It will be a hard performance to top in the lore of the Destrehan/Hahnville rivalry.
Destrehan’s Malachi Dabney scored a whopping seven touchdowns and rushed for more than 200 yards as the Wildcats earned a 49-28 victory over host Hahnville at Tiger Stadium Friday night.
A 72-yard touchdown in the third quarter was the brightest highlight on an entire evening of them for Dabney, who has two six-plus touchdown performances in the past three weeks – he rushed for six in Destrehan’s win over Captain Shreve two weeks ago. He has scored 15 times in the past three weeks.
“We had something to prove,” said Dabney. “We had to come out and show what we can do, and take control of the game.”
Said Destrehan head coach Marcus Scott, “It’s a tribute to (Dabney), it’s quite an individual effort. But it’s also a tribute to a lot of guys doing their jobs tonight. Whenever a night like this happens, it’s a total team effort.”
Scott said the combination of a playmaker like Dabney in the backfield along with an experienced quarterback like Jackson Fields and the Wildcats’ dangerous wide receivers puts the defense in a bind.
“We have threats on the outside you have to respect,” Scott said. “You have a senior quarterback, a three-year starter. You kind of have to pick and choose and make a decision. If they’re stacking the box, we work the perimeter. If they play the perimeter, we’re going to hand the ball off.”
The win was Destrehan’s sixth in a row and sets up a District 8-5A championship game next week between the Wildcats and Thibodaux, which defeated Terrebonne on Thursday night. DHS (8-1, 5-0) is unbeaten in district play while Thibodaux has one in 8-5A.
Hahnville (6-2, 4-2) was in striking distance for most of the night, but could not find a way to get over the hump and tie the game after Dabney’s first touchdown run of the night in the late first quarter.
Destrehan led 20-14 at halftime and got a big stop to begin the third quarter. Hahnville drove into DHS territory and faced a 4th down and short. The Wildcats stopped Landen Teague on a quarterback keeper short of the first down marker and earned a turnover on downs.
The Wildcats’ Jackson Fields bought time – and more downs – with his legs all night and converted on a key third down before Dabney capped the ensuing Wildcats’ drive from 1-yard out. A Fields 2-point pass to Bruce Walker made it 28-14.
Hahnville answered on its next drive when Fabian Celestine scored on a 24-yard touchdown run to pull the Tigers within a score again.
Still, HHS needed a stop. It got one on the lone blemish of the night for Dabney, a fumble that Hahnville recovered to give the Tigers new life.
But Destrehan forced a fourth-and-1, then a personal foul after the play pushed the Tigers back 15 yards – and eliminated a potential decision to go for it.
And on the first play of the fourth quarter it got worse for the Tigers. Destrehan’s Ryan Montegue blocked the ensuing punt and sent the DHS side of the stadium into elation. It set Destrehan up inside the HHS 5, and Dabney punched it in to make it 35-21.
“On the sidelines, it was, ‘Get the ball back, get the ball back,’” said Montegue. “We got a stop on third down. That inside punt (rush) wasn’t working, so I’m gonna go outside. I went outside, they didn’t pick up, and it was a go … it felt wonderful. My team was hyped. It was a way to lift my team and my coaches.”
The Tigers weren’t going to tap out by any means, and HHS fired back on Teague’s touchdown pass to Michael Propps, making it 35-28.
Dabney was too much, though, and immediately issued Destrehan’s response in the form of a 72-yard touchdown run to push the lead back to two scores.
Destrehan’s Cameron Florent intercepted Teague, the quarterback’s second of the night – these represented Teague’s only two interceptions of the year – and Dabney scored again to put the game away for good.
Hahnville’s Al’Jarreau Walker returned a kickoff for a touchdown in the first quarter. Teague and Kevias Singleton also connected for a late-second quarter touchdown.
Hahnville head coach Greg Boyne said Destrehan won the game in the trenches, and that combined with a few Tiger mistakes spelled the end.
“(Destrehan offensive coordinator) Clinton Harrison does a really good job of spreading the ball around to their playmakers, getting them the ball in different ways. I thought their offensive line dominated our defensive line, and their defensive line dominated our offensive line. Add in two turnovers and a blocked punt … we did things that were uncharacteristic, and we talk about it all the time, you do that and you put yourself in position to lose. And if we play how we’re capable of playing, we have a chance to win. And we didn’t tonight.”
