By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

As district play rolls along, St. Charles appears to be gaining steam.

A week after downing Lutcher to pull into a third-place tie with the Bulldogs in District 9-3A, St. Charles took sole possession of the spot with a dominating 48-22 win over Brusly in a district game.

The Comets sit alone in third with a half-game lead after Lutcher fell to Port Allen for their fourth district loss last week.

Defense fueled this win for St. Charles, which held the Panthers (3-21, 0-6) to single digits in three quarters – including suffocating efforts in the first and fourth quarters, allowing only two points in each.

“It was one of the better defensive games we’ve played all year long,” said St. Charles Coach Jonathan Hernandez. “We concentrated on getting up and guarding, stopping penetration, and limiting them to one shot. We were able to.”

Vincent Rollo and Birch Matus scored 14 points each to lead the Comets (16-14, 3-3).

St. Charles wasted no time gaining control. It outscored Brusly 15-2 in the first quarter, and extended its lead to 32-13 at halftime.

From there, the Comets were able to finish the job, not only holding the lead in the second half, but extending it.

“We came out strong,” said Hernandez. “We went into the half and said that we wanted to make sure we finish the same way. Don’t stop, finish this game the right way.”

St. Charles did just that, and in the process augmented its strong defensive effort with an offensive showing that encouraged its coach.

“I thought we executed our best,” said Hernandez. “We set good, solid screens and took no possessions off. It’s how we were able to get a good win.”