St. Charles Catholic pulls away in second half for impressive win over Teurlings Catholic

LAPLACE- St Charles Catholic has been through the highways and byways in the first two weeks of the season.

The Comets had to play in hostile environments but overcame the challenges to earn hard-fought victories against Archbishop Shaw and Lutcher.

The defending two-time state champions finally had their home opener, and it presented another stiff challenge. Teurlings Catholic came into the matchup averaging 35 points a game and holding teams to just 14 per outing.

Usually leaning on a terrific defense of their own, St. Charles Catholic enjoyed a steady, potent offensive output in a 48-20 victory Friday night at Thomas J. Dupuy Stadium.

“I thought this was a complete team win. I was tired of our offense being in the back. I think our offense has some weapons. It was time to explode and they responded,” said St. Charles Catholic head coach Wayne Stein.

The Comets set the tone early with 72-yard drive on just four plays. Quarterback Brady St. Pierre scored a one-yard run.

St. Pierre finished 13-of-23 passing for 164 yards and added a pair of rushing touchdowns. Daniel Joseph was his top target, making six catches for 89 yards.

Teurlings Catholic bounced back with a 62-yard drive on seven plays. Bradford Cain scampered for a 26-yard touchdown, tying the game 7-7. Tyler Milioto, fresh off of a game-winning field goal last week, nailed a 28-yard field goal to put St. Charles Catholic ahead 10-7.

The Rebels took their only lead of the game 14-10 on a four-yard touchdown by Travis Gallien.

Milioto knocked through a 31-yard field goal, cutting the Teurlings lead to 14-13.

Although the Comets offense had a strong night, the defense came up with a big play with an interception by Kayden Foster. St. Charles cashed in on the turnover when Jeremiah Wills rans for a 22-yard touchdown run. With the ensuing successfull two-point try, the Comets led for good at 21-14.

Milioto added another 31-yard field goal to close out the first half that gave the Comets a 24-14.

A fourth Milioto field goal, this time from 27-yards out, extended the Comets advantage to 27-14.

After another defensive stop, a back breaking 58-yard drive in eight plays was capped by St. Pierre’s second one-yard touchdown run to make it 34-14.

Teurlings Catholic tried to rally early in the fourth quarter with a 25-yard touchdown by quarterback Preston Welch, who was otherwise limited on the night. He finished 11-of-30 for 154 yards with two total touchdowns. St. Charles intercepted him twice.

“I’m proud of the effort the kids played with but unfortunately we got out-coached and out-played on both sides of the ball,” said Teurlings Catholic Head Coach Dane Charpentier. “We have to recommit as a team and get things fixed. St. Charles has a hell of a ball club. They have a lot of experience, a lot of talent, and they do things very well.”

St. Charles Catholic took back their three score lead when Wills scored a one-yard touchdown.

Willis led the Comets with 21 carries for 141 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Skyler Edwards added 11 rushes for 79 yards.

Not to be outdone, the defense for St. Charles had a final say. Kyle Cannon’s 57-yard interception return touchdown capped the dominant win.

The Comets accumulated over 400 yards of total offense including 258 rushing yards.

“I really felt that our offense led the way. Most of the possessions led to some kind of points. It gave our defense a chance to put their cleats on the ground,” said Stein. “Teurlings came out and kind of had us on our heels but we had a big turnover and made a big stop before the half. Then when we made separation at the end.”

St. Charles Catholic (3-0) will host De La Salle at Thomas J. Dupuy Stadium on next Friday. Teurlings Catholic (2-1) will host Notre Dame of Crowley, also next Friday.