By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

LAPLACE — Due to the impending threat of Tropical Storm Issac, the status of Friday night’s opening week prep football slate was up in the air as of press time this week. The week’s lone Thursday game, Jesuit at Hahnville, has already been cancelled.

But if the other games go on as planned, local football fans should be in for a treat. The Week One schedule is not lacking for intrigue.

For the first time ever, St. Charles Catholic will open its season as defending state champion. The Comets get to do so at home in front of the SCC faithful as it hosts Tate, which is scheduled to make the road trip to LaPlace from its home in Cantonment, Fla.

St. Charles was the traveling team last season as it defeated Tate last season, 42-0, in Cantonment.

But that Comets team had a number of different faces, particularly offensively where SCC is breaking in essentially an entirely new cast of skill position players. That includes quarterback, where the Comets have been rotating Austin Weber and Jemal Baptiste.

“Both of them showed that they can do some things tonight,” said Monica after SCC’s jamboree contest with East St. John Friday. “Austin always offers that threat to run. And with Jemel, you can see the ability. But he needs to get more snaps under his belt.”

Tate is the equivalent to a Class 5A team in Louisiana, and represents the same power point gain for St. Charles in a victory.

At West St. John, meanwhile, an old River Parish rivalry is back on as the Rams host St. James.

WSJ hopes to kick start a Superdome return trip this season with a win, while the Wildcats look to avenge a dramatic loss to the Rams in last season’s opener and begin erasing the sting of a winless 2011 campaign.

West St. John has defeated St. James in three consecutive seasons. Last season’s game went to overtime after the Rams’ Jarius Moll headed off a potential Wildcats’ clinching score with a strip and fumble recovery at the Ram goalline, setting up an improbable comeback on a rainy Friday night.

Riverside will officially begin the Bill Stubbs era, as the three-time state champion head coach will coach his first game after 10 years away from the sideline. The Rebels are slated to host Loranger, who went 10-2 and earned the third seed in last season’s Class 3A playoffs.

Loranger hosted and defeated Riverside in a 7-2 game in last season’s opener, one that left a bad taste in the Rebels’ mouths after an apparent game-winning touchdown pass from RA’s Tate Scioneaux to Nate Williams was negated by a penalty.

Stubbs brings a record of 143-40 to the sideline as he succeeds longtime coach Mickey Roussel.

The night’s best matchup might be played at Joe Keller Memorial Stadium as East St. John plays host to a huge test in Carencro, last season’s Class 5A runner-up.

Carencro is ranked seventh in the Class 5A preseason poll, while ESJ is ninth.

East St. John’s has been a highlight of the preseason, with Darren Williams, Fred Williams and Ahmani Martin among those making impact plays.

Lutcher and Dutchtown is another matchup of top 10 ranked teams, the Bulldogs breaking in their brand new turf field against a stout foe at the Dog Yard.

The Bulldogs again look to contend behind quarterback Ruston Matherne and a bevy of talented scoring threats.

Destrehan will welcome back coach Stephen Robicheaux, a two-time state championship coach, as the Wildcats look to go on the road to defeat South Lafourche.

Destrehan has gone 5-15 in Robicheaux’s absence.

From 2007 to 2009, he guided them on a 30-game win streak and two 5A titles.  

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