The562’s football coverage for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Long Beach Poly alums Wendell “WoWo” Moe, Jr. & Tyson Ruffins.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
Amid the flashy wins and social media chatter, the Raudric Curtis era for Wilson football has been built on aggressiveness and competitiveness—and it’s those two traits that led the Bruins to an undefeated Moore League title. And if Wilson was going to go out in the CIF-SS playoffs, they’d die on that hill.
The Bruins stayed true to those principles during their CIF-SS Division 4 opener against Paraclete on Friday—an all-time, high-scoring playoff classic. The game drifted into overtime after regulation ended tied, where the Bruins came up just a couple of plays short in a 54-48 loss.
“I want us to battle and have a brand of competitiveness to the core, no matter who we’re playing,” Curtis said. “They had a couple of plays at the end that could’ve easily gone our way, and that’s football, that’s life. This team died on that hill of being one that doesn’t go away, and they made one more play than we did.”
Paraclete held multiple two-score leads throughout the game, but it was otherwise a toe-to-toe matchup with both teams trading scores. It was 48-48 after regulation, and Wilson came up empty to open overtime with incompletions on third and fourth down. Paraclete scored three plays later, as Joseph Mesa found Savaughn Gentle for a 28-yard game-winning touchdown.
“We were going to be aggressive and go for the touchdown,” Curtis said of the overtime drive. “We took our shot to get them sucked up, the play was there, but we didn’t connect. That’s how it falls sometimes.”
The Bruins leaned on an aggressive rushing attack led by senior Kori Scott, who ran for 171 yards and three touchdowns. Jemel Grigsby added two more scores, while senior quarterback Mack Cooper went 12/20 for 183 yards and two touchdowns through the air.
Paraclete quarterback Joseph Mesa put on a show of his own, throwing for 442 yards and six touchdowns. Kyle Fulton Jr. rushed for over 100 yards and a score, while Adrian Jones hauled in nine passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns. Savaughn Gentle added 114 yards on five catches, three of which also went for touchdowns.
The Spirits set the tone early with scores on their first two drives, both coming off Mesa’s arm. He opened the scoring with a 33-yard strike to Jeffrey Patino, then found Adrian Jones for another touchdown on the next possession to give Paraclete a 12-0.
Wilson answered on its next possession with a quick two-play drive, capped by a 41-yard touchdown pass from Mack Cooper to Thomas Jones. Jones finished with six catches for 86 yards and a score.
The teams traded blows for the rest of the half, combining to score on all seven remaining drives. Mesa connected with Savaughn Gentle for a 24-yard touchdown on Paraclete’s next series, before Cooper hit Kyle Harris on a 28-yard screen pass that went the distance.
Paraclete countered again, as Mesa found Adrian Jones on a fourth-down strike to the right side of the end zone. Wilson responded with a steady ground-drive ending in a one-yard plunge by Jemel Grigsby. The Spirits tacked on another score late in the half on a run from Kyle Fulton Jr., pushing their lead to two possessions.
Wilson struck once more before halftime on another Kori Scott touchdown run, cutting the deficit back to one score. But Paraclete had time for one last burst, as Mesa completed two quick passes in the final 18 seconds, including a 46-yard Hail Mary to Gentle. The score sent the Spirits into halftime with a 41–27 lead.
Wilson settled in defensively in the second half, allowing just one touchdown over the final 24 minutes. Offensively, the Bruins clawed back with scores on two drives to even the game, starting with another Kori Scott touchdown, followed by Jemel Grigsby’s second rushing score. Brooklyn Vega hauled in a tough catch on the two-point conversion to tie it at 41–41.
Paraclete broke the deadlock on its next series, marching down on a four-play drive capped by the third touchdown connection between Mesa and Adrian Jones. But Wilson answered again before the end of regulation, as Scott found the end zone once more to tie things up heading into overtime.
Paraclete will continue its playoff run at home next Friday when it hosts Oaks Christian in the second round.
