Destrehan battled back in the fourth quarter of its home game with Alexandria last week, but the Wildcats fell a touchdown short of the comeback in a 27-21 loss.
DHS will have to quickly shake that off as they go on the road this week for a matchup with River Parishes rival and District 8-5A competitor East St. John in the district opener for both teams.
ESJ went 2-7 last season, including a 39-16 loss to DHS, in a down year for a historically strong program. These two Wildcat teams have a long history of games that come down to the wire between teams boasting talented players up and down its respective rosters.
This season, thus far, has not gone much better for East St. John. The Wildcats are 0-3, though it must be noted that mark has come against very difficult competition. ESJ has lost 49-6 to St. James, 56-6 against St. Augustine and 37-7 against Hammond.
But East St. John always brings a talented group to the field, and historically ESJ and Destrehan have played some classics.
Da’Mon Scott leads ESJ at quarterback. Scott took over the position as a sophomore last year. His favorite target is Deonte Fleming, a sophomore wide receiver. Fleming’s brother Donte plays in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings. East St. John is breaking in several new starters on the offensive line.
Defensively, East St. John is far more experienced, led by defensive ends Jayden Johnson and Stanford Jenkins and linebacker Warren Leboeuf.
ANOTHER BIG DAY FOR DABNEY – Malachi Dabney is averaging more than 8 yards a carry this season, his latest performance producing 188 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries against Alexandria.
The junior rusher saw his production blast off from the middle of his sophomore year onward, with five games of more than 200 yards since that point. Friday fell just short of a sixth, but the way Destrehan has run the ball thus far this season as a unit suggests it may not be long until that sixth occasion.
EMERGING WEAPON – Friday night was the second consecutive game with a touchdown for Cai Williams, who is stepping up this season among Destrehan’s pass catchers.
Williams caught two passes for 59 yards and a score Friday night, his touchdown late in the fourth quarter from distance and giving Destrehan life as it cut the AHS lead to six. The senior also caught two passes for 29 yards and a touchdown a week earlier against Bonnabel in abbreviated action for the starting lineup.
