Destrehan got off to a quick start at St. Paul’s Friday night, but could not fend off a Wolves rally as the Wildcats fell 22-14 on the Northshore.
DHS (0-1) led 14-3 before consecutive rushing touchdowns by St. Paul’s (1-0) pushed the hosts ahead 19-14. A late Destrehan fumble on special teams led to a Wolves’ field goal to push the lead to eight and the Wildcats couldn’t rally to tie the game.
St. Paul’s led 3-0 before Destrehan landed its first scoring blow of the night on Razan Keller’s 8-yard touchdown run. That play was set up by quarterback Jai Eugene, who rushed for a 69-yard gain just prior.
Destrehan increased the lead to 14-3 when Ross Rogan – splitting reps at quarterback with Eugene – connected with Daniel Blood for a 21-yard touchdown. A big defensive play set that up as the Wildcats’ Michael Jackson intercepted a pass and returned it into Wolves territory.
But penalties and turnovers ultimately did the Wildcats in, said DHS coach Marcus Scott following his first game as Destrehan’s head coach since he was hired to succeed the retiring Stephen Robicheaux.
“Whenever you go up against a good program like St. Paul’s, you can’t turn the ball over. You can’t give away additional downs to extend drives … things of that nature just hurt you too much against the better teams,” Scott said. “It’s a learning experience for a lot of our kids. There were some good things about our performance tonight, but we also have things we have to clean up.”
He credited the Wolves for stepping up in the second half, but added there were multiple instances where Destrehan’s wounds were self-inflicted.
“I thought a lot of it was us,” Scott said. “We made mistakes and that kept their drives going in some instances. They certainly played very well in the second half, but there was a lot we weren’t doing. And a St. Paul’s doesn’t need our help, they’re good enough on their own.”
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