Sts. Paul, Augustine discover snoozing is losing

   St. Paul’s may be leading its district (6-5A), and St. Augustine may still be considered the team to beat in District 10-4A, but losses by both last weekend sent the two tumbling from Top 10 consideration in their respective classifications.
    St. Paul’s is 2-0 in district play and could sweep the district for the second year in a row. But the Wolves’ 28-11 loss to Salmen, coupled with two earlier defeats, lost the attention of the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, which selected them its No. 1 team in 2011.
    And Holy Cross’ surprise domination of a talent-laden but penalty-prone St. Aug team by a 30-21 score dropped the Purple Knights from No.  7 to an also-ran on the Class 4A list.
    On the other hand, Archbishop Rummel had no trouble remaining the No. 1 Class 5A team in the minds of the sports writers and power rankings as the Raiders’ defense stifled another hapless foe, Thibodaux, 56-0.
    The Raiders, which host No. 9 West Jefferson on Oct. 13 at Joe Yenni Stadium, will face their most talented opponent thus far until they meet Jesuit in two weeks.
    No. 2 West Monroe, the defending 5A champion, also has a tough test this week when it hosts No. 4 Ouachita. Both have 5-1 records.
    If the Rebels get past this one, they should stroll through their remaining district games and remain the No. 2 seed.
    If Rummel wins out, the two will remain on opposite sides of the playoff bracket.
    St. Paul’s demise opened the door to Jesuit, which received little notice from the pollsters until it won its fifth straight game last weekend by downing Chalmette, 35-7. The Blue Jays were awarded the No. 10 spot despite being just one of two teams on the 5A list that has yet to lose a game.
    St. Augustine and district mate East Jefferson, previously ranked No. 10, yielded their 4A spots to St. Thomas More, a surprise winner over No. 2 Teurlings Catholic, and to Vandebilt Catholic, which has won five consecutive games since losing its opener to E.D. White.
    The Purple Knights could inch back up with a good showing against Warren Easton (3-2), a team which handed East Jefferson its first loss of the season on Oct. 4.
     The reigning Class 3A state champion, St. Charles Catholic, seems to have disposed of its early-season demons. At least the pollsters thought so by moving the 3-2 Comets a notch up to No. 5.
    That will undoubtedly change depending on how SCC handles difficult back-to-back District 7-3A opponents Port Allen this week and No. 7 Brusly on Oct. 19. The Comets have Port Allen (4-1 and playing well) at home, but will have to travel to face Brusly, which is averaging nearly 40 points per game.
    Ron Brocato can be reached at rbrocato@clarionherald.org.