John Curtis star only thinking about playoffs

P.J. Smith out of River Ridge (La.) John Curtis has the confidence of a player who has won a lot of football games. Coming into the 2007 season, his team was riding a 24-game winning streak and back-to-back state championships. This fall, after two losses in the regular season, Smith is helping his team gear up for another 2A state championship run.

Speaking before a win over Westminster Christian, Smith felt confidant about the outcome.

"We play Westminster this weekend," Smith said on Thursday night. "We should come out on top. I think it should be a blowout if we play the way we're supposed to."

On cue, the following night John Curtis went out and took care of business securing a 42-6 win (Smith added an interception) and a third round playoff matchup against a 10-2 St. John's team. Smith knows that even in the two losses that his teammates can be as good as they want to be.

"The two games we lost, we didn't execute at all," he said. "We got a lot of stupid penalties and missed assignments."

Smith has had a solid senior campaign but has been bothered by some injuries.

"I'm playing pretty good," he said. "I could play better. I've got a lot more tackles more than anything. It's hard to get a pick because no one will throw at my side. I've been playing receiver but I'm chilling right now at it because I have a shoulder injury and they want me to relax."

With scholarship offers from programs such as Alabama, Arkansas, Florida and LSU, Smith has a lot of options to weight in his recruitment but he is not ready to address any of them until after the season.

"I'm just going to wait until after the season," he said. "I'm just going to try to keep it out of my mind right now. The only thing I'm focused on is thinking about my schoolwork. After the championship, that Monday I'm going to sit down with my coach and my parents and start to figure out where I want to visit."