Sports allegiance and support run deep in our community. Never is that more obvious than in the fandom of our high school sports.

For a relatively small resident base, sports fans in St. John the Baptist Parish are gifted with numerous talented teams at West St. John, East St. John, St. Charles Catholic and Riverside Academy. Adding fuel to our fire are the rivalries that exist among the schools.

This enthusiasm, most times, simply manifests itself in impassioned play on countless fields and in numerous gyms across our parish.

Unfortunately, there are a few occasions when the scores of the games aren’t enough to determine all outcomes.

That’s the case with this season’s District soccer championship where it concerns St. Charles Catholic and Riverside Academy. Based on direct information from the school, L’OBSERVATEUR reported Saturday that Riverside Academy and St. Charles Catholic were co-District 6-IV champions. Considering both schools sported identical District records and split their two meetings, it seemed like a reasonable outcome.

This did not sit well with Comets fans, who knew their team was the one and only champion. It certainly seems they had a point, too. The Louisiana High School Athletic Association recorded SCC as the District champ, and the school’s soccer coach said claims made by their rival’s administration to the contrary are wrong.

LHSAA Media Relations Director Jacob Doyle told L’OBSERVATEUR this week District championships don’t mean anything other than bragging rights because it doesn’t impact playoff seeding.

Obviously, Doyle doesn’t realize how seriously sports fans in St. John Parish take their championships, District or otherwise.

We’re not here to make a ruling on which school is right, but we’re happy to share what the powers that be said on the record concerning this disagreement. Our readers are smart enough to develop their own opinions. The story appears on page 9A today.

Only in St. John the Baptist Parish can two teams battle it out on the soccer field to competing 5-1 District records and the real competition take place after the season ends.