Comets remain unbeaten, Rebels roll, ESJ and WSJ fall in Week Eight

Published 9:40 am Wednesday, October 25, 2023

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And then there was one.

St. Charles Catholic is the only St. John the Baptist Parish team with a perfect record after the eighth week of the 2023 football season – one of 12 teams statewide to remain unbeaten.

The Comets defeated M.L. King Charter School 50-6 in a non-district contest Thursday night. But East St. John lost its first game of the season Friday night with a 21-17 loss to Terrebonne.

Elsewhere, Riverside Academy defeated Landry-Walker 27-12 on Thursday night. West St. John lost to St. Martin’s 56-22.

Comets quarterback Brady St. Pierre threw for a pair of touchdowns, both to Daniel Joseph. Running back Skylar Edwards ran for a pair of touchdowns to finish with 85 yards on three carries. Jeremiah Wills, Gideon Marix and Jackson Monica also ran for scores.

St. Charles rolled up a 22-0 lead in the first quarter and increased it to 36-0 by the half. The second half was played with running time.

The two-time defending Division III Select state champion Comets have now stretched its winning streak to 15 games dating to last year.

“We just try and go 1-0 every week,” coach Wayne Stein said. “We have been a model of consistency the last 20 years and we strive to stay that way.”

St. Charles (8-0, 1-0) will host Country Day Friday night at 7 p.m. at Thomas Dupuy Stadium in LaPlace.

East St. John, on the other hand, was licking its wounds after its first loss of the season to Terrebonne. The Wildcats fell behind early, 14-0, and had to play catch-up for the rest of the night.

The Wildcats amassed nearly 300 yards in a balanced attack. Elijah Frank rushed for 120 yards and scored two touchdowns on nine carries. Jason Colleo added a 25-yard touchdown.

Quarterback Kairan Smith completed 6 of 14 passes for 84 yards and Lorenzo Zeno was 6 of 9 for 65 yards, but neither threw a touchdown. Terrebonne’s Tydrick Stewart nabbed two interceptions.

Wildcats coach Brandon Brown said his team was naturally disappointed to see its record blemished, but his players are focusing on the bigger picture.

“Win, lose or draw, we use the 24-hour rule,” Brown said, allowing his team and himself just a day to mourn. “We will make the necessary adjustments and move forward.”

East St. John has to toughen up this week for its District 7-5A battle against defending Class 5A champion Destrehan, which is still undefeated with 22 wins in a row (the state’s longest win streak) and has won the last three contests.

Riverside Academy running back Dedric Lastie continues to shine. He went into Week Eight as the fourth leading rusher in the state with 1,297 yards and 21 touchdowns and added 194 yards and four more scores to his total. That and Craig Matt’s three PATs accounted for all of the Rebels’ points against Landry-Walker.

The Rebels (7-1) return home Friday night to host Varnado (3-5).

West St. John did not provide any statistics from its game Friday night. The Rams (1-8) will travel to Muss Bertolino Stadium in Metairie on Thursday night to play Crescent City Christian.

Cutline: Riverside Academy junior running back Dedric Lastie scored four touchdowns in the Rebels’ 27-12 win over Landry-Walker on Thursday. (Photo taken by Lindsay Hymel Cambre)