By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

“So, we meet again …”

Division II semifinal opponents St. Charles Catholic and Parkview Baptist are no strangers to one another by any stretch. The two teams faced off in the Class 3A semifinals in 2011, St. Charles winning a dramatic 24-21 game at home on a late Patrick Juneau field goal, propelling the Comets to an eventual 9-8 state championship victory over Amite.

This time, Parkview Baptist hosts, with a trip to the Superdome on the line.

It’s a primetime matchup of programs that have built a strong gridiron tradition. Parkview Baptist is a perennial championship contender, having won the crown in 2001, 2007, 2010 and 2012. Parkview played in one of the toughest districts in the state, battling University Lab, West Feliciana and Port Allen for top honors (PKB tied the latter two teams for second place behind University).

St. Charles has one lone state championship, but has firmly established itself as a state power under the watch of coach Frank Monica. The Comets nearly upset nemesis Curtis —  the team that served as a roadblock to a few more potential state crowns — for the District 11-3A championship this season and have been consistently in the title hunt since 2005.

MaxPreps.com named both programs in their preseason Top 20 ranking of “Most dominant Louisiana football programs in the Maxpreps era,” entailing the last 10 years. Parkview Baptist was No. 7 with three state titles and five “Maxpreps Top 25 finishes;” SCC No. 15, with a state crown, two runner-up finishes and seven Maxpreps “Top 25” finishes.

Parkview Baptist (8-3) won in dominating fashion over Class 4A St. Michael last week, 49-20. It did so in its usual fashion: through a very physical, downhill attack.

Parkview Baptist amassed 449 yards, all of it coming via the run. Houston Robert carried 12 times for 136 yards and two touchdowns, while Nelson Smith ran for 110 yards on 15 carries. The Eagles defense held St. Michael to 14 plays for zero or negative yardage.

Against first-round opponent Lusher, Parkview rushed for 297 yards, led by Smith’s six carries for 80 yards.

Both teams appear to be playing their best football at this point. SCC came within a touchdown of downing Curtis in Week Six, and since has downed five foes, including De La Salle twice, by a combined 187-42 margin. SCC has shut out two straight opponents and allowed seven total points in the past three weeks. All but one of those wins came over playoff teams.

Parkview Baptist, meanwhile, has won four of its last five, its lone loss coming by one to West Feliciana and its four wins all by 27 points or more.