By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

St. Charles Catholic came through for a much needed road victory over a Top 10 Class 3A ranked De La Salle squad last week, and now turns its attention to facing an up and coming McMain squad on the road in New Orleans this Friday night.

With seven weeks in the books, every team in District 11-3A boasts a winning record, collecting a combined 24-10 mark, 20-6 outside of the district. St. Charles (5-2, 1-1) and McMain (5-2, 1-1) head into this week’s game with identical records.

The game could go a significant way for the winner in terms of accumulating power points. St. Charles is ranked sixth in Class 3A in that ranking, while McMain is 17th. McMain will be the third straight team SCC has faced with a significantly high power rating; John Curtis is ranked first, and De La Salle seventh, the last two Comet opponents. Every team in 11-3A is ranked in the Top 19 of 3A.

McMain toppled local rival Lusher last week, 20-13, bouncing back from a 35-6 loss to De La Salle the week prior.

Defense ruled the day for the Mustangs in the victory. McMain trailed 7-6 at halftime but its stop unit held Lusher long enough for McMain quarterback Darrell Williams to start connecting with receivers Jamairyn Wallace and James Howard. Williams finished with 176 yards passing and three touchdowns, while he rushed for 69 yards on 16 carries.

The junior passer sits atop St. Charles coach Frank Monica’s list of concerns this week.

“They’re a quick strike team,” Monica said. “Their quarterback has a big arm and they run a good scheme. They don’t just throw it up for grabs, they put together good route combinations.”

Monica said the biggest challenge in containing Williams lies in his dual threat capability.

“You can’t put a tremendous amount of pressure on him because he can pull it down and score on you with his legs,” Monica said. “That threat is looming over you at all times. At the same time, he can make all the throws, so you also can’t afford to give him a lot of time.”

Last season, St. Charles shut out McMain in LaPlace, 41-0. St. Charles began four drives in McMain territory in that game, something Monica pointed to this week as a big key to the Comets seizing early control of that game.

“We had a short field on a lot of our possessions, and that’s due to playing well defensively and on special teams,” Monica said. “The hope for us is we can replicate that part of it. We have to take care of the ball, and I hope to see us be a little more efficient in terms of offensive plays. They’ve got a nice defensive scheme, and we need to find a way to solve it.”

St. Charles’ victory over De La Salle last week was sealed with a fourth down incompletion, one that followed Jonathan Scarpero’s third down sack of Cavaliers quarterback Victor Gaines to set up a difficult conversion.

Scarpero, a junior defensive end, has been a consistent factor in the Comets’ strong defensive effort this season.

“He’s aggressive, and sometimes you take the good with the bad with him,” Monica said. “At times he’ll try to do a little too much, but he’s made a lot of big plays for us. And we need him to. The defensive ends are such a big part of our scheme. Jonathan had a very good game (Friday night).”