the 1987 JCCS graduating class who went on to start at defensive back at LSU.  They have two daughters:  Reaghan (13) and Rylee (10).  Johnny is married to JCCS volleyball coach Dawn Cabrera who is also a graduate of JCCS in 1991 and is the daughter of Lenny Cabrera who played football and graduated from JCCS in 1974.  They have three sons:  John Thomas Curtis IV "Jay." (12), Michael (9) and Jason (6).  Jay, helps the varsity football team as a team manager serving water and providing the kicking tees during the games.  Jeff Curtis is married to Toni Black, also an alumnus who graduated in 1995.  They have four children:  Anna (8),  Abbi (6), Jeffrey (4) and Avery (1).   Prior to the birth of the children, Toni served on the faculty as a first grade teacher. 

The Student-Athlete:  Curtis played at East Jefferson High School (in Metairie, LA) under Coach Bob Whitman, earning "All-State" honors as a 5-11, 210-pound offensive and defensive lineman.  He then played three years at the University of Arkansas, 1966, 1967, and 1968 under Coach Frank Broyles.  He finished his playing career at Louisiana College in Pineville, LA. In 1969.    He completed his bachelor's degree at Loyola University in 1975 and later earned a master's in education in 1988, also  from Loyola.

The Faith:  A deeply religious man all of his life, J.T. was ordained as a minister of the Gospel in June of 2011.   He has served as the pastor of Coliseum Place Baptist Church, which now meets on the high school campus, after the original church, located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, burned down following Hurricane Katrina.  The neatly painted sign on the fence, with arrows leading to the cafeteria, says "Curtis School on Sundays/10:30 a.m./School Cafeteria/Hear "God's Game Plan,"/With Coach J.T. Curtis/All Ages Invited."

The Educator:  Curtis has served as the Headmaster of the school since his father's passing in 2005, continuing the tradition of excellence in and out of the classroom.  While daily duties include all the business aspects in a private school setting, he also spends time counseling parents and students, encouraging and supporting the teaching staff, dealing with college coaches and recruiting, and fielding about 100 telephone calls a day regarding an assortment of issues.  Since Hurricanes Katrina and Gustav damaged two sets of buildings at the lower school, he has also had to be involved in the negotiation process with FEMA to secure funds to replace thse buildings.  Hundreds of hours of paperwork and meetings have been taken up making the replacement of these units possible.  Groundbreaking for the new facility occurred on September 13th.  It will  accommodate the administrative offices, cafeteria with full kitchen, state of the art library, and five (5) pre-school classrooms with private bathroom facilities on the first floor. The second floor of the building will have eight (8) spacious classrooms with  restrooms.   Projected completion date is summer of 2012.        

The stately dark mahogany trophy case just outside the door to J.T. Curtis' office is crammed with awards of all shapes and sizes, as expected.  None are from the State Championships or other sports achievements; instead, it contains three large marble pillars proclaiming "Prep Quiz Bowl," various awards from the Louisiana Mock Trial Tournament, a half-dozen trophies in the Math and Propaganda Divisions of the Louisiana Tournament of Champions, a plaque from the American Mathematics Competition, and 14 min replicas of Rodin's "The Thinker" in varying hues of gold, silver and bronze from the Academic Games Nationals.      

The Mentor:  Curtis has been featured in some of the most popular football clinics sponsored by the American Football Coaches Association, Glazier Clinics, and Nike Clinics.  Due to his responsibilities at the school and his church, in recent years he has been limited most often, however, to speak for college programs who have booked him on a contract basis to speak at the high school clinics they host for their area high school coaches. 

The Broadcaster:  Curtis is co-anchor of "Friday Night Football," a weekly show featuring highlights of high school football games in the area, aired on ABC-26 in New Orleans.  His sidekick and the originator of the show is ABC-26 Sports Director Ed Daniels.  The two have done the show together since the start, in 1992.  It quickly grew into one of the most popular shows featuring high school sports in the country. "Friday Night Football" starts at 11:05 p.m., and has J.T. frequently rushing from sidelines to set, sometimes meeting a satellite truck halfway from a road contest.   

The Motivator:  Curtis is in demand as a speaker to conventions, business meetings and community organizations.   He is an active 35-year member of one of the leading service clubs in the New Orleans area, Kenner North Kiwanis, and served as president of that organization in 1991.

The School:  John Curtis Christian School is a private, Christian, non-denominational school located in River Ridge, a suburb West of New Orleans.  Curtis takes pride in  its' history of success in academics as well as athletics, personified by the slogan, "Building Champions for Life."  The enrollment is fewer than 450 students in grades 9-12 and under 850 total in K-12.  Many of its' students are second and third generations from parents who attended Curtis.   All 62 graduates in the Class of 2011 continued their education in college.

Year Class (Record) Result, Site

1975 2A (12-1-1)  John Curtis 13, Notre Dame 12  Tad Gormley (City Park) Stadium

1977 2A (12-1)  John Curtis 45, Jonesboro-Hodge 0  Tulane Stadium

1979 2A (12-1)  John Curtis 28, Patterson 0  Louisiana Superdome

1980* 2A(15-0)  John Curtis 21, Jonesboro-Hodge 3  Superdome

1981* 2A (15-0)  John Curtis 21, E. D. White 17  Superdome

1983* 2A (14-0)  John Curtis 38, Belle Chasse 0  Superdome

1984* 2A (15-0)  John Curtis 23, Ferriday 7  Superdome

1985* 3A (13-0)  John Curtis 28, Wossman 0  Superdome

1987* 3A (13-1)  John Curtis 27, Amite 14  Superdome

1988* 3A  (12-1)  John Curtis 14, Washington-Marion 7  Superdome

1990* 3A (15-0)  John Curtis 42, Washington-Marion 13   Superdome

1993* 4A (14-0)  John Curtis 42, Wossman 14  Superdome

1996* 4A (14-0)  John Curtis 28, Crowley 7  Superdome

1997* 4A (13-1)  John Curtis 21, Eunice 6 Superdome

1998* 4A (13-0)  John Curtis 20, Eunice 7  Siperdome

1999* 4A (13-1)  John Curtis 16, Capitol 0  Superdome

2001* 4A (14-1)  John Curtis 30, Baker 0  Superdome

2002* 4A (14-1)  John Curtis 16, O.P. Walker 14  Superdome

2004* 4A (14-0)  John Curtis 29, Northside 14  Superdome

2005** 2A (10-1)  John Curtis 31, St. Charles Catholic 6   Shreveport

2006* 2A (14-0)  John Curtis 41, St. Charles Catholic 7  Superdome

2007* 2A (12-2)  John Curtis 28, St. James 13l  Superdome

2008* 2A (14-1)  John Curtis 35, Evangel 14  Superdome

*LHSAA Superdome Classic (now State Farm Prep Classic) played in Louisiana Superdome

**game moved to Independence Stadium, Shreveport, due to Hurricane Katrina

Note-Curtis played up in classification between 1985 and 2004 before a rule change by the LHSAA prohibited teams from playing in larger classifications.