By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – St. Charles football standout Jeffrey Hall had a picture hanging up on his bedroom wall that showed the then-wide receiver being tackled by Evangel  star defensive end Jermauria Rascoe in the 2010 Class 2A state semifinals. St. Charles lost that game, leaving Hall and the majority of his teammates just short of a state championship.

Hall can take down that picture if he hasn’t already, though – he and his teammates all have some nicer memorabilia to display.

That’s because in 2011, the Comets did turn their championship dreams into reality, cementing an undefeated state championship season in the history books. And now they’ve got the rings to prove it.

Recently, St. Charles held a ceremony to commemorate the Comet players, coaches and staff receiving their Class 3A state championship rings – ones representing the first state championship in the school’s history.

“All I could think was, ‘It’s about time,’” said Hall.

Nobody can really blame the senior, who had nine interceptions at cornerback and earned honors as L’Observateur’s St. John Parish Defensive Most Valuable Player last season. He, and the Comets program as a whole, had been waiting a long time for the breakthrough of 2011.

 St. Charles, under coach Frank Monica, has long been considered among the state’s very best programs. But the statement was often uttered with the same disclaimer golf pro Phil Mickelson endured for so long:

Among the best, if not the very best, to have never won a championship.

The Comets had come oh-so-close for years. In 2010 it was the semifinal loss to Evangel. In 2009, a semifinal loss to Curtis. 2006 and 2005 both saw St. Charles teams reach the 2A state championship game, each time resulting in losses to Curtis.

Such was St. Charles’ consistency that when it reached the 2011 3A title game, the one Comet fans will remember forever, it was the first year since 2006 that SCC saw its starting quarterback return for a second season.

That quarterback, senior Donnie Savoie, threw four interceptions in the Comets’ 35-15 loss to Evangel.

He’d learn from that loss – and he’d never lose again.

“It just symbolizes a lot of hard work,” said Savoie of his championship ring. “And a bunch of guys who came together, who worked for one another … I’m not sure it hit me before, but receiving (the ring) made it all real. It’s a dream come true.”

Savoie, who ended his career as Comets starter with a 27-2 overall record (those losses coming to powerhouses Evangel and Curtis), said that he hasn’t been shy about displaying the hardware.

“I wear it everywhere,” he said with a grin.

Aside from just school history, Hall said an issue of pride was being the lone River Parishes team thus far to bring back a state championship this school year.

“Bringing back a championship to our region was a special thing,” he said. “We’ve seen West St. John and Lutcher, a few teams do it in football over the years, and Riverside in basketball … this year we were the only ones to do it in any sport.”

For Monica, it wasn’t the first state championship on a personal level – he won crowns at Lutcher and Riverside in his stays with those schools.

But, he said, the ring ceremony was extremely satisfying not just for himself, but more to see the expressions on the faces of his players and assistant coaches.

“The pride and accomplishment they felt was on their faces, and that made me extremely proud,” said Monica. “I’m ecstatic for them and for the whole community.”

He said that the championship was not just about the 2011 Comets, but those who came before.

“Those who played but didn’t have the opportunity to win one, they helped pave the way. They strengthened this program,” he said. “It’s a credit to all of them.”

The ceremony included a highlight video of the Comets’ season, one that saw St. Charles absolutely dominate the regular season, then overcome a tough schedule and a rash of injuries to key players in the postseason.

SCC played without both its lead tailbacks, Marcus Hall and Lazedrick Thompson, through most of the playoffs. It had to overcome Patterson and Parkview Baptist, the two teams that played for the 3A championship a year prior – and that was before the thrilling 9-7 state championship victory over Amite in the Louisiana Superdome.

“I’m not sure anyone else has had to do that,” Monica said of defeating both champion and state runner-up from the prior season. “We drew an extremely tough bracket.”

For the veteran coach, though, more than anything, the ceremony gave him a chance to reflect on a truly remarkable season.

“We haven’t had time to really ponder any of it,” he said. “With all of the other sports and things going on … It’s really something to comprehend, something that was hard to fathom. But (at the ceremony), you understood it was real.”