Destrehan found itself in a bit of trouble last week at East St. John, trailing after three quarters in Reserve. But the Wildcats turned on the afterburners and came away with a 39-20 victory to remain unbeaten this season. That said, Destrehan coach Stephen Robicheaux both credited his team for its resilience but cautioned that his team cannot simply rely on pulling things together late. He said he hopes to see a more complete effort Friday night as his team travels to face Central Lafourche in District 7-5A action Friday night.
“In a lot of ways, we’ve been our own worst enemy,” Robicheaux said. “You look at the last couple of games, we struggled for a half against East St. John and we struggled for a half against Hahnville. A lot of credit goes to those teams for having a good plan and executing. We’ve also made things more difficult for ourselves through some mistakes. We need to play four full quarters every time we go out there. That we’re not is the sign of an inexperienced team and it’s something we need to correct.”
Central Lafourche (4-2, 0-2) began the season 4-0 with wins over Patterson, Vandebilt Catholic, South Terrebonne and South Lafourche but has dropped consecutive games to H.L. Bourgeois and Thibodaux. The first was a 42-35 loss on the road; the second a lopsided 56-7 loss to visiting Thibodaux.
“They’re in a situation where they’ve got to win,” Destrehan coach Stephen Robicheaux said. “We’re going to get their best effort. Coach (Keith) Menard always gives us fits with what they do and they’ve got great tradition over there.”
Robicheaux said that if not for a bad break or two in its week four loss to H.L. Bourgeois, the Tarpons could be 5-1.
“They do a great job there. They’ve got great fan support. Certainly, I’d feel better if we were playing them at Destrehan,” Robicheaux said. “They’ll bring a big crowd and they’ll be pretty pumped up.”
Wide receivers Kenneth Poindexter and David Robinson Jr. are offensive players for the Trojans Robicheaux says his team must be mindful of. Poindexter, in particular, he noted as a tremendous playmaker, a 6’4 leaper. Robinson Jr. is another tall receiver at 6’3.
“They’re tall, lanky guys with a great amount of skill,” Robicheaux said. “They put a lot of pressure on your defensive backs.”
Defensively, the Trojans are strong up the middle. Darren Luther and Charles Stewart are a potent tandem at defensive tackle, while Robicheaux also spoke highly of linebacker Zavier Triplett.
“(Triplett) is really active,” said Robicheaux. “He can make it difficult for you.”
Central Lafourche averaged 32 points per game in its first five contests but couldn’t find traction against Thibodaux. The Trojans turned the ball on downs five times in Thibodaux territory throughout the game, coming away with just seven points on 337 total yards of offense.
Destrehan trailed 20-13 at halftime and 20-19 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but ultimately outscored East St. John 26-0 in the second half en route to a 39-20 District 7-5A victory over its longtime River Parishes rival last week.
“At halftime, the one thing I talked about was that we just played the worst half of football that I’d seen in a long time at Destrehan High School and we’re only down seven,” Robicheaux said. “It was just one of those games where everything is seemingly going against you. We were very undisciplined at points. After halftime, we seemed to refocus. Our defense stepped up and we figured some things out.”
John Emery had a big game to lead the Wildcats, rushing for 172 yards and three touchdowns on just 12 carries.
“He’s another member of that sophomore class who just continues to make plays for us,” Robicheaux said.
East St. John (2-4, 1-2) led 13-0 early in the game before Destrehan tied things up on J.R. Blood’s touchdown passes to Shane Wright and Chancey Cothren. East St. John took a seven-point lead at halftime on a Darensbourg run. Emery scored early in the second half to cut the lead to one, but a missed extra point kept ESJ ahead.
Destrehan (6-0, 3-0) missed a 30-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, missing the chance to take the lead. But after an errant ESJ punt traveled just six yards, DHS took over in ESJ territory, where quarterback J.R. Blood found Mike Young for a go-ahead touchdown to make it 25-20.
After the teams traded punts, Destrehan linebacker Jonathan Duhon intercepted ESJ quarterback Marquise Darensbourg to set his offense up with a short field.
John Emery took advantage, scoring on a 20-yard run to make it 32-20 with four minutes left. Emery added his third touchdown late in the game to round out the 39-20 final.
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