Milioto redemption field goal lifts St. Charles over Shaw in Division II State Championship game

by: Travis Connelley // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

NEW ORLEANS — Just five weeks prior, District 9-4A rivals St. Charles and Archbishop Shaw clashed in the regular season finale for both with the Comets prevailing 24-0. 

Fast-forward to Saturday’s Division II Select State Championship, and it was much more of a nail-biter but the same outcome as the Comets got a go-ahead 44-yard field goal from Tyler Milioto with just 5 left as St. Charles secured a 23-21 win over the Eagles. The win marks the first state title for the Comets since 2022 as they prevented the Eagles from claiming their second-consecutive crown.

For Milioto, his make was redemption as just moments prior, he missed a potential game-tying extra point following a St. Charles touchdown, pulling the Comets within one at 21-20 with 35 seconds to go. 

“I wasn’t really feeling anything because I said that it can’t get much worse than what just happened,” said Milioto, describing how he felt while preparing to kick the eventual game-winning field goal. “I saw it go in, and I don’t remember what happened afterward.” 

St. Charles head coach Wayne Stein said that the win was extra special because it came a little more than a year after the Comets lost special teams coordinator and strength coach John Talley, who passed away in November 2024. 

“We said that we were going to dedicate this season to Coach Talley,” Stein said. “We wanted to honor him in a way that we played every day and competed and played with toughness because he was a tough sucker. Things have happened lately. Last week, we beat U-High by blocking an extra point to force overtime. I don’t know if you believe in those things, but it was John Talley’s 62nd birthday last Friday, and somehow his intervention was there again tonight.” 

The Comets threw the first punch in the game as ChrisDon McClain took the opening kickoff back 67 yards, giving St. Charles an early momentum boost. The Comets used it to their advantage as quarterback Landree LeBlanc led a seven-play, 29-yard drive that culminated with a two-yard touchdown run by Skyler Edwards on a 4th and goal. The conversion was the second successful 4th down gamble by St. Charles on the drive. Milioto’s extra point gave the Comes a 7-0 advantage. 

For the remainder of the opening quarter, both teams traded punts as the opposing defenses shone. 

The Eagles broke through on their opening drive of the second quarter. It was a heavy dose of running back Deandre Franklin as the senior ran the ball six times for 17 yards, but the scoring play came on the eighth play of the drive when quarterback Allen Shaw found Elliott Love over the middle on a 25-yard touchdown pass. JonCarlos D’Bra added the extra point, tying the game at 7 with just under 7:00 to go until halftime. 

On the ensuing drive, St. Charles answered right back with another efficient drive, similar to their first. The highlight of the drive came on a 3rd and 7 from the Comet 38 as LeBlanc connected with Gabriel Kugler on a 43-yard passing play, setting St. Charles up with prime field position. Three plays later, the LeBlanc-Kugler connection produced points as the former found the latter on a 4-yard reception and with the Milioto PAT, St. Charles jumped back on top at 14-7 with 1:44 to go in the first half.

Both teams had difficulty getting their offenses going in the early stages of the third quarter, but the Eagles broke through a little more than halfway through the period with an Allen Shaw eight-yard touchdown run with 4:03 to go, tying the score at 14. The key play on the Eagle drive came during a 4th and 2 from the Shaw 44, where a fake punt was successfully converted on a pass from up-man Jonathan Williams to Love for 38 yards. 

The touchdown not only tied the score, but it provided a big momentum boost for the Eagles, which carried over to the defense who forced yet another Comet punt. 

On the opening play of the following possession, Allen Shaw sliced through the St. Charles defense on a quarterback keeper and rumbled into the end zone from 81 yards out, giving the Eagles their first lead of the game at 21-14 with 16 to go in the third quarter. 

After regaining possession, Shaw attempted to make it a two-score game, and it appeared the Eagles would do so, but a 33-yard D’Bra field goal sailed wide left, keeping the Comets within striking distance. 

St. Charles looked for the equalizer and moved the ball into Shaw territory, but an interception quickly swung the momentum back to the visiting sideline. 

Later in the fourth, the Comets got another opportunity and produced, arguably, their best drive of the evening. LeBlanc and the Comets put together an 11-play, 82-yard drive that wrapped with Edwards’ second score of the night, this time from a yard out. 

Milioto was unable to connect on the PAT, and it appeared that Shaw was going to run out the clock and get the win, but a combination of a tough Comet defense, an unfortunate unsportsmanlike penalty on the Eagles, and a short punt to the Shaw 32-yard line gave the Comets and Milioto the final opportunity they needed.

LeBlanc led St. Charles with 174 yards and a touchdown on 18-of-24 passing, helping him earn Most Outstanding Player. Edwards had two scores and 44 yards on 19 carries to go along with seven catches for 21 yards. 

Allen Shaw, who was wrapping up his first year as quarterback, completed 4-of-7 passes for 61 yards and a score. On the ground, he had 14 carries for 126 yards and two touchdowns. De’Andre Frank also broke the century mark in rushing with 100 yards on 17 carries. 

After the game, Shaw head coach Hank Tierney reflected on the game, expressing he was proud of his team but adding it was a tough pill to swallow and that his  team had opportunities to prevail.

“I’ve been a head coach for 40-plus years, and I’ve seen a lot of crazy endings to games, and I’ve lost games, but this is absolutely the toughest loss I have ever taken as a coach,” he said. “I’ve had my share of good times and bad times, and I feel bad for these guys because they have worked so hard, but the bottom line is that we let St. Charles drive 80 yards.”