Destrehan put together a strong jamboree performance at Lutcher in its final dress rehearsal before the start of the regular season – and that’s great timing, because a significant test awaits.
The Wildcats go on the road to face the challenge of Catholic-Baton Rouge, a team in the championship hunt year in and year out, and one Destrehan began last season against in a classic game.
Catholic went 11-1 last season, the defense of its 2023 state championship only ending in the state semifinals against Karr. Over the past two seasons, the Bears are 33-4 in total, and the program has won five state championships since 2015.
Like last year, it’s a battle of recent state champions.
To start the season on the road against such a strong opponent?
“Well, that’s never fun,” quipped Destrehan head coach Marcus Scott. “I’m kidding of course when I say that. It’s really good competition. We can only grow and get better from that.”
The game last season between the teams was quite memorable, for many reasons. Catholic ended what was Destrehan’s 33-game regular season winning streak with a 23-20 win it secured in the final moments on Jayden Miles’ touchdown run with 18 seconds left to play. The game was played in a downpour at Wildcat Stadium and an unexpected halftime delay led to questions as to whether the game would be resumed; the heavy rain caused portions of the field turf to bubble up. Ultimately, the field reverted to normal and the game was played to finish.
Several key players from that Bears team have since graduated; the returning roster is still loaded with talent. Offensively, Miles is a gamebreaker at running back. At quarterback, Destrehan likely has two different passers to prepare for, as last year’s starter Baylor Graves has battled Turner Goldsmith for the starting job throughout the summer. Both players saw time in last week’s jamboree, one that saw Catholic edge Madison Prep, 14-6.
Tight end Jude Chamberlain, meanwhile, is a matchup problem for most at 6’5 and 230 lbs. Up front, Catholic has two returnees and three new starters.
Defensively, tackle TJ Dearbonne plugs the middle at 320 lbs. Jace Holland brings size as well at 285 lbs. as the other defensive tackle. Linebacker Max Maurer is one of the defense’s most productive players.
A very dangerous player lurks in the secondary. Blaine Bradford enters his fourth year as a Bears starter and is committed to play at Ohio State. Bradford is 6’2, 205 lbs. and he’ll be a presence all night on Friday.
There could be some interesting matchups in the open field here. Bradford is the No. 2 rated player in the state by 247 Sports; Destrehan’s Jabari Mack, an LSU commit, is No. 6.
STRONG ADDITION – Friday night was Jaylan Ash’s debut with the Wildcats. The junior wide receiver and 4-star recruit as per Rivals.com caught a pass for 14 yards while flashing promise for his contributions in the return game.
“Jaylan brings some versatility. He can really help us in the return game and he’s a guy that can make the tough catches,” Scott said.
BLADE OF GRASS – Scott has noted over his tenure with the Wildcats of the defensive philosophy that if there’s even a blade of grass between the opposing offense and the goal line – the Wildcats will defend it with all they have.
After Lutcher began Friday’s jamboree with a fumble recovery on a high punt snap, they were just eight yards away from scoring. Destrehan held Lutcher without points, helping lead to a 21-7 victory.
“That was huge. It really helped our confidence,” Scott said. “We have several new players on defense and so to get a stop down there against a really good program helps us … it really was good work for both sides.”
DESTREHAN 21, LUTCHER 7
Destrehan battled a perennial state contender on its home field to close Friday’s River Parishes Jamboree – and the Wildcats look ready for the season to come.
DHS earned a 21-7 victory over Lutcher in the exhibition, which was contested over two 12-minute periods at the Bulldogs’ Dog Yard.
It was a largely dominant effort for the Wildcats – but for a kickoff return for a score for Lutcher, Destrehan’s defense shut out the Bulldogs’ offense and allowed it little in terms of yardage throughout. Destrehan’s offense looked sharp and productive as well, following up on an end of season surge that saw the team pile up points as it began to master then-first year offensive coordinator Clinton Harrison’s offense.
“I thought we ran the ball decent and played better defense in the second half,” said Destrehan head coach Marcus Scott. “There was a lot of good effort tonight but still a ton of things for us to clean up.
It was a mistake early that threatened to put Destrehan in chase mode early, however. A high snap on a punt led to Lutcher taking over at the DHS 8-yard line. But the Wildcats stood tall on defense and held the Bulldogs without a score.
Chandler Scott intercepted a pass to help spur Destrehan to its first score of the night. Those first points came from an unsurprising source – that connection from quarterback Jackson Fields to wide receiver Jabari Mack. This time it was a 30-yard pass over the top that pushed Destrehan ahead 7-0.
That ignited a wild series of events, that score the first of three touchdowns in less than 30 seconds.
Lutcher immediately answered on the ensuing kickoff. The Bulldogs’ Ashton Stark went more than 90 yards on the kick return to tie things up.
Then Malachi Dabney took the first play of the Wildcats’ drive 56 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-7, which was the score at half.
In the third quarter, Destrehan forced the third of Lutcher’s three turnovers on the night, a fumble recovery that led to a 9-yard Dabney touchdown run to make it 21-7.
Dabney finished with over 100 yards and two scores to pace the DHS rushing attack.
“His effort is always good. He’s a hard worker, he’s a leader and he’s a great person,” Scott said.
