Comets defeat St. James 17-14 in semifinals;
face Curtis in Dome for 2A state championship

In a game that lived up to previous St Charles- St. James thrillers, the Comets defeated the Wildcats 17-14 in the 2A state semifinals Friday night before a standing room only crowd at Thomas J. Dupuy stadium in Laplace. The win advances the Comets to the 2A state championship game this Friday in the Louisiana Superdome.

For the Comets it is the second consecutive year that they have advanced to the 2A title game and the second year in a row they will have to face the powerful and nationally ranked John Curtis Patriots of River Ridge. Unlike last year's game which was played in very cold weather in Shreveport's Independence stadium, this year's game will be played in the perfect conditions of a recently repaired and remodeled Superdome. It will be the Comets' first ever appearance in the Superdome for the title game.

Friday's semifinal game with St. James resembled all of the 11 previous matchups with the Wildcats since 1999 - very competitive games between two well-coached River Parish teams playing with lots of heart, emotion, skill and determination.

In the end it was the Comets who held on for the win after appearing to have the game well in hand leading 17-6 late in the 4th quarter. But the Wildcats' Craig Duronslet took off on a 88 yard cross field scamper that narrowed the gap to 17-12 setting up another thrilling finish which has almost been a regular occurence for Comet-Wildcat games played in this decade.

The Comets dominated most the game after falling behind 6-0 early in the first quarter as the Wildcats marched 80 yards on their first possession. Wildcat quarterback Antonio Philips tossed a 16 yard pass to Craig Duronslet for the touchdown but the PAT was no good.

In probably their most important scoring drive of the season, the Comets took the ensuing kickoff and drove 73 yards in 14 plays for a touchdown. Jonathan Cancienne's two yard run and Chris Ilski's PAT put the Comets on top 7-6 and the Comets would not trail the Wildcats the rest of the game.

After forcing a Wildcat punt on their next possession, the Comets took over near midfield. Three plays later facing a 3rd and one at the 40, Comet running back Jonathan Cancienne bolted off left tackle and scooted 40 yards for a touchdown. Ilski's PAT put the Comets ahead 14-6 with 9:43 left in the 2nd quarter.

After the teams traded punts, the Comets took over with outstanding field position right before half. With just 30 seconds left before half, Chris Ilski booted a 39 yard field goal to stretch the Comet lead to 17-6.

The third quarter was scoreless as the two teams traded punts and the Comet defense held the Wildcats at bay despite good field position for the 'cats the entire quarter.

Midway through the 4th quarter Comet defensive back Jordan Millet picked off a Wildcat pass. The Comet offense took over and was able to make two first downs and kill nearly 5 minutes off the clock before punting back to the Wildcats.

That set the stage for the exciting finish as Duronslet scored and a two point conversion narrowed the Comet lead to 17-14 with 2:13 left in the game.

With three time outs still in hand, the Wildcats kicked off instead of trying an onsides kick. It paid off as the Wildcats forced a three and out getting the ball back with 1:32 left to play. But the Comet defense rose to the occasion denying the Wildcats by not allowing them to cross midfield and batting down a desparation pass on the game's last play.

Kickoff for Friday's state championship game against Curtis is at 5 p.m. Advanced tickets can be purchased at school for $10 general admission seating in the plaza level. SCC will benefit if Comet fans purchase tickets in advance at school. Tickets at the gate will cost $12 general admission and $14 reserved.