By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

LAPLACE — St. Charles has stood up to the monster before. But this monster has a different face.

In 2005, 2006, and 2009, the Comets stood up to and faced a roadblock in Class 2A by the name of John Curtis, facing the Patriots in the finals twice and the semifinals. Each time, Curtis prevailed, ending the Comets’ championship dreams.

But if St. Charles is to see a potential rematch with the 23-time state champion Patriots, it must take down the team that beat Curtis a year ago for the 2A crown, defending state champion Evangel, who will host the Comets Friday night in a state semifinal game. The Eagles boast 12 state championships of their own.

St. Charles in the past has been geared, when trying to pull an upset of this magnitude, to stopping the powerful rushing attack of Curtis and the veer. Evangel is a different animal, a team that loves to spread the field with receivers out of the shotgun formation.

“Well, it’s one of those cases where you pick your poison,” said St. Charles coach Frank Monica. “It’s the same concept in terms of having to slow down a team of great players … but this is a team that executes so well in the passing game. There’s a good quarterback, and there always is in their system, and they stretch the field both vertically and horizontally. They make you defend the entire field.”

Evangel has been explosive as ever, only failing to top 30 points in one game, a 20-19 loss to Class 5A semifinalist St. Thomas More. The Eagles average 39.75 points a game, and have won each of its three playoff games by margins of 30, 41 and 41, including a 41-0 demolition of Loreauville in last week’s quarterfinal round. In their 10 wins, Evangel have outscored opponents 427-53. They mix and match formations like a college team, led by quarterback David Lee Duron and his virtual warchest full of weapons.

Monica said that to expect to completely shut Evangel down is folly — they’ll get their completions and yards. For their part, the Comet defense must put a cap on that production, though.

“You can’t give up the big play. Their athletes will get their catches, but we can’t give up the yards after the catch. And you have to limit the number of at-bats you give them by controlling the clock with your offense.

“But by the same token, their defense is strong.”

That defense is led by Jermauria Rasco, a game-changing defensive end that comes highly recruited.

“He’s one of the best in America. 270 pounds, runs a 4.6, and he’s unblockable. We don’t match up with him,” said Monica. “Somehow, we need to find a way to run the football.”

That task will fall upon the Comets offensive line and dynamic backfield duo of Marcus Hall and Lazedrick Thompson. The two combined for 222 yards and six touchdowns in St. Charles’ 42-28 win over Winnfield.

In that backfield, the bruising Thompson provides the thunder to Hall’s lightning. The shiftier of the two, Hall has been a big play waiting to happen all season.

He said that the offense understands how explosive Evangel is, and feels that they will have to have their most productive game of the season if SCC is to advance.

“We have to go out and win it,” said Hall. “We’ve gotta put up points and stick with them step for step. It’s about a state championship, so it means a lot.”

The Comets have a long trip up to Shreveport ahead of them. Monica said his team should be ready for the trip due to their road experiences this season — the Comets have collected a number of big road victories this season.

“What it comes down to is, you’d like to have them at home. But regardless, you’re up against a top football team,” said Monica. “You could play them in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and it’s a challenge regardless.”

Few expected St. Charles to get to this point when the season began. As Monica points out, many picked SCC, a team with precious few returning starters from a season ago, to finish fourth in District 9-2A.

Now, the Comets count themselves among the final four in the state.

Now that they’re here, the Comets aren’t satisfied. They want to keep surprising the masses.

A win Friday night, on the road, against a powerhouse like Evangel … it would do the trick.

“We’ve gotten to this point,” said Monica. “Now, we’d really like to finish this out.

“And like I told the Quarterback Club … if we’re in a position to play Curtis and Evangel back to back, then we should be in the BCS.”