John Curtis senior Jacobi Boudreaux ran for three touchdowns and sophomore quarterback London Padgett accounted for two more as the undefeated Patriots kept Brother Martin out of the end zone until late in the third quarter of a 38-24 victory Friday at Tad Gormley Stadium.

The Brother Martin offense scored two late touchdowns, and a fumble return for a touchdown by Brother Martin junior Luca Cantanzaro cut the Curtis lead to seven points with less than eight minutes to play.

Curtis took nearly six minutes off the clock with a touchdown drive that ended with Boudreaux’s 12-yard run to the end zone, and the Patriots sealed the win when freshman Jaden Turner intercepted a pass.

Boudreaux ran nine times for 116 yards, including a 59-yarder for his second rushing touchdown late in the first half as the Patriots beat Brother Martin for the sixth time in a row.

Boudreaux did not have many carries through the first three quarters but handled the rushing load on the final drive.

“We knew they were going to be trying to stop Jacobi, and rightly so,” Curtis coach J.T. Curtis said. “But when it gets down to it, we want to get the ball into his hands and you saw the result.”

Padgett ran for one touchdown and threw for another, both after halftime, to help keep Curtis (6-0, 4-0 District 9-5A) tied with Edna Karr atop the District 9-5A standings.

Senior Darryck Horton caught a 31-yard touchdown pass that put Curtis ahead 31-10 with just under 10 minutes to play before Brother Martin’s Brodie Dumontier caught a 34-yard touchdown pass and Cantanzaro returned the fumble from near midfield to the end zone on the next play from scrimmage.

“The scoop-and-score was critical, and really, you got to give them credit for being an alert team,” Curtis said. “We can’t afford to make that kind of error in that position on the field.”

Brother Martin quarterback Hudson Fields threw two touchdown passes, the first one to Rex Leblanc that made the score 24-10 late in the third quarter.

The Curtis secondary kept Brother Martin five-star wideout Easton Royal from making any game-breaking plays, limiting him to 42 yards on five catches.

Curtis had three interceptions on defense. Junior Prentice Mackyeon picked off two passes in the second quarter, and the Patriots scored 10 points off those takeaways.

“What we got to keep doing is we got to keep getting better,” Brother Martin coach Mark Bonis said. “We got to clean up some of those mistakes.”

Although Curtis won, Brother Martin (4-3, 1-3) scored first when the Crusaders took nearly seven minutes off the clock during a 13-play drive that ended with a field goal for a 3-0 lead late in the first quarter.

Curtis responded with a touchdown drive that included two conversions on third down, including a 28-yard pass to Boudreaux to get into Brother Martin territory.

Sophomore Isaac Hrabovsky ran 12 yards on a pitch to the right for another first down, and Boudreaux scored his first touchdown on a 5-yard run.

Curtis fumbled the next time it had the ball but quickly regained possession when Mackyeon intercepted a pass thrown directly to him. Sophomore Matias Hernandez kicked a 38-yard field goal.

Curtis regained possession with the second interception by Mackyeon, setting up Boudreaux for his long touchdown run.

Curtis next will play against Jesuit before taking on Karr in a game that could decide the district title. Brother Martin will face St. Augustine next week.