By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — Coach Frank Monica said his team’s 31-12 victory over Southern Lab at home Friday night was far from a complete performance.

Nonetheless, he said, he’ll take it, as the Comets opened the 2014 season with a decisive victory.

“I was happy to come out with the win considering the talent and size (Southern Lab) has and the sluggish way we played at times,” Monica said. “We knew we had to control the ball and keep their offense off the field. We were able to get a nice lead in the second half and that helped make them one-dimensional.”

St. Charles  (1-0) opened the season with a bang when Erron Lewis returned the first kickoff of the season 78 yards to the Southern Lab 8-yard line. Austin Weber connected with receiver Dane Authement for a 12-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-0 just 1:34 into the game.

Justin Loupe’s 7-yard touchdown run pushed the lead to 14-0 by the end of the first quarter.

Darbbeon Profit’s 4-yard run closed the gap briefly to 14-6, but Loupe’s second score of the night, a 3-yard plunge, made it 21-6 at halftime.

Weber opened the third quarter with a 16-yard touchdown run to open things up to 28-6 and Andrew Rodrigue capped off the SCC scoring with a 30-yard field goal.

Profit led Southern Lab offensively with 13 rushes for 76 yards. Quarterback Bladrick Vial passed for 157 yards, a score and an interception.

For SCC, Weber led the way with 10 carries for 71 yards and a touchdown. He completed 11 of 15 passes for 78 yards and a score.

Dane Authement led SCC in receiving with four catches for 67 yards and a score. Eric Lewis recorded seven tackles and intercepted a pass. Erron Lewis carried 13 times for 61 yards.

Monica said keeping Southern Lab (0-1) away from the big play was paramount in the gameplan.

“We knew they had big play wide receivers and a 6’5” quarterback who’s hard to get on the ground,” Monica said. “We had trouble tackling him, though we did get pressure on him. Our secondary did a good job. Eric Lewis made some really big tackles and pass breakups. Jace Snowden and Jacorey Johnson both played really well back there.”