By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

ST. JAMES – Practice is a little more enjoyable these days at St. James, so says coach Rick Gaille.

After enduring a winless pre-district stretch, the Wildcats officially got on the board on Friday night with a 28-21 overtime victory over Brusly that saw St. James find its offense and its ability to make plays in the clutch: Shaquille Narcisse’s 1-yard sneak in overtime provided the winning points, and the defense stepped up to hold Brusly out of the endzone on four ensuing downs.

“We had the best tempo at practice that we’ve had all year,” said Gaille. “Our players are finally starting to see the fruits of their labor. And they’re seeing that when we go out and do the things we’re supposed to do, we can be really effective.”

Last season, the Wildcats emerged from that same Brusly game with its first victory and went on to clinch a share of the District 8-3A crown. To follow the same script, the Wildcats must defeat Livonia, which SJH toppled 32-14 a year ago.

Livonia enters this game 1-5, but Livonia has not played a team with a losing record to date this season.

Gaille said that he sees a team in Livonia with a potent offense that spreads you out, yet attacks effectively with balance.

“They come with that spread attack and really stretch you defensively. Nobody has really held them down to date,” said Gaille. “They’ve got some very capable athletes.”

He said that the key to attacking Livonia’s offense will be to bend, but not break.

“It’s a matter of forcing them into mistakes and getting our offense the ball on a short field,” said Gaille. “We were able to do that last year and it worked to our advantage.”

Perhaps the most impactful in-game development from Friday night’s win was the performance of Narcisse, who was making his first start at quarterback.

He threw two touchdowns passes in addition to his overtime scoring run and finished with 194 passing yards.

“It’s really important that we show teams that they can’t afford to just load up the line,” said Gaille. “It really gives us a lift.”

Narcisse’s touchdown passes were both long plays, one to Junius Champagne and another to Alonzo Lewis.

Kenneth Armant led St. James rushers with 12 carries for 80 yards. Lewis led all receivers with five catches for 137 yards.