RESERVE — The first two weeks of the season could not have gone any more different for the St. Charles Catholic Comets and the East St. John Wildcats.

The Comets have racked up a 67-0 point differential in the first two weeks, with shutouts over Thibodaux and Thomas Jefferson on the road. In contrast, the Wildcats have given up 68 points while only scoring 14 in their first two games. One thing the teams do have in common is both are hosting their home openers Friday.

St. Charles Catholic vs. Vandebilt Catholic

When the Comets (2-0) take the field in LaPlace for the first time this season Friday, it will be against the (0-2) Vandebilt Catholic Fightin’ Terriers.

Vandebilt is a 4A team, while St. Charles Catholic is 2A, but the Fightin’ Terriers are not the first larger opponent the Comets have taken on this year. In week 1, St. Charles Catholic bested 5A Thibodaux 31-0.

The Comets have relied on a strong running game for their success thus far. In the first two weeks, the Comets running backs have combined for 7 rushing touchdowns.

St. Charles Catholic head coach Frank Monica said the Terriers have a number of good players on their defensive line, which may slow down the run game this week.

“They are really physical in the interior,” Monica said. “It is going to be hard to get a lot of yardage on the ground inside, because they are well coached and well drilled. They have a good scheme on defense.”

A stiff run defense may give Comets quarterback Patrick Ratliff a chance to try out the passing game. Ratliff has been sidelined since week 1 with an injury but is expected to play against Vandebilt Catholic.

“They are a very physical football team in terms of their power and strength, and you can tell it is there,” Monica said. “That is why we are going to have to attempt the stretch the field vertically and horizontally against them. I don’t think we’ll be able to get much inside.”

Monica said it may take his team some time to get into a rhythm.

“You throw everything at them and then you go back and start to find all the things that will work in a game plan,” Monica said. “All of those little things that come up in the course of a game that can hurt you, we try to cover those.”

Monica said the problem with going up against a winless team is they are looking to prove themselves.

“The worst part about that is they are hungry for a win,” Monica said. “They’ve lost two games against 5A competitors so they are a really hungry football team.”

Vandebilt Catholic narrowly lost last week in overtime to Central Lafourche.

Monica said that is why he tells his player to focus on playing their best game possible rather than the opponent in front of them.

“You don’t look at the jersey and what is written on it,” Monica said. “You worry about yourself, and I think that is the most important thing our football team has to do. We are battling ourselves and playing ourselves every week.”

The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at St. Charles Catholic.

East St. John vs. Madison Preparatory Academy

The East St. John Wildcats (0-2) are in need of a win and hope to pick up their first of the season against the undefeated Madison Prep Chargers (2-0).

The Wildcats, a solid 5A team, are the larger of the two teams. Madison Prep went up in class this year to 2A from 1A, where they finished as semi-finalists in 2014. East St. John is the largest school Madison Prep faces this year, but in week 1 the Chargers beat the second largest school on their schedule in Livonia, a 4A team.

“We are going to have our hands full,” East St. John head coach Alden Foster said. “They may be a 2A school, but they are a 2A school that can play. The can go out and get it. You’ve got to throw everything out the window when it comes to facing a team like this.”

Foster said the Chargers are loaded with talent.

“They’ve got some big time athletes and they are coming into play. We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Foster said. “They are one of the best, if not the best team we’ve faced all year on both ends of the football.”

The Wildcats are coming off of a 30-0 shutout loss to John Ehret, in which they were hard pressed to get a first down.

“We’ve just got to get back to basic fundamental football,” Foster said.  “Last week we stunk it up real bad because we couldn’t just get anything established offensively. The main thing is just getting these kids to learn our system.”

Last week, the Wildcats offense struggles put a lot of pressure on his defense and led to the lopsided score.

“We played good enough defense to win the football game, but offensively we kept on giving the team a chance,” Foster said.

The quarterback position in particular has been an area of concern for the Wildcats. Starter Alvin Jackson was injured in week 1. Against John Ehret, wide receiver Da’Monte Coxie, an LSU commit, got the bulk of the snaps under center, splitting time with sophomore Adarius Duhe.

This week Foster said he is ready to hand the job over to Duhe.

“We’ll go more with Duhe because of the matchup problems Coxie causes on the outside and moving him around to different places,” Foster said. “That is going to be huge.”

The wide receiver position features the most talented group on the team with Coxie being joined by C.J. Turner, Arlandrain Martin and A.J. Long.

“It is just having a trigger man to run the whole thing,” Foster said.

With the return of Dontrell Allen, a Mississippi State recruit, who figures to see a lot of time at the tailback position, Foster said the dynamics of the Wildcats offense may change.

“That will open up plenty more things,” Foster said. “The key to the offense is being able to run the football.”

The Wildcats will have to contend with a stiff Chargers defense led by defensive end Malcolm Roach, who is being recruited by several college programs.

“They are big and athletic and they have a few Division I athletes on their defense,” Foster said. “They are a real force. They are going to come at you, and they are going to blitz.”

The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Joe Keller Stadium in Reserve.