St. Charles stops Dunham on final drive for second straight title

Comets rally from double-digit deficit entering fourth quarter to pull off 32-28 win

By LaMar Gafford 

Photo, from left, of St. Charles' Ayden Authement, Samare Scott, Wayne Stein, Davon Stirgus, Daniel Joseph

NEW ORLEANS - Entering the fourth quarter trailing 28-17, St. Charles did what champions do.

Find a way to win.

The Comets won their second straight championship Friday after defeating Dunham, 32-28, in the Division III select championship game at the Caesars Superdome.

“This has been kind of the way that our season has been with the highs and lows,” St. Charles coach Wayne Stein said. “This game had a lot of physicality and the kids got after each other.”

Senior quarterback Ayden Authement had a hand in both Comets’ fourth-quarter touchdowns, including a 3-yard rushing touchdown with 5:39 left for their only lead of the ball game.

Authement accounted for 239 yards as he piloted St. Charles’ balanced offense to win his team’s Most Outstanding Player honor.

“I just try to bring a lot of leadership to the team, especially with the injuries and adversity we’ve faced,” Authement said.

Authement’s counterpart, Jackson House, was just as impressive to win Dunham’s Most Outstanding Player award.

House, also a senior, accounted for 304 yards and three touchdowns, as he completed touchdown passes of 62 and 15 yards. He also added a 9-yard rushing touchdown with 11:07 left in the third.

He seemed poised to lead Dunham again on its final drive, taking 18 plays and nearly five-and-a-half minutes to march 49 yards to the St. Charles (11-3) 21-yard line.

But his passes near the red zone missed their mark to give the Comets the win.

“We got down to the 20 and that just showed the toughness that each guy on the team had, but at the end of the day, we couldn’t get it done,” House said.

“We respect the effort that Dunham put out there,” Stein said. “They played a tremendous game and Coach (Neil) Weiner does a phenomenal job."

The championship is St. Charles’ third in school history, while Dunham (12-2) made the Ochsner Prep Classic for the first time since winning Class 1A in 2004.