John Curtis Christian needs no introduction.

The Patriots have 26 state titles and a national championship banner that calls their gymnasium home.

For many, including Dallas private school Bishop Lynch, John Curtis represents the gold standard. On Thursday night, the Friars will get their shot at one of the titans of the sport.

“We are really humbled and honored to have the opportunity,” said Bishop Lynch head coach Chuck Faucette. “For three years, we’ve been trying to get that type of respect. We wanted an opportunity play in these kickoff classics and get that big range of exposure that comes with that. John Curtis has been on that stage for years and years. We know the tradition there. We, on the other hand, are a team that’s trying to get to that status right now.”

Since Faucette’s arrival at Bishop Lynch, a school not necessarily known for its exploits on the gridiron has exploded to the heights of Texas’ private school association, winning a state title in 2016 and going undefeated before a semifinal loss to St. Pius X last season.

An influx of elite prospects is not the reason why. The Friars rarely feature blue chip recruits and the past two seasons have been no exception. Instead, Faucette has established a winning, workmanship-like culture, strengthening the would-be weak links in the chain.

“We have a blue collar mentality,” Faucette said. “We’ve never really had a bunch of elite players. We’re more of a lunch bucket, blue-collar team that wants to be tougher than everybody else. We might not be as talented as other teams, but we want to be the toughest team out there.”

Tough and disciplined as the Friars may be, their cupboard is far from barren this season.

Talent-wise, on this year’s football team, we have what is probably the most talented team I’ve ever had as a high school football coach,” Faucette said.

Now it’s time for that talent, hard work and preparation to bear fruit for a program that has been working towards this stage and this opportunity since Faucette was hired to lead it more than two years ago.

“We’re just grateful for the opportunity—coming on the shoulders of these last two years and the success and hard work of these last two groups of seniors—to get to the opportunity that we have before us, to play in a game like this,” Faucette said. “We know how much respect that (John Curtis) deserves. We just want the opportunity to go out there and play with a team like that and show what we can do.

“We want to be in the conversation with teams like that—the John Curtis, the De La Salle, the Bishop Gorman. We’ve not had the opportunity to be on a stage like this in the past, so we’re just grateful for the opportunity.”

As for what folks can expect to see from Bishop Lynch when it takes the field at the Independence Bowl? Faucette doesn’t mince words.

“They’re going to see a very disciplined football team that is a very hard-nosed, tough team, flying around,” he said. "There’s going to be some guys that get noticed in this national spotlight that weren’t noticed before. There’s going to be some people saying, ‘Holy mackerel who is this private team from Dallas, Texas? I’ve never heard of Bishop Lynch before.' 

“We respect John Curtis but we’re coming out to win a football game. It’s all business for us.”