LAPLACE — To hear opposing coaches detail it, the football teams at St. Charles Catholic and Riverside Academy represent some of the most talented and best coached squads in Louisiana.

Subsequently, the two St. John the Baptist Parish rivals are meeting for the state championship at 1:30 p.m. Friday in New Orleans.

Country Day head coach Joe Chango, whose Cajuns fell to Riverside 32-7 Oct. 28, said Rebels running back Jeremy Gibson is “obviously, a tremendous running back.”

“OK, so you say, ‘let’s commit to trying to take this guy away’ but Riverside is so talented at the receiver position and (quarterback Jordan) Loving does a good job of distributing the football,” Chango said. “It’s hard to take anything away, because they are good at doing so many things.”

West St. John High head coach Brandon Walters described Gibson as a beast, adding the Rebels pass the ball off their ability to run the ball so effectively.

Riverside defeated West St. John 49-15 Oct. 14.

Gibson averaged just under six yards a carry and more than 10 yards a reception as a dual threat out of the Rebels’ backfield, scoring 13 touchdowns during the regular season. His success has continued in the postseason.

Eliminating a team’s strength is important when facing anyone, but Walters joked, unfortunately for a lot of defenses, Riverside’s strengths have been passing and running.

“You have to pick your poison with them and be in the right spots,” he said. “They are extremely loaded in all spots, so it is definitely a tall task to contend with a team that way.”

Walters suggested the only way to slow the Rebels was forcing them into obvious passing situations.

“You can get kids in high school to make mistakes throwing the ball with a wrong read or get someone else to make a better play with an interception or something,” he said.

Defensively, the Rebels offer another set of challenges, evidenced by the fact they have not allowed an opponent to score more than 17 points in the playoffs.

Chango said his Country Day squad didn’t face a better defensive line this season than the one Riverside routinely uses to control the line of scrimmage. He credits coach Bill Stubbs and defensive coordinator Chris Lachney with incorporating strong game plans each week.

“When you have that quality with the guys with their hands in the ground, it allows your second level defenders to be more active with the blitz game or, what hurt us more, being in pass coverage and getting underneath so many of our routes,” Chango said.

“Their defensive line does a little bit of everything. They are big, fast and strong, they get off and with great technique and do good things moving guys around. It’s a little bit of everything that makes them as good as what they are.”

Across the field, St. Charles Catholic offers just as much to cause indigestion for opposing coaches.

Walters said the Comets hold the ball like few others, methodically running the ball between the tackles “again and again and again.”

“They look for mistakes you may make in certain areas and try to attack them,” he said. “When you make mistakes, such as turnovers, don’t execute or score the ball to match point for point with them, then you will have trouble.”

Quarterback Lloyd Nash, a dangerous passing and running threat, along with running back Narquez Jones accounted for 23 touchdowns during the regular season.

“They find a bunch of ways to run and block your face, make first downs and, maybe, catch you sleeping here and there,” Chango said. “They are like a machine. They don’t make a lot of mistakes. They don’t commit a lot of penalties. If you don’t have to play them, you don’t want to play them. The staff is meticulous; they go over everything. They are as well coached a football team as you are going to see. You would rather not line up against them if you don’t have to.”

Dellary Oubre and Wesley Melancon help lead a Comets defense that has given up only 16 points total during the entire 2016 postseason.

Chango, a former offensive line coach under SCC head coach Frank Monica, said opponents could count on St. Charles Catholic getting better every week.

SCC defeated Country Day 33-0 on Nov. 4.

Walters said the Comets’ ground-and-pound offense allows their defense to take advantage of mistakes.

“They pride themselves on clock management and trying to keep the ball from out of your hands,” he said. “That has been my experience with them.”

SCC topped the Rams 21-0 on Oct. 27.