Destrehan trailed throughout the first half Friday night against East St. John, but the Wildcats bounced back in the third quarter, with an 84-yard touchdown run by Kirk Merritt giving his team a lead they would not relinquish.
East St. John struck first midway through the first quarter when Xavier Lewis connected with Jarrod Jackson on a 28-yard touchdown pass. Destrehan blocked the extra point, but the visiting Wildcats would strike again to start the second quarter.
Lewis and Jackson hooked up again for a 34-yard pass and catch that brought East St. John to the Destrehan 5-yard line.
On 4th and goal from the two, East St. John running back Nigel Anderson was stopped behind the line of scrimmage but kept fighting toward the right sideline before leaping into the end zone. Lewis tossed a two-point conversion to give East St. John a 14-0 lead, stunning the Destrehan crowd.
Destrehan was able to cut into the lead on a quick scoring drive before halftime. The Wildcats took over on their own 43 with 2:29 remaining in the second quarter, and Kirk Merritt moved them into ESJ territory with a 26-yard run.
Merritt followed with an 8-yard gain, and Will Matthews rushed for seven yards to the ESJ 16.
On the next play, Matthews plowed through East St. John defenders for a 13-yard gain, and he scored later on a short touchdown run from a yard out to get the Wildcats on the board.
Destrehan’s defense came up big in the third quarter by making two plays that led to Wildcat scores.
After holding East St. John to a 3-and-out, cornerback Korian Reynaud dropped ESJ punter Nigel Anderson for a loss and Destrehan took over on the ESJ 16. On the next play, Matthews ran through the middle untouched for a touchdown that tied the game at 14-14.
East St. John moved the ball into Destrehan territory on their next series, but Kendell Anderson stepped in front of a pass intended for Jackson and returned it to the ESJ 16.
A play later, Destrehan quarterback Kohen Granier threw a screen pass to Merritt, who caught the ball at the line of scrimmage and road the right sideline for an 84-yard touchdown that gave the Wildcats a 21-14 lead with 2:13 left in the third.
Once again East St. John responded by driving down the field into Destrehan territory, getting inside the Wildcat 10-yard line. However, the Destrehan defense held and knocked down a 4th down pass to give their offense the ball back.
Merritt reached the end zone again a few minutes later on a 26-yard touchdown run to put the Wildcats up 28-14.
ESJ would threaten again in the fourth quarter, but Anderson picked off his second pass of the night, this time in the end zone, to end the threat and secure the Destrehan victory.
The Wildcats finished the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record. The Class 5A playoff seedings will be announced on Sunday.
Click here to view photos from the game.
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