By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
Jess Curtis is bullish on the future of Natchitoches Central’s long-struggling football program.
But he won’t have a hand in it. Just 14 months after stunning the state’s prep football circles by departing the small school football powerhouse he built in his hometown of Many, Curtis told NCHS players Thursday he was leaving to take over the rising Southside High School program in rapidly-growing Youngsville, on the outskirts of Lafayette.
After developing Southside’s football team in its first seven seasons of the school’s existence, and leading the Sharks to a second-round playoff appearance last fall on the heels of a quarterfinal trip in 2022, Josh
Fontenot resigned to join the Lafayette Parish school system administrative staff, creating the coaching opening. A new football stadium at the school is planned soon, something that NCHS has craved for its campus.
For Curtis, recently divorced, the opening down south presented a life-changing opportunity.
“It’s been a year of transition, and I’m real serious with a woman down in that area,” he said. “That job came open, and that is an intriguing opportunity. Youngsville is exploding. That school’s probably going to be one of the biggest in the state.
“It was a tough deal telling these kids (at NCHS) today,” said Curtis. “They have given me everything. The administration, (principal) Micah (Coleman) and (athletic director) Dean (Johnson), they’ve given me everything. They’ve looked at me as their answer. But I’ve got to take care of me, too, and it’s the right move for me, at the right time. It is a new start in my life. I think I’ll be happy there.
“Natchitoches is going to move quick. There’s some good possibilities out there, and they’re going to get somebody good. The guys here have learned how to work and compete. We did some good things, and we were close to a few more wins, a point here and a couple points there,” said Curtis, whose
Chiefs finished 2-8 on the field, 3-7 officially after a postseason forfeit from Opelousas.
“It’s a good place, and there’s so much potential here. I hope they get somebody to dig in here, and the worm will turn. They have everything they need to succeed here. Everything. The kids, the people, the desire, the commitment.”
Coleman, a member of the LHSAA’s executive committee, was at a conference in south Louisiana. Natchitoches Parish schools superintendent Dr. Grant Eloi said Coleman and Johnson will run the search for the next NCHS coach, and said he will not be “deeply involved.”
“I would like to thank Coach Curtis for his time at NCHS and wish him the best on his next adventure,” said Eloi in a statement. “In his brief time at NCHS, Coach Curtis has brought an excitement and passion for Chief Football that had been missing from our community. The staff of NCHS and I appreciate
his contributions to our students and school.
“I look forward to the next chapter of Chief Football and finding the right coach, someone dedicated to Natchitoches and the Chiefs. Our student athletes deserve nothing less.”
It will be the third head coach in as many seasons for the school, which parted ways with third-year coach James Wilkerson after a 3-7 season in 2022 on the heels of a 7-4 campaign a year earlier, the school’s best record this century. Wilkerson was a key part of Calvary Baptist’s staff last fall as the Cavs won a state championship.
Curtis won three state titles while reaching state championship games six times in his last nine seasons at Class 2A Many. He was 142-32 (.816) in 13 seasons, winning 10 consecutive district titles and finishing as state finalists in 2013, 2019 and 2021 while winning the state title in 2014, 2020 and 2022.
His only Chiefs’ team narrowly missed District 1-5A wins at Benton, and at home in one-point losses to Haughton and Parkway. Just a couple of months after taking over at NCHS, Curtis interviewed for a high-profile vacancy at one of the state’s premiere prep programs, West Monroe, and was reportedly in the mix of two or three finalists.
NCHS football is poised for a breakthrough, said Supt. Eloi, who cited a preseason fundraising dinner and rally that drew about 800 people to the Natchitoches Events Center.
“You look at what’s going on at Central right now: softball’s winning again, baseball’s No. 1 in the state (power rankings), boys basketball just played for the state championship, girls basketball got to the quarterfinals,” he said. “Everything is on fire in a good way.
“The biggest thing for us is someone who wants to be committed to Natchitoches,” Eloi said, “who wants to lay roots here and develop something. We have the athletes. It’s been proven in all these other sports.
“I do think it’s more difficult to do it in football. I think it can be done here when we find the right person who fits the culture and is committed to Natchitoches,” said Eloi.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com