Comets must play with more emotion to tame explosive West St. John

SCC is 2-0 on season with both wins coming against 4A squads

St. Charles Catholic is 2-0 after beating a pair of 4A teams in Woodlawn and Vanderbilt Catholic, but head coach Frank Monica knows that something has been missing.

"We need to play with more emotion," he said. "We always have to play above ourselves, and playing with emotion is the difference between being a contender or a pretender."

St. Charles Catholic took advantage of some early turnovers to build up a big lead over Vanderbilt Catholic, but a stagnant second half allowed the Terriers to get back in the game. However, the Comets were able to pull out the 45-32 win.

"I wasn't pleased with how we played in the second half," Monica said. "We let them get back into the game and it turned into a scoring fest. We lacked intensity, played sloppy and missed tackles.”

But a win’s a win, and Monica is still pleased with where his team stands now.

"The good thing is that we are 2-0 against two very good 4A teams," he said.

The road doesn't get much easier this Friday when the Comets take on West St. John. The Rams are 1-1 on the season, beating St. James 20-6 before falling to Bonnabel 14-7.

"They are really explosive and they have a lot of guys that can go deep and break some tackles," Monica said. "We have to be ready for their quickness and make sure we are always in the position to shut them down on defense."

Last week against Bonnabel, West St. John finished the game with 225 yards of offense. Freshman quarterback Austin Howard completed only three passes for 35 yards in the first half, but finished the game 12-of-21 for 126 yards and one touchdown.

The Ram defense was the star of the show, intercepting Bonnabel twice while recording three sacks.

"Defensively, (West St. John) blitzes a lot and they apply a lot of pressure," Monica said. "If we aren't able to handle it, it will be a long night."

For Monica, the Comets must improve in all three phases of the game if they hope to be 3-0.

"We have to play better on offense, play much better on defense, and be consistent on special teams," he said. "That's usually a good formula for success."

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday at West St. John.