DOME-ination

Destrehan uses explosive offense to blow past Acadiana 41-21, locks up state championship

For the first time in 24 years, the Destrehan Wildcats are the top team in the state. The Wildcats, who had dominated each of their previous postseason foes, kept chugging right along in front of nearly 40,000 Superdome fans, exploding past Acadiana 41-21 for the 5A state title.

And in an era where physical stature dominates sports, it was one of the smallest guys on the field that brought cheers from half of the Superdome and shocked awe from the other half.

Damaris Johnson, who checks in at 5-foot-8, certaintly proved that size doesn’t matter as he scampered his way to two scores and 94 rushing yards on only five carries.

Johnson was so quick, and made so many razor sharp cuts on the Dome turf, that he left many in attendance wondering how any of his moves were even possible.

While those jukes may have surprised the Acadiana folks in the stands, and numerous college scouts who should have been all over Johnson earlier in the year, this was just a normal game night to the Destrehan fans.

They have been seeing Johnson perform that way in each of the team’s previous 14 wins.

“That was key,” Destrehan head coach Stephen Robicheaux said of Johnson’s performance. “Jordan (Jefferson) made some great reads and we were able to get the ball in the hands of our playmakers. We have so many that a team can’t just focus on one guy.”

Robicheaux is certaintly right about that.

Offensively, Destrehan proved unstoppable and had no trouble running over Acadiana’s defense. LSU commitment Jordan Jefferson completed 10 of 13 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns. The quarterback also displayed plenty of quickness in escaping the pocket, rushing for another 40 yards and a score.

One of Jefferson’s touchdown strikes came on an 80-yard completion to fellow LSU commitment Tim Molton. The other came on a 33-yard pass to Brandon Armstrong.

The defense, which had allowed only seven points in the first four postseason games, had their hands full with Acadiana’s clock churning vear attack.

Though the Rams managed to keep things close in the first half, Destrehan’s defense came up with some big stops in the second half, which gave the offense enough time to pad the lead by two scores.

“We really didn’t make any defensive adjustments in the second half,” Robicheaux said. “When we went up by two scores, we thought we would be ok.

“We expected to be able to score quickly and we knew we were going to have trouble stopping them.”

That state championship win just continued a string of impressive victories by the Wildcats, who had little trouble advancing to the title game.

“The main reason for our success in the playoffs was because of our district,” Robicheaux said. “We got a lot of experience in tough games and we just got on a roll at the right time.”

Robicheaux also credits the improvement of the offensive line with his team’s perfect finish of 15-0.

“The biggest surprise was that our offensive line kept getting better every game,” he said. “That was huge for us and it really paid of Saturday night.”

Also evident last Saturday was the euphoria that the coaching staff and the players experienced after the win.

Destrehan was seen as the team to beat all season long and managing to make it through the year without a single blemish is an amazing accomplishment. That wasn’t lost on Robicheaux.

“You get a feeling of accomplishment and total satisfaction,” he said about the state title win. “You’re just exited for the kids, because all year, the coaches and players had one goal.

“For all that to come together is just unbelievable.”

But just like they did all season, the Wildcats will soon be back to playing with a big target on their backs next year.

“We will enjoy the win through the holidays,” Robicheaux said. “After that, we are going to come back in the new year and focus on the next one.”