Karr vs. Curtis: ‘High School Heavyweights’ on Friday night

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — November 4 will see a game of high school heavyweights face off at Tulane’s Yulman stadium.

On the final Friday of the regular season, Edna Karr and John Curtis play for the District 9-5A championship. It is a most anticipated matchup – until, perhaps, they meet again in the playoffs . . . or the championship.

Karr has steamrolled through the Catholic League, winning five games by a combined score of 211 to 52. The Cougars would be undefeated, but they were forced to forfeit three games due to an ineligible player. They are currently seeded 13th.

Curtis head coach JT Curtis said that ruling isn’t fair to Karr or the teams that could play them, early in the playoffs.

“When you make a fairly minor mistake that cost you, then a lot of other teams have been hurt,” Curtis told WGNO Sports Director Ed Daniels.

Karr is battling a flu bug. Head coach Brice Brown said as many as six starters have it, and he’s not sure if they can or cannot play Friday night.

Brown doesn’t seem fazed.

“Guys are wearing masks in school, and we are taking extra precautions, and we will see how it works out,” he told Daniels Tuesday.

The Cougars may not be one of eight teams to get a first-round bye in the Division 1 Select Playoffs.

“If I were to choose, I would play week one just because that is what we are accustomed to playing all the weeks in 4A leading to the championship,” the Karr head coach said.

Brown said he’s not aware of the hype surrounding Friday night’s game, one of the top, if not the top, games in the state that night.

“Brice might be pulling your leg a little bit,” Curtis said. “We’ll see when we show up to the game. Here’s what I told the kids. We are all striving for the same thing. I don’t care where you are next week, we are all at zeroes.”

The contest is set for 7 p.m, and unless you have a son playing in another game that night, you may want to pencil in this one.