Last week represented the pinnacle of what Destrehan can be when all aspects of the team are clicking.
This week was more a case of finding a way when it had to. On a night of less than ideal weather conditions for passing — chilly and damp — it wasn’t pretty, but second-seeded Destrehan put away No. 31 Hammond, 22-0, in a Class 5A opening round game at Wildcat Stadium.
The Wildcats advance to round two where they will travel to face No. 18 Landry-Walker, which bested Barbe in round one, 30-12.
Kyle Edwards rushed for two touchdowns and John Emery punched in another for Destrehan (10-1), which led 15-0 at halftime.
“We knew they were good on defense,” Destrehan coach Stephen Robicheaux said. “Slidell scored 26 on them and that’s really the only team to score that many … we didn’t move the ball well. We weren’t sharp. Defensively, we played well at times, but not so much at others. It definitely concerns me … we played so well last week and weren’t as ready to play as we needed to be tonight.”
While it may not have been Destrehan’s sharpest performance, the Wildcats nonetheless maintained firm control of the game for most of the night. After notching a safety for the game’s first points on a mishandled punt, Destrehan went ahead 8-0 on Emery’s 2-yard touchdown run (the extra point was no good).
Edwards was next to score, his 4-yard second quarter touchdown run making it a 15-0 halftime lead for Destrehan.
Hammond (6-5) dominated possession in the third quarter — through its first 10 minutes, Hammond had the ball for all but two plays and recovered a Destrehan fumble along the way. The Wildcats bent, but didn’t break, with Daunte Jefferson shorting out one drive with his sack of quarterback Kevin Primus, and a host of Wildcats snuffing out a fourth down pass behind the line of scrimmage to end the next one.
Those drives each ended in DHS territory and represented Hammond’s best chance to get back into the game. Destrehan didn’t allow the Tornados much footing from there, and Edwards’ 33-yard touchdown run with 3:50 left in the fourth quarter sealed the deal on another Wildcats playoff victory.
Champ Craven led Destrehan’s defensive effort in the shutout, intercepting a pass and recovering a fumble to end two Tornado drives.
Destrehan’s usually high-flying offense was held in check, with quarterback J.R. Blood held to 52 yards passing on the night one week after accounting for five touchdowns and completing 14-of-16 attempts.
Robicheaux acknowledged that the weather created tough conditions for both offenses, but added that his team must be ready to deal with that going forward.
“It’s only going to get colder,” Robicheaux said.
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