Carroll had just scored a touchdown on a fourth-and-5 pass from Michael Escobar to Colin Fleisher with 53 seconds left in the game. But Curtis, a Chaminade-Julienne junior defensive back, dived past the Carroll line and blocked the extra-point attempt, giving the Eagles a 14-13 win over their cross-town and conference rival.

"They were going to put the game into overtime or extend it," Eagles coach Andy Helms said. "Obviously, that was huge."

Big special-teams play keyed C-J in the second half. The Eagles' onside kick to start the third quarter gave them possession.

Kurt Hess then connected with Dedrick Goddard for a 44-yard pass. The play set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Hess that gave C-J a 14-7 lead.

"It was a complete win with what we did with special teams tonight," Helms said.

The Eagles also did damage to themselves with special teams.

A bad snap on a punt set up Carroll's first score. Andy Heck watched the ball sail off the top of his hands, which allowed Carroll to recover deep in C-J territory. Escobar powered into the end zone several plays later on a 10-yard touchdown run.

But the Eagles fired back quickly. On third-and-13, Hess found Laron Brown streaking down the field for an 83-yard touchdown pass. The play tied the game.

Hess was 10-for-17 for 218 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

With Carroll bottling up running back Ahmad Mack, Hess began tossing the ball to Goddard on screens.

Goddard finished with six receptions for 111 yards and one touchdown.

The loss was tough for the Patriots.

"We asked the players on Monday, when we knew we were out of the playoffs, to still keep playing with heart," Carroll coach Steve Bartlett said. "There's no doubt that they did."