Comets Strike Twice: Unrelenting belief fuels St. Charles’ state title runs
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
St. Charles Catholic returned to the football practice field this week, days after the baseball team’s Division II select state championship.
The Comets, who expect to conduct six days of practice in all, are trying to get a look at the 2026 team, which will be in pursuit of a second consecutive state championship after last year’s unimaginable finish on a last-second field goal.
“We treat it as a precursor to our summer from an installation standpoint,” St. Charles football coach Wayne Stein said. “Every year we’ve said we’re glad that we’ve done it. Our kids are accustomed to it. Our staff’s accustomed to it.”
They’re also accustomed to winning.
In the five seasons Stein has coached both the football and baseball teams, St. Charles has won 83% of the time with 247 victories and six state championships.
“I think it starts with our strength and conditioning program,” Stein said of the work strength and conditioning coach Jason Brown, who is also his defensive coordinator. “That’s the secret to our success. Our toughness starts in the weight room.”
With rosters for both teams containing many of the same names that helped St. Charles to state championships in both sports, the Comets foster a culture of multi-sport athletes.
There’s also a hard exterior and steely resolve that was prevalent when both teams hoisted their respective state championships last December in New Orleans and last weekend in Sulphur, bringing them back home to LaPlace and the River Parishes.
Tyler Miliotto’s 44-yard field goal with five seconds left remains the final act from a Hollywood script where St. Charles celebrated a 23-21 over defending state champion Archbishop Shaw.
The baseball’s journey to its state championship wasn’t any less for the faint of heart. The Comets battled similar odds, rallying for an opening 6-2 win, coming back from a defeat in game two, to overcome another seventh-inning deficit and hold on for a 6-5 victory and fourth state crown.
“We really grinded those last five weeks of the season, and we got better, and we finally found a true offensive identity,” said Stein, whose team won 10 of their last 13 games. “Our pitching and defense had been excellent all season. We finally found our niche offensively. We took pitches, we competed. We did whatever it took to win. Baseball’s all about timely hits. We finally got those timely hits in the playoffs.”
Stein, a 1999 graduate of St. Charles who played football at UL, has coached both sports for 23 years at his alma mater. He was a football assistant for 17 years before taking over for Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame coach Frank Monica five years ago, and was elevated to head baseball coach in 2014 after serving as an assistant for 10 years.
“I’ve never not done both,” said Stein, the school’s winningest baseball coach, with 333 wins. “It’s not easy, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. When you make the runs that we’ve made, it’s almost like working a five-year turnaround in a plant. You go until the last day of football season, get a week or two off, and then it’s baseball season. You go through baseball season and then it’s spring football season and right into summer baseball.
“I have to credit my wife (Christine),” he said. “We have three children, and she doesn’t know any different because she’s never known me not to coach both (sports). If she wasn’t the woman that she is, almost treating things like she’s a single mother. … If she needed me for every little thing, this wouldn’t work.”
Stein realizes the importance of having talented athletes spreading their gifts to impact the fortunes of more than one sport.
He singled out three players in particular who were tantamount to the success St. Charles enjoyed in both football and baseball.
Landree Landry was the quarterback of the football team and starting second baseman, while Brooks Monica was the heart and soul of the Comets’ defense at linebacker and starting third baseman, was part of an experienced infield.
Monica was voted the 2025 Most Outstanding Player on the LSWA’s Class 4A All-State football team, and Murray State football signee Dax Pregeant, who will also get a tryout in baseball, was part of the baseball’s stout infield at shortstop. Tight end Gabe Kugler, who caught a touchdown in the state championship game, anchored the Comets’ defense behind the plate.
“If he chose to play football and not baseball, baseball’s just a first-round team,” Stein said of LeBlanc. “If he chose to play baseball and not football, then football’s a first-round team. Same thing with Dax Pregeant, Brooks Monica, and Gabe Kugler.”
The Comets also had two sport starters in Briggs Anderson, a nickel back and first baseman, and Claude Remondet, a wide receiver and right fielder. Bryce Waguespack, a backup defensive lineman, was one of the team’s top pitchers and has already committed to Northwestern State in baseball.
“Our kids play both, and I think a lot of the toughness stuff comes from football,” Stein said. “It only takes two or three guys at our place to choose to pick one, and it would totally ruin our athletic program.”
St. Charles returned 10 seniors with five of those in the team’s regular lineup. The team’s pitching was in good hands with Waguespack (8-3 record, 1.17 ERA, 71.2 innings pitched, 1 save, 77 Ks, 22 BBs, .190 opponent’s batting average) and Brayden Cortez (10-2, 2 SVs, 1.41 ERA, 84.1 IP, 63 Ks, 29 BBs, .211 OBA).
This year’s team (32-10) equaled a school record for wins and played in a school-record 42 games.
The Comets, swept in last year’s quarterfinal round by E.D. White, became Stein’s 12th straight team to reach that round this season, eighth to reach the semifinals, and seventh to play for a state championship and fourth to win it.
“For us, that’s a down year,” Stein said of last year’s 23-14 squad. “The standard is the standard here, and we don’t shy away from it. I don’t think we got everything out that we could have gotten out of last year’s group in both sports. Sometimes you need to have a year of failure to reset the program.
“In both of our sports, we talk about being comfortable being uncomfortable,” Stein said. “Those regular-season games, those losses, they put us in a spot to feel what it’s like to fail and survive. We’re never going to be a real polished baseball team early. Everyone’s playing football, so we didn’t start baseball until January.
St. Charles was 10-3 after taking two of three from the eventual Division II non-select state champion Lutcher. The Comets dropped the last game in the series and were shut out 3-0 at Division I non-select semifinalist Zachary.
“I love playing the River Parish games because you feel the pressure and it feels like the playoffs,” Stein said of facing Lutcher.
There were additional learning moments Stein used after losses to Riverside Academy (6-2) and Live Oak (1-0).
“That had us kind of reset and made us go to work,” Stein said. “All of those things made us realize that we had to get better to become a champion. I wouldn’t trade those losses for anything because those were actual turning points. Sometimes when you win, you ignore your warts. A lot of times when you lose, you get the chance to soul-search and realize what has to happen.”
Half of St. Charles’ wins toward a District 9-4A championship were by mercy rule. The Comets also went toe-to-toe with Shaw in the final district series, emerging with 5-3 and 3-0 wins for the league title.
“I was kind of impressed with the way we started the season,” Stein said. “We probably started faster than I thought, and I thought we hit a bit of a lull and had some tough losses. We have a gigantic program with 62 kids. We have an eighth and ninth grade team and a JV team.
“Once their seasons end and I only have the varsity, I feel like our season gets better,” Stein said. “I told our kids after we beat Central Private (6-1 on April 13), there was a state championship team in us, but I didn’t know if we would stay in it long enough to get it out of us.”
St. Charles followed an opening-round bye with consecutive playoff sweeps of Lake Charles College Prep, E.D. White, and defending state champion Teurlings Catholic.
Stein had to schedule practice around his state semifinal with Teurlings Catholic because of the Division II state golf tournament at Cane Row Golf Club in New Iberia.
Five of his best players – Monica, Waguespack. LeBlanc, Kugler, and top courtesy runner Walker LeBlanc represented the school in the two-day event and placed fifth behind Teurlings, St. Louis Catholic, E.D. White, and Holy Cross.
“If you’ve got talent to do something, we’re going to get it out of you,” Stein said. “That’s something that’s elevated our sports program. For them to make it there was great. It’s a juggling act with these athletes.”
Monica, a two-time district champion, tied for ninth overall at 17-over, and Landree LeBlanc was 23rd overall at 31-over. Waguespack was 32nd at 42-over, and Walker LeBlanc was tied for 36th at 45-over.
“That lends itself to the whole big moment thing,” Stein said. “Kugler has to sit over a six-foot putt. Maybe he made it or missed it, but he had to control his heart rate in multiple things he did this year. He’s able to control his heart rate in the biggest moments in his baseball career.
“That’s kind of why we’re able to do what we do in the end, the kids learn a lot about themselves,” Stein said. “Because of our past in tight games, our kids expect something good to happen, and a lot of our opponents expect something bad to happen, and it comes to fruition.”
Second-seeded St. Charles, appearing in its sixth state final in seven years, got a boost toward its championship aspirations in the opener with top-seeded Vandebilt when Pregeant, who reached base four times, cracked a two-run homer that tied the game in the seventh. Monica highlighted a four-run eighth inning with a three-run double after a two-out fielding error in a 6-2 victory.
Vandebilt rode the pitching of Spencer Guilbeau, a Nunez Community College commitment, to a 6-4 win in the second game, evening up the series at 1-1. The Comets also contributed a pair of errors that resulted in a pair of unearned runs.
“I stressed that we were together on the last day of the season, we couldn’t have gotten any more out of the season as far as spending time together,” Stein said. “I asked the seniors if they wanted to change anything with the pregame routine, and they said they were fine.
“We went to Westlake (High) for 10 a.m., bunted and hit for a little while, and took some defense,” Stein said. “These three-game series are a mental and physical grind. There’s highs and lows. The scouting reports said we were pretty even, and they were matching our toughness, which not many people do. I told them whoever plays well is going to be the champion.”
Stein stressed patience with his hitters, trying to take pitches and drive up the pitch count of Vandebilt’s starting pitcher. The idea was to get into the Terriers’ bullpen and take home the state crown in the latter innings.
“I’ve got to say that our kids really bought into our game plan all three days and gave us a chance to win,” he said.
With his team down 3-2 at the top of the seventh, Kugler, who was hitless in his previous 10 at-bats, redeemed himself and gave St. Charles a leg up going into the bottom half of the inning.
Kugler quickly fell behind 0-2, evened the count at 2-2, fouled off a pitch when he delivered a two-out, two-run double down the left-field line. Ben Bordelon followed with a run-scoring single, and Pregeant, the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, forced in a run on a bases-loaded walk.
The Comets had run-scoring hits earlier in the game from Kole Hurst and Drew Aucoin.
“I had really gotten on him about one of his at-bats, swinging at the first pitch with the bases loaded,” said Stein, who is neighbors with Kugler. “I undressed him. I was not happy and thought it was a selfish at-bat, and he picked himself up off the carpet. He did a nice job of competing when he was down 0-2. We needed every run we got after that as well.”
Stein also had to appeal to Cortez in the bottom of the seventh when Vandebilt scored twice on a double and had the winning run at second with no outs.
“I went out there and asked him if he wanted me to give the ball to somebody else,” he said. “He said that he had it and probably threw the best 10 pitches of the game. He just lost a little bit of focus.”
The dramatic end to an edge-of-your-seat final came when Cortez capped his complete-game effort – 108 pitches in all – with two pop-ups and a strikeout. It was the Comets’ second one-run win in the postseason after going 0-5 in the regular season.
Cortez allowed nine hits, five runs (three earned), with two walks (two hit batters) and three strikeouts. His 84 innings were a single-season school record, along with the 277 innings Kugler caught this season.
“You went from feeling pretty good about that three-run lead to watching it disappear,” Stein said. “Vandebilt was trying to win the game right there, and I would have done the same thing. Our kids showed a lot of guts, lots of moxie.”
Hurst was St. Charles’ top hitter with a .393 average, a double with 27 runs scored, 17 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases. Landree LeBlanc, the District 9-4A MVP, batted .354 with 13 doubles, three triples, two homers, 35 runs scored, 38 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases. Monica (.354, 4 2Bs, 2 3Bs, 30 RBIs, 25 runs, 13 SBs) and Pregeant (.346, 7 2Bs, 2 3Bs, 2 HRs, 30 RBIs, 39 runs, 33 SBs) were also two key ingredients for the offense.
“Our pitching and defense were elite,” Stein said. “It took us a while, but we started to find our niche late in the year and really understand what each guy had to do for us to be successful on offense. We were just a bunch of gritty River Parish kids. Some of them aren’t tall enough to ride Space Mountain at Disney World, but they compete their butts off.”
St. Charles’ football season – which ended in gripping fashion – was also shaped by a loss in the fifth game of the season.
St. James, a Division III non-select state semifinalist, came back from a 14-6 halftime deficit to take a 28-14 lead. The Comets tied the game for the second time at 28-all with consecutive touchdowns until the Wildcats scored on the final play of the game for a 34-28 win.
The Comets reeled off five wins to close the regular season and ended on a nine-game winning streak.
“It was integral when we lost to St. James,” Stein said. “We were able to reset and evaluate the things that needed to change. We were undefeated when we lost to Calvary (34-28 in 2023 Division III state title game). We didn’t have a reset, and we lost the last ball game. One thing our staff and kids do a nice job is learning from losing. That was huge for us in that mid part of the season.”
Five weeks after winning the District 9-4A football championship at Archbishop Shaw, 24-0, St. Charles found the Eagles standing in their path again with far greater implications.
St. Charles led 14-7 on Kugler’s TD reception from LeBlanc when Shaw’s running game kicked into high gear for a 20-14 margin in the second half.
The Comets were on the cusp of tying the game in the final minute when Skyler Alexander capped an 11-play, 82-yard drive with a 1-yard score and 35 seconds remaining.
However, a missed extra point by Milioto left a 21-20 deficit.
Shaw recovered an onside kick at its own 46-yard line and retreated for a five-yard loss on first down.
That’s when the game went completely off the rails and experienced the type of roller-coaster conclusion that mesmerized the entire Superdome.
Shaw had an offensive lineman, believing the game was over, remove his helmet in celebration. It resulted in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty – the only flag against the Eagles the entire game.
St. Charles retained both of its timeouts, which Stein used after the second and third downs – two plays for minus-10 yards – and forced a hurried punt that traveled eight yards, going out of bounds at the Eagles’ 32 with 17 seconds remaining.
Following an incompletion on first down, LeBlanc connected for five yards to Gros, who managed to get out of bounds at the 27 and 10 seconds to play.
“I felt a lot of the attention was on what negatively the young man did and there was a lot that happened that we still needed to do to win the game,” Stein said. “I know there had to be a little bit of luck to give us an opportunity. But what kind of got loss in all of that is that there were seven plays after the helmet toss, and I thought our kids won all of them.”
St. Charles has a group of supporters on its sideline each game that carry out assorted duties.
When Milioto’s extra point went wide, they began taking apart the sideline kicking net to get it ready for what they thought would be a somber ride home.
With the Comets in possession of the ball again, and trailing by a point, they didn’t have time to reassemble the net for Milioto to begin warming up for an opportunity to win the game.
“The net was in shambles,” Stein said. “Those supporters had to hold the kicking net up, and Tyler was banging field goals into the net, basically smoking them in the ribs to get ready for the game-winning kick. You couldn’t write that in a Disney script. It was unbelievable.
“It kind of shows who we are as a community,” Stein said. “I got on those guys for taking the net down and not believing, but they were willing to take those balls into the rib cage to get this kid ready to go make the biggest kick of his life.”
Milioto, who went on to set a national career record in soccer with 222 goals, lined up on the right hash with Pregeant, his holder bringing in a high snap, and the 44-yard attempt successfully carried through the end zone and onto the restraining net.
“Our defensive coordinator said winning’s a skill, and it’s a skill that our kids possess,” Stein said. “They don’t flinch. They don’t panic. I was proud of the program in general for staying in the fight. I know it could make a movie.”
Shaw lateraled its final offensive play of the game with Monica making his fourth and final tackle at his own 37.
LeBlanc, his team’s Most Outstanding Player, completed 18 of 24 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown, with Kugler catching three passes for 49 yards. Anderson had four tackles, and Pregeant added three tackles to his five punts.
“The secret to our success is the kids that are good enough to help us in both; they all play both,” Stein said. “We’re truly putting the best product that our school could put out there in those two sports because of that.”