Always tough St. Charles Catholic ready for another good season

When you win consistently, you command respect. When you do things the right way, you earn even more respect.

When you have one of the most tenured, best coaches in Louisiana, the respect level rises to new heights.

St. Charles Catholic is one of the most consistent winning programs in Louisiana. Frank Monica has spent 33 years coaching at the high school level, posting a very impressive record of 258-80. In his illustrious career, Monica has coached seven teams to state championship games.

Most recently, he coached St. Charles Catholic to the Class 3A state championship in 2011 and he had the Comets in the 2016 Division III state title game.

The Comets reached the Division III semifinals a year ago, falling to eventual state champion University High.

“We don’t have many assistant coaches but they are hard workers,” Monica said. “They don’t mind grinding. I think it is up to coaches to push players forward to make them their best.”

While St. Charles Catholic will be good again in 2018, the Comets must replace their best and most important player in quarterback Lloyd Nash, who is now at Nicholls. They must also replace Narquez Jones and Robert McDonald.

“We don’t have much speed offensively,” Monica said. “We are going to have to be stout defensively. We will strive for consistency on offense and we will always spend a ton of time on special teams, where we can make a difference.”

Despite the losses, St. Charles Catholic has several key players returning.

On offense, there are five starters back, all of whom were all-district players back from a year ago, including junior running back Phillip Tran, senior running back Joe Chiarella, senior left guard Joshua Carter, junior left tackle Evan Roussel and senior wide receiver Taylor Miller.

“We don’t have big backs but they are good players,” Monica said. “Tran is tougher than a $2 steak. Last year, if we had to give an MVP, it would have been him. He also returned punts and kickoffs for us. He is back and little bigger and stronger. He sees the hole and gets there quickly. He has to have 15 touches a game for us to be effective. Chiarella has good hips, quickness and hands. They are a good combination.

The other wideouts are seniors Cameron Fabre and Sutton Bourgeois while the fullback is Trey Lowry. The others who will play up front include seniors Grant Vicknair, Joey Hebert and George Louper and juniors Nathan Guillory and Matthew Accardo.

“We are really struggling up front,” Monica said. “That is where we must improve.”

The new quarterback is junior Justin Dumas.

“Justin has a nice delivery and he is approaching six feet tall,” Monica said. “Of course, it will be hard replacing Lloyd but Justin had a chance to play a lot last year when Lloyd was hurt and that will really help him.”

Defensively, the Comets must replace Rodney Blanks, Jordan Jensen, Trey Joseph, Gavin St. Pierre and Nash.

“I have always believed in putting our best players on defense,” Monica said. “For the last several years, our turnover margin has been very good and that is a compliment to our defense. When we won our state championship we were a plus 23 in turnovers.”

The defense has five returning starters, including a trio of all-district players in junior tackle Mason Narcisse, senior linebacker Anderson Sirmon and senior free safety Bryce Authement.

“Narcisse has several offers, including from UL-Lafayette,” Monica said. “He’s only a junior but he is big and strong. He has looked really good offseason for us. We expect big things out of him. Authement is a very aggressive player who should be good for us. He will hit you.”

Joining Narcisse up front are senior defensive tackles Jordan Brown and Aaron Johnson, along with freshman nose guard Moses Clark. The defensive ends are juniors Eli Ory and Reggie Hackett.

“Brown Johnson and Ory are solid players and we feel pretty good about our guys up front,” Monica said.

Joining Sirmon at linebacker are seniors Sammy Accardo, along with sophomores Mandell Eugene and Josh Tamplain.

“Sirmon is a senior while Eugene can really run sideline to sideline and he is just a sophomore,” Monica said. “He’s like a heat-seeking missle.”

The strong safety is Luke Brouwer while the corners are seniors Nick Lorio and Kobie Burke, along with sophomores Cameron Campbell and Cade Pregeant.

“Lorio has a lot of talent,” Monica said.

The kicker is Fabre while Fabre and Nick Lorio will share punting duties.

The pre-district schedule is tough, which includes three Class 5A schools and an excellent Division III program.

The season opens at home against Chalmette on Aug. 31 before the Comets travel to Destrehan. St. Charles Catholic will host Wilkinson County, MS in week three before entertaining East Ascension in week four.

“I don’t know what to expect from Chalmette,” Monica said. “Destrehan is just loaded all over the place. They will be mad after losing to us last year. We play a Mississippi school and East Ascension is a good 5A program.”

District 11-3A play begins on Oct. 5 at home against Lusher before a trip to Donaldsonville. After hosting Haynes, the Comets face a very tough finish on the road at De La Salle, who reached the Division II state championship game a year ago before visiting St. James.

“De La Salle lost some people but they will be tough again,” Monica said. “We play our toughest opponents on the road in De La Salle, Donaldsonville and St. James. Lusher has a new coach. It gives you an opportunity to get better.”

While Nash and several key players are gone, St. Charles Catholic is always good and you can count on the Comets posting another winning season and making another strong playoff run in a tough classification. Such is the nature of the consistently good program of Monica.

“We’re not very tall or very fast,” Monica said. “We’re not very deep. We want to see this team mature.”

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