Are these games choreographed?

It only seems that way at this point after the third consecutive classic Jamboree contest between East St. John and St. Charles, this one a thriller that again came down to the last possession.

The road team has won all three games in this series, as ESJ halted the Comets’ attempt to win three jamborees in a row over the Wildcats, holding off a Comets comeback in the final seconds to capture a 20-14 victory.

Each of these contests left fans with a memorable play to define it, and this one was no different. East St. John’s Clarence Scott ran down St. Charles running back Lazedrick Thompson, who had broken away for an apparent 80-yard scoring run and the go-ahead touchdown to put SCC ahead 21-20 in the second half.

But Scott ran Thompson down, brought him down and forced a fumble right before Thompson could cross the goalline. East St. John recovered the fumble in the endzone.

The Wildcats’ defense would have to hold firm on two more occasions, and it did so in bend-but-don’t-break fashion, halting Comet drives into ESJ territory at the Wildcat 25 and, as time expired, at the SCC 18.

Darion Monroe passed for two touchdowns, both to Rashad Green — their 54-yard connection deep along the sideline proved to be the decisive points.

Jalen Kenner also got his first start at tailback for ESJ and ran hard and effectively, scoring the game’s first touchdown with 11:52 left in the first half.

The Wildcats led 13-0 at halftime.

St. Charles took a 14-13 lead in the second half on the back of two Marcus Hall scores; one a 5-yard rushing touchdown from the “Wildcat” — or “Comet” – formation, the second on a 48-yard return score.

Jeffrey Hall’s interception with 1:56 left at the Comets’ 24 gave SCC a final chance, but a frantic two minute drill stalled inside the ESJ 20 as ESJ’s defense flushed quarterback Donnie Savoie from the pocket and forced him into an incompletion.

RIVERSIDE 8, WEST ST. JOHN 0 – Neither the victorious nor the losing coach were thrilled with the results — at least offensively — of the Rebels’ jamboree victory over West St. John.

Riverside coach Mickey Roussel and West St. John coach Robert Valdez each couldn’t quibble much with their team’s defensive performance; each was quite suffocating.

But offensively, penalties, turnovers and bad exchanges proved stumbling blocks for each offense on their way to points.

Riverside’s C.J. Edler drilled two field goals, and Riverside recorded a safety after West St. John’s Justin Bethancourt was ruled down at the one after intercepting Jade Falgoust early in the second half.

Rebels’ linebacker Grady Gieger made what would be the game-saving play, intercepting Austin Howard after jumping a route in the middle of the field with 2:46 left in the game. The Rebels would run the clock out from there. That play followed a 37-yard completion from Howard to Moll that put WSJ at midfield.

Defensively, a veteran-heavy Rebels defensive club held a team with some explosive offensive players to no points; meanwhile, Valdez could take solace in a strong defensive performance that came without a handful of starters, including linebacker Ronnie Feist, the team’s returning defensive M.V.P.

For more info on these games, see the Wednesday edition of L’Observateur. For results and coverage of Thursday night’s jamboree at Destrehan, see today’s edition.