(This story was updated to correct a misspelling.)

Since Zach Lochard took over as head coach for Lafayette Christian Academy football there has been a big emphasis on finishing.

For the past three seasons, the Knights could practically taste a state championship but couldn’t finish the job coming away as runner-ups. Last season was the same story. They made it all the way to the LHSAA Division II Select state championship but fell short 35-21 to St. Thomas More.

“Finishing has been a huge objective of ours,” Lochard said. “It might not always start good, or it might not always be pretty but you play as a team, you play tough and you compete. You finish.”

With a revived shot at another deep playoff run, the Knights are looking to finish in the 2024 season.

Reliving the heartbreak

Finishing as runner-ups stings but LCA has been embracing the pain this season. Sitting at 1-2 three weeks into the season, each loss has come with a lesson.

“We've actually done in-practice simulations of the exact situation of games that we lost,” Lochard said. “We put on the scoreboard the exact score, the exact time on the clock. We put the ball down on the exact hash, the exact yard line, and we play it out in practice. Today we’re going to run a two-minute drill of the plays at the end of the Rummel game where we came up short.”

Against No. 5 ranked Rummel, the Knights were in a shoot out going score for score with the Raiders. Despite having a solid offensive outing in that game they lost 42-35. They had a similar outcome in Week 3 against another ranked team in No. 16 Westgate. According to junior quarterback Braylon Walker, a slow start gave Westgate the momentum to go on and win the game 39-28.

“They jumped on us,” Walker said. “And after that, we came out strong in the second half but by that time it was too late.”

Walker is picking up where 2024 LCA alum and LSU’s Ju'Juan Johnson left off at the helm of the Knights' offense. So far he’s thrown for nearly 700 yards, seven touchdowns and has rushed for five touchdowns. He also picked up his first Division I offer from Arkansas State.

As he tasted defeat last year, his goal is to get this year’s squad back in state championship contention.

“It was like a gut punch. We went all the way we were happy and of course, we wanted to win,” Walker said. “I actually ended up playing in that game so it hurt. But to me, there’s no other goal right now we just want to win it all.”

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Tools to go all the way

Along with Walker, who is like the engine of the team, LCA has a host of other weapons that can help it finish the job this year. On defense, juniors Luke Green, Michael Bonnet and sophomore Kaleb Simon lead the charge. Green and Simon are both averaging a team-high eight tackles per game while Bonnet follows them with close to seven tackles per game.

The Knights pass defense is led by senior cornerback/full safety Chris Helaire who has recorded their two interceptions so far this year.

“Chris Helaire is getting ready to break the all-time LCA interception record in the next couple of games — might be the next game we have coming up this Friday, ” Lochard said. “We’ve had a lot of new guys because we had a lot of seniors graduate last year. But overall we’ve got a good group of guys and I think some of the top-recruited secondaries in Louisiana.”

On offense, two standouts are senior running back Jalen Noel and wide receiver Brayden Allen.

Noel is a ground-and-pound type of running back who can find running lanes with ease. So far this season he is averaging nearly 90 yards rushing per game and has found the end zone once. In the passing game, standing at 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds, Allen is a go-to target for Walker.

Allen is currently averaging a team-high 105 yards receiving per game for a total of 315 yards and four touchdowns. He will look to continue to play a big role offensively for the Knights as they face Archbishop Shaw on Sept. 27.

“I feel like getting a win this Friday is really important because we didn’t start the season off too strong,” Allen said. “So I feel like if we get this win, we're gonna get more momentum and be able to win the next games.”

Shannon Belt covers high school sports and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow her high school and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ShannonBelt3. Got questions regarding HS/UL athletics? Send them to Shannon Belt at sbelt@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Finishing the job: LCA football is looking to get over runner-up hump