In District 7-5A, there’s no time for rest.
Six of the district’s seven teams are vying for the postseason and positioning within it. The majority of games within it have been close battles, and it boasts teams of every style.
So after nailing down a key victory last week at Thibodaux to snap a two-game losing streak, it won’t get much easier for Destrehan (5-3, 3-2) as it takes on a proficient offensive team in Central Lafourche.
The Trojans (5-3, 1-3) have lost two in a row and are themselves in need of a win to turn things around—Central fell to Hahnville and to East St. John over the past two weeks. ESJ held the Trojans to a season-low point total last week in a 54-19 win, but Central Lafourche has scored 30 or more points in every other game this season, including three times topping the 50 point barrier.
Their ball control attack starts with Deon Jenkins Jr., one of Louisiana’s most statistically impressive rushers.
“You have to stop him,” Robicheaux said. “He’s the guy who gets that ball 90 percent of the time, and he’s the guy that makes them go. He can take it the distance.”
Last week, Kyle Edwards and Razan Keller led a staggering rushing effort as the two combined for over 300 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground at Thibodaux. That also allowed Destrehan to keep Thibodaux’s strong offense on the sideline much of the game.
Robicheaux would love to see a repeat performance. He also realizes that Central Lafourche has designs on the same goal, and has moved and controlled the ball in most of their games.
“We always look to stop the run and be able to run on our end of it. We’ll go in with the same mentality as we did last week, but they want to be ball control as well,” Robicheaux said. “They have a real big tight end and they’ll go two tight, play smashmouth football. They’re tough to stop. We know it.”
Central Lafourche has allowed some big scoring efforts as well, though, particularly recently with a combined 96 points allowed in its two game losing streak. The quickest way to force a running team out of its gameplan is to establish a lead.
“Hopefully we can do the same,” Robicheaux said. “They’re real good up front on defense. Those four down lineman are really active. East St. John had a lot of success throwing the ball. You want to try to get your playmakers into the secondary, because that front is really good.”
Robicheaux said last week’s win was a critical one—without that, DHS would have its back against the wall, potentially. But there’s still a sense of urgency to earn a second straight win headed into next week’s rivalry battle with Hahnville.
“There have been dogfights every week in our district. It’s good for the players and good for the coaches, because it keeps you sharp and prepared every week. Last week was big. Hopefully we get another one here,” he said.
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