Though Destrehan rallied to tie Edna Karr at 21-21 with only 15 seconds left in regulation, the Wildcats lost in overtime, 29-27, after they failed to make a two-point conversion to extend the contest.
The two teams spent a majority of the night locked in a back-and-forth battle. The Wildcats struck first in the opening seconds when sophomore cornerback Rashaud Joseph intercepted the first pass of the game and returned it for a 20-yard score.
Just like that the Wildcats held a 7-0 lead.
But Karr responded with a solid drive that included a 33-yard run by back Devante Noil that brought the Cougars to the Destrehan 11-yard line. Running back Ronald Johnson then broke free down the left sideline for 11 yards to tie the game at 7-7.
From that point on, each team dealt with drive-killing turnovers.
Destrehan’s Gary Johnson picked off a pass at the 40 with 5:35 left in the first quarter. Two plays later, Wildcat quarterback Dillan Dent threw an interception of his own.
Neither team managed to capitalize on those turnovers, but the Wildcats made sure to make the next one count. Destrehan’s Rickey Jefferson, who was playing cornerback, came up with his first interception of the season and brought the ball all the way back to the Cougar 24-yard line.
A play later, Jefferson took the hand off and sped down the left sideline into the end zone to give the Wildcats a 14-7 lead.
But as the second quarter wore on, it was apparent that Destrehan was having trouble containing Karr running back Jarrell Bennett. Bennett made defenders look like they were moving in slow motion as he spun off tackles and cut through linemen. Late in the second, Bennett finally found pay dirt on a 22-yard run that tied the game at 14-14.
Karr would then take the lead after Dent’s second interception of the game set them up at their own 25. Jazmen Riley found a wide open Rasheed Davis down the left sideline and Davis took it 75 yards to the end zone to give the Cougars a 21-14 lead.
Destrehan’s offense struggled on their next few possessions. Trailing by a touchdown with less than 3 minutes left, it seemed like the Wildcats were going to turn the ball over on downs. But on 4th and 21 from their own 49 yard line, Dent scrambled around and found Michael Smith 34 yards down the field.
Smith carried the ball to the 10 a play later and Dent scampered seven more yards to the 3-yard line. The Karr defense had bent but it wasn’t ready to break. They stuffed Dent on the next two carries and Destrehan eventually found themselves facing 4th and Goal with less than 20 seconds left.
Rickey Jefferson took the handoff, headed right and went into the end zone untouched. Daniel Cimino connected on the extra point and the teams headed into overtime tied at 21-21.
Karr got the ball first and scored on their second play of the overtime period when Davis caught a 10-yard touchdown pass. Karr went for two and scored on a Noil run to take a 29-21 lead.
Dent was caught at the line of scrimmage on Destrehan’s first play of overtime, but he managed to gain five yards to the 5-yard line on his next carry. However, his third down pass fell incomplete and Destrehan once again found themselves facing a 4th and Goal situation.
And again they succeeded.
Dent escaped pressure, ran to his left and found running back Kevin Smith open in the end zone.
The Wildcats play for two points was far less successful.
Jefferson took the handoff but had nowhere to run, so he sprinted to the left side of the field and then reversed direction and headed right. When he realized that he was about to get tackled, Jefferson lateraled the ball. In all, five different Wildcats would touch the ball on the final possession but none of them could get across the goal line for the score.
With the loss, the Wildcats record falls to 2-1. Karr’s record improved to 1-2 with the win.
Click here to view pictures from Destrehan vs. Karr.
Lutcher beats Hahnville 34-21
The Hahnville Tigers and Lutcher Bulldogs played toe to toe for nearly four quarters until the Bulldogs pulled out a 34-21 victory in the closing minutes of the game Friday night.
The final score was not indicative of how close the game was. The score was tied at halftime and two other times, the final time lasting until just two minutes remained in the fourth quarter.
The game began as a defensive struggle, with the Tiger defense showing signs of dominance early, Linebackers Gabe Taylor and James Poree recorded early sacks and the game remained scoreless well into the second quarter.
The Tigers were the first to break the ice on a 75-yard drive culminating in a 29-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Easton Melancon to wide receiver Kailon Carter.
The Tigers continued to hold Lutcher in check until the final seconds of the half when Bulldog quarterback Ruston Matherne found wide receiver Sully Martin for a 44-yard touchdown to tie the game at the half.
The two teams’ defenses controlled most of the third quarter, but a fake punt by Lutcher which featured the punter spinning the ball upwards underhand, resulted in a first down. That led to another Lutcher touchdown, this time a 22-yard pass to wide receiver Dorian Semien.
Lutcher’s lead was short-lived, however, as Hahnville roared back with 55-yard kickoff return from running back Ernest Thompson. The kickoff originally went 85 yards for a touchdown, but was called back on a holding penalty. But justice was served as Thompson found the endzone again five plays later on a two-yard touchdown run.
Several minutes later, into the fourth quarter, the Lutcher connection of Matherne to Martin struck again, this time for a 27-yard touchdown, giving the Bulldogs a 21-14 lead with over eight minutes to go.
However, the Tigers struck back just 20 seconds later when Thompson broke through the Lutcher defense for a 62-yard touchdown run to tie the game again. Thompson led the Tigers in rushing on the night with 82 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. Running back Travis Faucheaux was also successful on the ground with 67 yards on 16 carries.
The tie would last for six more minutes until Lutcher running back Daniel Taylor finally broke free of the Tiger defense that had held him in check most of the night. Taylor found the endzone on a 45-yard run with just under two minutes left to play.
Down 28-21, the Tigers began a push to try to tie the game once more, but seven plays in and with 20 seconds remaining, disaster struck. Bulldog linebacker Chase Caldarera stepped in front of a Melancon pass and ran it back 51 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was missed, but that still left the Tigers with too many points to score and too little time left on the clock.
Kailon Carter led the Tigers in receiving with two catches for 51 yards and a touchdown while defensive lineman Jovon Murray recorded two sacks to help lead the defense.
The loss causes the Tigers to fall to 1-2 on the season. Hahnville will host St. Augustine this Friday at 7 p.m.
Click here to view pictures from Hahnville vs. Lutcher.
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