By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

 

BRUSLY — St. Charles was down its starting quarterback and perhaps its most irreplaceable defensive player Friday night as it went on the road to face perhaps its most important game of the regular season.

The Comets, once again, proved to be as gritty and gutty as they come.

St. Charles defeated host Brusly, 31-19, in a heated District 7-3A battle that leaves the Comets alone in first place.

SCC (5-2, 3-0) entered the night ranked No. 5 in Class 3A, while Brusly (6-2, 2-1) was ranked seventh.

The Comets played without nose tackle Taylor Cochran and quarterback Jemal Baptiste, both missing the game due to injury.

“We were very, very fortunate to have some guys that stepped up and answered the call,” said St. Charles coach Frank Monica. “We beat a good football team tonight.

“This is a big win for our program. It’s a big win for this team specifically, because of the adversity it endured early on. I’ll enjoy this one for a little while, and then it’s back to work.”

While St. Charles led by as many as 17, it wasn’t exactly easy pickings from the start for the Comets. Brusly got on the board first after Terrence West intercepted quarterback Austin Weber and returned the pick 42 yards for a touchdown to make it 7-0.

“The kids were resilient,” said Monica. “Austin did a good job of shaking it off.”

But a Brusly penalty on the touchdown was added on the kickoff, and SCC took advantage of the opportunity it presented: the Comets elected for an onside kick and recovered, leading eventually to a 13-yard Weber touchdown run that tied the game.

Patrick Juneau gave SCC a 10-7 halftime lead via his 28-yard field goal in the second quarter.

The third quarter shifted momentum in SCC’s direction for good. First, Weber and fullback Brandon Zimmer combined on a 28-yard touchdown that pushed SCC ahead 17-7. That lead increased to 24-7 when Weber scored on a 10-yard run.

“The defense was playing their hearts out in the first half. Our offense was sluggish,” said Monica. “But in the third quarter, we began to get a little something going.”

Brusly fired back, finally pushing past the Comet goalline on offense when Jay Christophe found DiMario Jackson for a 10-yard score, making it 24-13.

But the Comets dropped the hammer in the fourth quarter, setting up what would essentially be the nail in the Panther coffin when Weber hit Chad McNeil for a 58-yard gain; it set up a 2-yard Zimmer touchdown run to make it 31-13.

Weber finished 4-of-7 for 104 yards. He rushed 11 times for a team-high 71 yards. Erron Lewis ran 16 times for 56 yards.

Christophe completed 15-of-33 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 21 times for 86 yards.

Brusly gained 310 total yards to St. Charles’ 270. Each team turned it over twice.

St. Charles has won five straight after dropping the first two games of the season.

“I don’t know if we’re back to Comet football just yet,” Monica said. “But we’re close to it.”