By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

LAPLACE — Top-ranked St. Charles Catholic continued its run of dominating play, topping its third straight opponent from a higher classification in a 36-8 win over Class 5A Northshore in the Comets’ home opener Friday.

SCC (3-0) gets to stay in friendly territory Friday, as it will once again play at Thomas Dupuy Stadium against visiting Miller McCoy Academy (1-2) this Friday.

Despite entering just its second season at the varsity level, McCoy brings an ascendant offense to the table, one that enabled the team to upset Newman — at Newman — 35-29. That game saw the Lions leap out to a 35-2 lead before holding off a Greenie rally. McCoy’s two losses came at St. Amant (64-32) and South Terrebonne (40-24).

Lion quarterback Norbert Ralph led the state in passing through two weeks and might top that list again when rankings come out this week, as he now stands at over 900 yards.

“They’re very, very explosive,” said St. Charles coach Frank Monica. “They like to throw up the deep ball and let their very talented wide receivers go up and get it. They’ve got not one, but four quality receivers. One of them averages over 40 yards per catch. But you can’t really bracket him, because they’ve got the others to go to. And with the quarterback it’s three seconds and the ball is out.

“We played them four years ago in a freshman game, and those guys are all seniors now. They’ve got some firepower.”

If McCoy is to continue its offensive success, it must do so against a Comets defense that has allowed just 15 total points in three games.

McCoy averages 30.3 points per game and the Comets allow just five, so something has to give.

A big concern of Monica’s entering the season was the youth and lack of starting experience in his secondary. Through three weeks, that secondary has held firm, along with the rest of the defense. He said it will face a stern test Friday.

“They pass 75 percent of the time,” said Monica. “You’d like to get a lead and make them one-dimensional, but they are going to bring an aerial attack as it is.

“There’s no question, this is a major test for our young secondary. They’ve got an extraordinary group of receivers who can all run and have size — their tallest stands at 6-foot-4.”

He also said McCoy is not likely to be intimidated, despite the Comets No. 1 ranking in Class 3A.

“They played St. Augustine and Carencro last season,” he said. “They won’t be enamored by our little guys, in comparison.”

One thing that can aid the SCC defense is its offense. Monica wants to see his team control the ball and cut the number of possessions down for McCoy. The Lions defense has struggled so far this season, and St. Charles’s offense has clicked on all cylinders over the first three weeks, scoring no less than the 36 it scored Friday.

Lazedrick Thompson and Marcus Hall each topped 100 yards rushing against Northshore. Thompson carried 15 times for 124 yards and two touchdowns while Hall added 103 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.

Quarterback Donnie Savoie provided balance, completing 14 of 20 passes for an efficient 168 yards. He threw two touchdown passes, an 8-yarder to Sammy Miller and a 29-yarder to Hall.

St. Charles took a 15-0 lead early in the second quarter when Thompson scored from one yard away. His first score came in the first quarter, after the first of Jeffrey Hall’s two interceptions negated a St. Charles fumble in Comet territory. SCC converted a two-point play after its first score.

Marcus Hall ripped off a 54-yard touchdown run to make it 22-0 with 5:22 left in the second quarter. The Comets made it 29-0 with 45 seconds left in the first half, on Savoie scoring pass to Miller.

For the third time in as many games, SCC began the second half with a touchdown on either its first drive or kick return.

This time, Savoie connected with Marcus Hall for a 29-yard score to finish off a SCC drive and make it 36-0.