The football teams in St. John the Baptist Parish could not sweep the field in Week 7 of the 2023 high school season, but that’s only because two of the teams had to face each other. There were really no surprises, though – except perhaps for the lopsided scores. 

St. Charles Catholic and East St. John both remained undefeated with big wins while Riverside manhandled West St. John in a game that brought back memories of a once-storied rivalry. Through seven weeks of play, St. Charles, East St. John and Riverside are a combined 20-1.

East St. John scored all of its 42 points before halftime on the way to a 42-14 District 7-5A victory over winless Central Lafourche. Quarterback Kairan Smith had another big night, completing 9 of 17 passes for 283 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. Dkhai Joseph caught five of those passes for 170 yards and three touchdowns. Koyal Gray Jr. had two catches for 78 yards and one score. Jermaine Mangle had one catch for 19 yards and another touchdown.

The Wildcats rushing game was not as effective, finishing with minus-16 yards on the night. But it had no bearing on the outcome of the game. East St. John’s defense held the Trojans to 118 yards, nabbing three interceptions – one by Charles Rayfield, one by Bryan Warren and another by Jahyi Jones.

The Wildcats (7-0) will host Terrebonne (5-2, 2-1) Friday night in another district showdown before facing defending Class 5A state champion Destrehan next week.

St. Charles Catholic remained undefeated in Week 7 with a solid 43-15 non-district victory on the road in St. Martinville. The Comets were looking to avenge last year’s loss to the Tigers, which was their last loss. St. Charles has now won 14 straight.

The Tigers challenged SCC early and led 15-8 early in the second quarter, but the Comets rallied with an 84-yard kickoff return by Kaden Foster which tied the game at 15. After that, it was all St. Charles.

Quarterback Brady St. Pierre passed for 78 yards and two touchdowns, one to Brandon Kragle and one to Jackson Monica. He also ran for a score. Skylar Edwards led the ground game with 125 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 12 carries. Jeremiah Wills rushed for 90 yards.

The Comets (7-0) will play Martin Luther King Charter School (2-4) on Thursday night at Joe Brown Stadium.

There was a time when the annual matchup between Riverside Academy and West St. John was as big a rivalry as any other in the River Parishes, with standing-room-only crowds packed into the home stadium each year. On three different occasions, the Rebels and the Rams met twice in a season – once in the regular season and again in the playoffs. In 1998 they played for the Class 2A state championship.

Riverside took its second straight shutout victory over the Rams Friday night, 55-0. Quarterback Brock Bourgeois was 6 of 7 for 137 yards and four touchdowns, three of those to eighth grader Kenric “Boogie” Johnson. Mason Smith also had a 39-yard touchdown reception from Bourgeois. Dedric Lastie, the star of last week’s game against St. Martin’s, had another big night, rushing for 117 yards and four touchdowns. 

The Rebels (6-1) will travel to Morris Jeff Park (formerly Behrman Stadium) on Thursday to play Landry-Walker (1-5)  in a non-district contest.