By RYAN ARENA

St. Charles had momentum in their favor with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The Comets had just recovered an Evangel fumble on the heels of a drive that saw SCC quarterback Donnie Savoie dial up Jeffrey Hall for a 70-yard touchdown pass. SCC had hit on a two-point play, trailed 17-15, and now had the ball.

But dreams of an upset were dashed in a flash.

Evangel intercepted Savoie on a third down play and returned it for a touchdown, and Evangel would force a punt and score again to put things out of reach in a 35-15 win in a Class 2A semifinal game.

Evangel (11-2) will rematch with John Curtis next weekend in the state championship game at the Superdome. It is the third straight year the two schools have met in the title game, with Curtis winning the first and Evangel winning last season.

The Comets have lost just four games in the last two seasons, all to Curtis or Evangel.

St. Charles (12-2) came out early and made a move, showing no fear of the Evangel tradition. Despite an early Evangel interception of Savoie, the Comet defense forced a fumble in the first quarter and Macky Cortez picked it up, returning it over 60 yards for an apparent touchdown..

The return — but not the fumble — was called back and SCC picked up on the Evangel 35. Savoie came up big for his team, finding John Wood on a fourth down conversion of five yards, then just evading a pass rush to loft a 12-yard touchdown pass to Hall, making it 7-0 in favor of SCC.

Evangel fired right back on its next drive, motoring down the field and capping things with a big play, a 25-yard score on a go-route from David Dee Duron to Judah Jones , tying the game.

St. Charles drove to midfield on its next possession, but Evangel seized the momentum but snatching an interception and starting another drive at its own 40. It capped things off with a 15-yard Duron pass to Judah Jones to make it 14-7.

Again, SCC would drive to midfield, this time behind Marcus Hall and a Wildcat heavy attack. But again, an interception doomed the Comets as Savoie was picked off and Evangel returned inside the Comet 20. The SCC defense held firm and Gerald Shouse’s 31-yard field goal made it 17-7 at halftime.

St. Charles got another turnover of its own at the 7:18 mark of the third quarter, recovering an Evangel fumble and driving to the Eagle 25. But a Comet field goal attempt came up short.

But after holding Evangel, St. Charles took another step toward a big upset, when Savoie threw a rainbow to Jeffrey Hall for a 70-yard score. Lazedrick Thompson’s 2-point run made it 17-15. An Evangel attempt to slam the door went awry after a seven play drive ended in a SCC fumble recovery, giving the Comets a chance to drive and take the lead.

It wasn’t to be. Dwight Gatlin intercepted Savoie on third-and-four and took it 35 yards to pay dirt. The Comets blocked the extra point, giving SCC life even as time ticked down.

Evangel landed the knockout blow soon, however. It held SCC, forcing a punt. Evangel mixed things up with draws and screens. A draw to Dewitt Jones picked up 14 yards. A pass from Duron to Hayden Jennings picked up 13, bringing the ball to the SCC 10. Another delayed handoff to Jones nailed down a touchdown for Evangel. The Eagles would add one more score in the waning moments of the game on a X’zavier Preston fumble recovery to round out the score.

SCC turned the ball over five times on the night.