I know I wrote last week that district play is always my favorite time of the sports season, so I don’t really want to repeat myself…

But this stuff is awesome, right?

Rivalries galore, fantastic finishes, playoff implications, and true showcase matchups. It’s why we follow the prep game, be it football, volleyball, or any of the sports we see later on the calendar.

And one need not even look outside the St. Charles Catholic – Lutcher games in the past eight days to understand what I’m talking about.

That football game was the definition of intensity, and St. Charles proved that it can more than run with the big boys in 3A after its 28-26 win in LaPlace. There were so many big plays, both on offense, defense, and special teams – significant plays by both sides – as a fan, you’d almost want to see a game like that go to overtime, just to see a little more football.

Of course, I think “Comet Nation” is probably ‘A-ok’ with the clock hitting double zeroes when it did. James Krawczyk hits a clutch field goal, and we call it a night.

The students are still living up that win, as evidenced by the big “28-26” sign I saw some of them waving at the SCC/LHS volleyball match at Lutcher on Thursday.

And on that note…can’t go without saying, the Comet girls can ball, too. That was another nail-biter, and the Comets team really banded together to win some tight games. SCC’s 9-8 overall record might not look too impressive, but plenty else does: a 5-0 district mark, a district winning streak at 13 games and counting under Coach Brandy Ryan, and a very tangible chance at a second straight district title.

And, of course, their fourth win over the rival Bulldogs in two years — not to mention the school’s second in a week.

Suffice to say, it must feel good to be a Comet these days.

•Then we move to this: East St. John. Destrehan. As many of you probably realize, this column goes to press before this week’s Friday night games, so I don’t know how ESJ fared against Dutchtown or how Destrehan did against St. Amant.  But I do know after last year’s classic finish between the teams, this will be one to see.

ESJ will be looking to make good on its near win last year, when arguably the Wildcats came closer than anyone to taking the “undefeated” out of Destrehan’s undefeated season – three yards away, to be exact, before Antonio Parker’s interception put things away.

I’ll save my prediction for Wednesday’s picks column. But suffice to say, this is yet another reason I’m always ready for district season.

•Finally, I’ll close on this: If the Saints plan on making a run, tomorrow is the time to start. Carolina is a huge test, and the Black and Gold should be closer to full strength than they have been…at least offensively.

But Carolina is also one of the most balanced teams offensively the Saints have faced all season, particularly in the past few weeks, where San Francisco, Minnesota and Oakland all have strong running games with questionable passing attacks. Carolina can hit you on the ground or in the air – taking away only one option for the Panthers won’t win this one for New Orleans.

This game will tell us much about how stable the defense really is, especially with CB Tracy Porter now out for the season.