PJP II traveling to face St. Charles Catholic

Pope John Paul II’s Jaguars, riding a four-game winning streak, will step out of district tonight and play a road game against the St. Charles Catholic Comets.

PJP enters tonight’s action with a 4-1-overall record after defeating Pine, 28-6. St. Charles Catholic, member of District 9-3A, also comes in with a 4-1 mark after a 26-24 victory over Lutcher.

St. Charles coach Frank Monica said he is concerned about the game.

“Pope John Paul is physical. They have good athletes at different positions. We don’t match up well in different areas. They have a good scheme,” Monica said. “Pope is riding a 4-game winning streak and their confidence seems to be growing.”

On the other side, Pope John Paul coach Mark Jeanmard said this will be a good experience for his club.

“They have one of the best coaches in the state (Frank Monica),” Jeanmard said. “He always has them ready. They’re perennially in the top 5-or-6 of their classification. This will be a good environment for your team to go to because hopefully, we can have our program where theirs is in a few years.”

Last season, St. Charles Catholic got to the regional round of the playoffs.

Offensively, PJP runs a veer led by senior running back Ross Macaluso. Last week, he rushed for 167 yards on 17 carries, including a 56-yard touchdown run off a fake punt.

Carlo Conforto got the start at quarterback last week for Nathan Hewitt, who played a little at the end of each half due to an injury. Conforto ran for 70 yards on eight carries, including a 16-yard score.

Hewitt will be back in the starting lineup under center for tonight’s game. In last week’s contest, Hewitt entered with 58 seconds left in the first half. His first throw was a 32-yard catch-and-run to wide receiver Tommy Gritten, which brought the ball down to the 20. He also connected with Chandler Scheurmann for 14 more, but the half ended on a missed field goal. Hewitt finished 2-for-4 for 46 yards. He re-entered the game at the end to run out the final 47 seconds.

PJP’s offense will be facing a defense that has an odd scheme that bases out of the 3-4. Senior inside linebacker Tim Boesen has made 11 solo stops with 33 assists, while junior defensive lineman Nick Reine has seven tackles and 28 assists.

In the backfield, senior cornerback Justin Vicknair has three interceptions, while junior safety Grant Authement has one pick.

Offensively, the Comets run a pro style with junior quarterback Mark Picciola under center. This season, Picciola has hit on 36-of-65 passes for 478 yards with six touchdowns and five interceptions.

The running backs are senior Courtland Taylor and Stafford Jones. This year, Taylor has 330 yards on 79 carries to go with four scores. Jones has lugged the ball for 199 yards and five touchdowns.

The wide receivers are junior Zach Goodwin and senior Alex Marse. Goodwin has caught 12 passes for 166 yards and two scores, while Marse has 11 catches for 110 yards and a TD.

Defensively, PJP has been stout. The Jaguars have not allowed a point in three games, spanning 12 quarters. Pine scored last week on an interception, thrown by Evan Fiore, that was returned for a touchdown and then PJP stopped the ensuing two-point conversion.

Last week, the Jaguars forced Pine into 10 three-and-outs.

On the season, Cory Davis has two fumble recoveries and Bobby Mayfield has a pair of sacks.