By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

LAPLACE — St. Charles Catholic defended its District 7-3A championship on the back of its dramatic 18-14 comeback win over E.D. White last week. It is the first time since 1991 that the Comets secured back-to-back district crowns.

Now, it’s onto the business of defending that other crown.

The defending 3A state champions are set to begin the playoffs Friday as the Comets hit the road to face Westlake.

After an 0-2 start, St. Charles righted its ship, scoring wins in each of its final seven games of the season. Like in 2011, few were close: only E.D. White and Brusly finished within 12 of SCC, while each of its other five opponents fell by 35 points or more.

But that turnaround did not equate to a home game in St. Charles’ playoff opener. SCC enters the postseason as the 18th seed, and will travel three hours to Westlake.

St. Charles coach Frank Monica said that a tough test will await his team once it arrives, one tougher than he anticipated before the bracket was released.

“They’re a very, very strong football team,” said Monica. “They’ve lost three games, all to quality competition. It’s really the kind of matchup you’d not expect to see until the quarters or semifinals.

“I think we’re the only district champion starting on the road. I felt that we really got a tough draw. Both sides were surprised to have the other in the opener.”

Last season, St. Charles (7-2) drew Patterson in round two of the playoffs, despite the Comets and Lumberjacks being ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in the LSWA Class 3A poll all season long.

“Our state goes by power points,” said Monica. “It’s a good system. But we’ve had some very difficult early opponents.”

Westlake’s losses this season came against district foes Iowa and Notre Dame and predistrict opponent Winnfield. Notre Dame is seeded second in 3A and Iowa 26th, while Winnfield is the fifth seed in Class 2A. Those teams are a combined 25-4.

The Rams (6-3) finished with a 49-35 victory over Crowley on Friday night. In that game, tailback Latrell Martin was the star, rushing for 302 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries.

Westlake quarterback Tim Hamilton threw three touchdown passes, two to wide receiver Jacory Washington.

“They’ve got almost too many weapons,” said Monica. “And I don’t see a weakness on their defense. There are no slackers. Everyone plays extremely hard each play.”

St. Charles’ win over E.D. White came down to the final minute, Austin Weber’s 1-yard touchdown run spelling the difference with 43 seconds left in the final quarter.

St. Charles trailed 14-4 entering the fourth — the Comets recorded two safeties — despite stymieing E.D. White’s offense all night. SCC ended the game having outgained the Cardinals 324-84.

“We’re hoping to build off of that comeback,” said Monica. “E.D. White had a very good plan. Our defense held in the second half … Some things went against us and we made some mistakes, but we showed some moxie. Every team needs to have some of that.”