By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

LAPLACE — A winning streak, a huge point differential and a suffocating defense have been links between the 2012 St. Charles Comets and the 2011, state championship addition.

Last week, the Comets added another similarity: the ability to overcome key injuries to win an important game.

St. Charles’ 31-19 win over Brusly put the Comets in the driver’s seat in District 7-3A, leaving the defending 3A champs alone in first place. They not only had to overcome a potent Brusly team that entered the game ranked seventh in the state, but also injuries to nose tackle Taylor Cochran and quarterback Jemal Baptiste.

St. Charles was able to overcome the loss of Baptiste through the play of sophomore Austin Weber, who usually splits time with Baptiste anyway. But Weber shook off an early interception that was returned for a score to complete 4-of 7-passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 67 yards and another score.

The injury to Cochran, though, could not be plugged by any single player; the mammoth 6-foot-3, 300 pound lineman broke out last season and was a consistent force again this year, drawing double teams and creating a roadblock for teams seeking to run up the middle. Cochran injured his knee in SCC’s Week 7 win over Port Allen.

“It’s very simple. Like we told the kids back in camp, the 22 that begin the year as starters may not be the 22 who end the year there. I’m not sure we’ve ever had that. We’ve sustained some key injuries over the years,” said St. Charles coach Frank Monica, noting most recently the losses of both lead tailbacks prior to last season’s postseason, Marcus Hall and Lazedrick Thompson.

“It’s always been somebody. But it’s part of football. You don’t want anything like that to happen to a young man. But when it does, the next in line needs to be ready.”

Monica said that Baptiste will likely return Friday, but that Cochran will probably miss “another week or two.”

While the Comets are surging, winners of five straight, their opponent Friday night is still looking for answers.

St. James and St. Charles are familiar foes; the teams were district rivals for years while in Class 2A.

The Wildcats are struggling for the second consecutive season, having lost seven straight games to begin 2012.  

Monica noted, however, that St. James has stood toe to toe with some stout teams this season behind a strong defense, at times only fading late in games when fatigue takes hold.

“They’ve got some talented young players who are still playing hard,” said Monica. “They’ve struggled when it comes to the numbers factor, guys playing both ways and wearing down. Last week (against E.D. White) was a one-score game before a turnover just before the half.

“We’re not in a position to take anyone lightly. The win over Brusly was a big one, but we set a goal to be district champion. If we want to do that, we’ve got to win the next two.”

Monica stressed that the Comets must make some strides in the passing game. SCC has limited its pass attempts over the last month, as Monica has stressed better decision making and execution if the team is to open things up.

It could be a challenge against the Wildcats, who Monica said boasts a talented back seven.

“They’ve got an outstanding middle linebacker (Seth Keller), he said. “Their secondary is outstanding as well. There are some matchups that aren’t good for us, so we’ll have to find different ways to move the football.”