St. Charles Catholic capitalized on an impressive stretch of complementary football in the second quarter and a quartet of explosive runs to help build a three-score lead in its much-anticipated showdown at Riverside Academy.
And though the Rebels kept battling through the final buzzer, the Comets managed enough key plays — notably a stuffed two-point conversion and fourth-down stand — to help close out the 33-23 victory in the hard-fought River Parishes contest.
“We needed every point, obviously,” St. Charles Catholic coach Wayne Stein half-laughed in relief. “Disappointed I thought we kinda got on our heels a little bit instead of being hungry and really putting ’em away. And you knew they weren’t going anywhere. At least I did. And disappointed in the way we turned the ball over at the end to give ’em another possession. But can’t say enough about our defense chasing ’em around all night and making some plays.”
Senior quarterback Landree LeBlanc rushed for more than 100 yards, including touchdowns of 33 and 46 yards, and got the ball to freshman Caleb Alexander and senior Evan Duffour for 39- and 62-yard breakaway scores, respectively.
Freshman kicker Lathan Lagarde chipped in a 27-yard field goal early, and senior Blake Taravella hit from 42 just before halftime.
A slew of Comets stood out defensively, including seniors Byron Bailey‘s and Kayden Asevedo‘s disruptive efforts up front and senior linebacker Creed Marix spying dynamic Riverside Academy quarterback Kenric “Boogie” Johnson Jr. and flying around the field for stops.
Senior defensive back Drew Aucoin pounced on an early fumble, and senior linebacker Jireh Hall snatched a second-quarter interception. St. Charles converted each takeaway into a field goal.
Marix was among a host of defenders who stopped the Rebels on a potentially pivotal two-point play to hold the lead at 33-23.
And junior edge rusher Tyler Bovia, another disruptor throughout the evening got to Johnson to wrap up a fourth-down sack that finally extinguished the comeback threat.
This article will be further updated…
