Coming off an emotional 24-6 win over rival Hahnville, the second-ranked Destrehan Wildcats will hit the road for the first time this season when they face undefeated Thibodaux.
“You always worry about how you are going to travel, especially with a young quarterback who will be playing in a hostile environment,” Destrehan head coach Stephen Robicheaux said. “Thibodaux is a tough place to play and it will be a tough game for us because we are coming off a big win. We have to refocus.”
The Wildcats played well on both sides of the ball against Hahnville, especially in the second half. Destrehan led 3-0 at halftime but the Wildcat ground game caught fire after that, leading the team to three touchdowns.
Destrehan’s Kirk Merritt was the catalyst for two of those scores, putting on a show with touchdown runs of 57 and 92 yards. Running back Will Matthews added a 13-yard touchdown run.
“We were kind of looking at things early and seeing how the game would play out. We thought we could run the ball and got things straight in the second half,” Robicheaux said. “Kirk Merritt and Will Matthews really played well for us and I credit coach [Greg] Borne with figuring out how to [attack] Hahnville in the second half.”
While Destrehan’s ground game impressed against Hahnville, the Wildcat defense continued to dominate and is giving up just 9 points per game.
“The defense gets better every week. Coach (Lance) Ledet has done an unbelievable job,” Robicheaux said. “They disguise what they are doing and play very hard. They have given up a few plays, but they make up for it.
“They are just playing tremendous right now.”
The Wildcats will need another great performance from their defense in order to knock off Thibodaux, who is averaging more than 31 points per game. The Tiger offense is led by quarterback Peyton Bonvillain, who had 118 yards while throwing a touchdown and running for another score in his team’s 41-23 win over H.L. Bourgeois last week. Thibodaux running back Jaquan Chenier has also been a dangerous weapon for the Tigers. He rushed for 183 and two touchdowns in his team’s huge win over Shaw to open the season.
“Their quarterback is real good and he does a good job of running their offense and the zone read. As he goes, they go,” Robicheaux said. “Their fullback (Chenier) does a good job of running inside and is very tough to tackle because he’s built like a bowling ball. They have been able to control the line of scrimmage and have success in their running game and we have to stop that.”
Thibodaux also has a receiving threat in Elray Duncan, who had four touchdowns last week.
On defense, Robicheaux singled out Thibodaux’s size up front, which he said will make things difficult for the Destrehan offensive line.
“They are real big up front, they have stocky linebackers that fill holes and they are pretty athletic in the secondary,” Robicheaux said. “We are going to have to run the ball. This is a big game for us and a big game for them.”
As for his young sophomore quarterback Marquise Darensbourg, Robicheaux feels like he will be just fine in the first road start of his career.
“We have been a balanced team this year, and even though we threw for more yardage at this point last season we are throwing it the same number of times. I think Darensbourg is doing fine…he is 5-0,” Robicheaux said. “He just needs to keep get better and getting the ball into our playmakers’ hands.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday.
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