By GEORGE MAHL

LUTCHER- At times it was not pretty.

It seemed like St. Charles Catholic High School was playing Lutcher High School in the first game of the season and not the last. However, all that mattered was SCC picked a key district win and claimed third place in district 10-3A with a 16-6 defeat of Lutcher Friday night.

The game was filled with penalties throughout the game, but was not enough to disrupt the SCC Comets’ sturdy defense.

“I thought our defense tonight was resilient. They showed a lot of heart and did not break,” said SCC head coach Frank Monica.

Trailing 16-6 in the final four minutes, the LHS Bulldogs mounted a comeback that took them down to the Comets four yard line. However, on third and goal, Lutcher quarterback Bryce Matherne was picked off by Jeremiah Johnson in the endzone to stop the drive and seal the victory.

“We just couldn’t finish off drives tonight. That is a credit to how well their defense played tonight,” said Bulldogs head coach Tim Detillier.

After Lutcher could not get anything started on their first possession, St. Charles Catholic marched the ball down to the LHS 29-yard line only to see quarterback Jeremy Catoire throw an interception to Derrius Jackson on third down.

In the second quarter, running back Tyrell Fenroy scored from three yards out to give the Comets an early 7-0 lead. Fenroy finished the game with eight carries for 71 yards and two touchdowns. The Comets finished with 177 rushing yards total.

“Our offensive line stepped up tonight. They knew they had to because they played against a good football team,” Monica said.

After Lutcher punted, St. Charles Catholic marched down the field and kicker Ben Sellers nailed a 35-yard field goal to put the Comets up by 10 with about three minutes left in the half. With 42 seconds left before halftime, LHS was able to put points on the scoreboard.

An 18 yard touchdown pass from Matherne to tight-end Michael Dicharry made the score 10-6. Although it appeared the ball was out of Dicharry’s hands before he came down, it was still ruled a touchdown.

The start of the fourth quarter saw the Comets start off at their own five. However, 15 plays and 7:48 later, the score became 16-6.

The key play on the drive was a third down conversion by SCC quarterback Jeremy Catoire. The junior QB connected with Chase Grob on a crucial 28-yard pass play.

On fourth and goal from the LHS six, Fenroy scored his second touchdown. This time an eight-yard scamper put the Comets up by 10. Matherne finished the game by going 16-26 for 223 yards with one touchdown and an interception.

“Bryce is our playmaker out there. He played well, but we just couldn’t make the plays when we had to,” Detillier said.

Both teams now look ahead to post-season play. Prior to Friday’s game, Lutcher was ranked 12th in the state power rankings and St. Charles Catholic was ranked ninth.

The playoffs bracket will be announced Sunday afternoon after a meeting of the Louisiana High School Association.