Wildcats enter district play undefeated

Destrehan defense steps up in 10-6 defeat of St. James

Wide receiver and defensive back Edwin Reed (#1) had a 21-yard touchdown reception and two key pass deflections in Destrehan's victory over St. James last Friday.

The Destrehan Wildcats escaped St. James on Friday with a 10-6 victory, closing out their non-district schedule with a 5-0 record. In order to mirror that record in the second half of the season, the Wildcats will have to go through some tough opponents, including tomorrow's John Ehret Patriots.

Last Thursday, the Patriots took down the number four team in Class 3A, the Karr Panthers, 22-20 in a game that featured the Patriots making big plays on special teams. The Patriots are also on a three game winning streak after starting the season 0-2.

The Wildcats in turn, defeated the number two team in Class 2A last Friday with a very strong defense that made several big plays. St. James had already shown their strength to St. Charles Parish in defeating Hahnville in the Jamboree.

Tomorrow's game will be about who can stop the other team from making the big play. Destrehan's offense was smothered this past week by a strong St. James defense. Ehret's defense is not as tough, so the scoring in this game should be higher that last week's. However, Ehret's offense is strong, led by quarterback Rico Jones, so the Wildcats will have to maintain their solid performances that they have displayed the past few weeks.

Last Friday's game was a battle between two very good defenses. Destrehan's defense bent more than St. James' but it only broke once.

Quarterback Jordan Jefferson was held to 78 yards and a touchdown, while running back Jerrico Nelson finished with 57 yards on 17 carries.

It was the Destrehan defense that set up the victory late in the first quarter. Defensive lineman Quince Perrilloux picked up a St. James fumble and ran it back 35 yards to the St. James 20. A couple of plays later, Jefferson connected with wide receiver Edwin Reed on a 21-yard touchdown reception. Ryan Rome's extra point put Destrehan up 7-0 just seconds into the second quarter.

Midway through the second quarter, with Destrehan driving deep into St. James territory, a Jefferson pass was intercepted at the nine. But Destrehan kept them pinned in and forced them to punt. On the ensuing punt return, Joshua Victorian seemingly returned the ball 42 yards for a touchdown.

But a St. James player had ripped Victorian's helmet off, prompting a penalty which brought the ball back to the 16-yard line. Two plays later, St. James incurred three personal fouls on a Jefferson run which took Destrehan down to the two. The offense couldn't put the ball in on three plays, so Rome was called upon to kick a 20-yard field goal which put Destrehan up 10-0.

The rest of the first half continued to be a defensive struggle as did the start of the second half. After a 50-yard kick return by Damaris Johnson, the Destrehan offense stalled at the St. James 37-yard line.

St. James took advantage and put their only points on the board on a Juarelle Narcisse touchdown run. The extra point was blocked by linebacker Chris Richard, leaving the score at 10-6 Destrehan.

Another Destrehan linebacker came up big later in the game when Durrell Bell recovered a fumble as St. James was driving into Destrehan territory. And at 10-6 is where the scoring ended, giving Destrehan a perfect non-district season.