After a crushing miss moments earlier, St. Charles senior kicker Tyler Milioto delivered the decisive blow when it mattered most.

Milioto drilled a 44-yard field goal with five seconds remaining to lift top-seeded St. Charles Catholic to a 23–21 victory over No. 7 Archbishop Shaw in the LHSAA Division II Select state championship Friday night at the Caesars Superdome.

Just 30 seconds earlier, Milioto had pushed what would have been the tying extra point wide left following St. Charles’ go-ahead touchdown. But the Comets were handed new life when Shaw was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct on the first play of the ensuing possession, preventing the Eagles from simply kneeling out the clock.

A Shaw player removed his helmet in celebration after first down, mistakenly believing time had expired. The penalty stopped the clock and allowed St. Charles to conserve its remaining timeouts.

Two plays and two timeouts later, a shanked punt gave the Comets possession at the Shaw 32-yard line with 17 seconds left. A quick five-yard completion set up Milioto’s return to the field, and with 10 seconds remaining, he redeemed himself with the championship-winning kick — securing the fourth state title in school history for St. Charles.

In a matter of seconds, the Comets’ sideline shifted from despair to celebration.

“I felt like I had lost us the game,” Milioto said. “And then next thing I know, I’m back out there kicking the game-winning field goal.”

Before the missed extra point, St. Charles mounted an 82-yard drive capped by senior Skyler Edwards’ one-yard touchdown run, trimming the deficit to 21–20.

Quarterback Landree LeBlanc led a poised offensive effort, completing 18 of 24 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown. He was perfect on all five attempts during the final scoring drive.

“Shaw almost got the best of us, and that wasn’t a fluke,” St. Charles coach Wayne Stein said. “They had a great plan, and they played extremely hard.”

The loss denied Shaw a repeat championship after the Eagles captured their first state title since 1987 last season.

“I’ve coached for more than 40 years, and I’ve seen a lot of crazy endings,” Shaw coach Hank Tierney said. “This is the toughest loss I’ve ever taken.”

Shaw seized control in the third quarter behind quarterback Allen Shaw, who rushed for 126 yards on 14 carries and scored twice in the period.

His first touchdown followed a bold fake punt, when sophomore upback Ted Reine connected with tight end Elliott Love for a 38-yard gain. Two plays later, Allen Shaw scored on an eight-yard run to tie the game at 14–14.

After forcing a punt, Shaw struck again on the first play of the next drive. Allen Shaw burst through a hole on the left side and raced 81 yards for a touchdown with just three seconds remaining in the quarter, giving the Eagles a 21–14 lead.

Shaw had a chance to extend the margin when senior DeAndree Franklin ripped off a 43-yard run to set up a field goal attempt, but the miss kept the game within one score.

St. Charles struck first when senior ChrisDon McClain returned the opening kickoff to the Shaw 29-yard line. Edwards finished the drive with a fourth-and-goal plunge from the 1, a play that required video review after Shaw defenders briefly celebrated what they thought was a stop.

The Eagles evened the score in the second quarter when Love slipped past the secondary and hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass from Allen Shaw.

St. Charles reclaimed the lead late in the half behind tight end Gabe Kugler, whose 43-yard catch on third down jump-started the drive before he finished it with a sliding 14-yard touchdown reception in the end zone with less than two minutes remaining before halftime.

The Comets reached the state championship game for the sixth time in seven seasons, rebounding from last year’s uncharacteristic 4–7 campaign that snapped a five-year run of finals appearances.

Shaw returned to the Superdome as the defending champions, seeking to add to the title they won last season — the program’s first since Tierney’s 1987 Class 4A championship during his initial tenure.

The matchup marked the fifth meeting between the programs in four seasons. St. Charles had won the regular-season meeting 24–0 in Week 10, but Friday’s championship clash proved far more dramatic.