By Jeff Barrois

Special to L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Defending Class 3A  champion St. Charles Catholic put the St. James Wildcats away early in a 41-0 homecoming rout to clinch at least a share of the District 7-3A title, but if you ask Coach Frank Monica, you would hear a very different story.

“I think St. James played better in the first half than we did,” said Coach Monica after the game, “In order to be competitive in 3A we need to play at a higher level.”

After starting their offensive first drive on their own 48 after a St. James very short punt, the Comets put together a 48-yard drive capped off by a 9-yard Erron Lewis touchdown run to draw first blood.

The Comets’ next score came on a very interesting play. On a St James punt play from their own endzone, the St James punter punted the ball straight into the air and it did not clear the endzone. Senior running back Brandon Zimmer was there to fall on the ball for a touchdown. The extra point was blocked, and the Comets (6-2, 4-0) led 13-0.

After starting their next drive at the St. James 35, sophomore quarterback Austin Weber found paydirt via a 14-yard touchdown run to take a 20-0 lead.

Before the half, Weber engineered a two-play, 75-yard drive in the closing seconds make their lead 27.

Coming out of the half, the Comets received and proceeded to march down the field on a 5-play 62-yard drive that was finished off by a dazzling 23-yard run by junior running back Mario Young. The extra point pushed the SCC lead to 34.

A 6-yard touchdown by Brandon Zimmer, his second of the evening, rounded out the night’s scoring.

The Comets will prepare for a tough road matchup next Friday at E.D. White to close the regular season. A win would net St. Charles the outright 7-3A crown.

St. James was led by D’kwan Sandolph, who rushed for 64 yards and passed for 110.

Before the game, the Comets retired Jeremy Triche’s No. 53 jersey. Triche was one of the St. John the Baptist Parish sheriff’s deputies killed Aug. 16. He played center for SCC.