Destrehan’s 33-game regular season winning streak was snapped Friday night as Catholic-Baton Rouge scored a go-ahead touchdown with 18 seconds left to emerge with a 23-20 victory at Wildcat Stadium.
It was a night where the rain was relentless and an unexpected halftime delay led to questions as to whether the game would be resumed – providing a unique backdrop to what was a matchup of programs that have won state championships over the past two years, Destrehan in 2022 and Catholic in 2023.
“Sometimes things happen and it’s not in your favor,” said Destrehan head coach Marcus Scott on his message to his team after the game. “And you have to get to the next play and execute. It’s no different than when things happen in your lives, and it’s bad – you have to have that mental toughness to keep going.”
The Wildcats’ last regular season loss prior to Friday’s game came in Week 1 of the 2020 season.
“It was tough, very tough in that locker room,” Scott said. “This group is not accustomed to losing, especially at home.”
Perhaps the toughest part to absorb for the Wildcats was that at several points in the game, this seemed like a matchup destined to fall in Destrehan’s favor.
Certainly so early on: The Wildcats forced an early turnover and Jhase Thomas made it count, putting Destrehan ahead 6-0 on a touchdown run out of the Wildcat formation. That lead grew to 14-0 after Jackson Fields connected with Jabari Mack for a 58-yard touchdown pass.
Jayden Miles answered for Catholic, scoring on a touchdown run in the redzone before the Bears tacked on a two-point conversion to make it 14-8.
Then came halftime – a long halftime.
The heavy rain caused portions of the field turf to bubble up, leading to a delay – and uncertainty as to whether this battle of top contenders would be concluded on this night.
“It was kind of a weird time for everyone because when we have a lightning delay, we know based on the timing of the strikes how long we actually have to wait,” said Scott. “We didn’t know here. We just had to keep the kids in it mentally during the delay.”
Ultimately, the issue subsided and with the playing surface safe to compete upon, the teams returned to the field to warm up.
Once the third quarter began, Catholic quickly took the lead. Sam Norman’s interception of Jackson Fields led to CHS driving down to the DHS 2. Baylor Graves took the snap and powered in to push his Bears ahead by 1, 15-14.
Destrehan answered, their ensuing drive capped by a Jackson Fields 2-yard touchdown run – utilizing the “push” play made famous by the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles. That run made it 20-15.
With less than four minutes left in the game, Catholic forced a Destrehan punt. The Bears quickly faced a fourth and five – essentially with the game on the line. Miles took the carry to the right side and Destrehan surged to meet him near the line to gain for the first down.
A measurement was required – and it was very close. Catholic got the first down by a nose.
“I thought we had them stopped, and that didn’t happen,” Scott said. “We had to continue on. (Catholic) made some plays at the end and it was a great effort by those kids.”
Time was running down. Catholic had approximately 90 seconds to drive from midfield, in conditions not conducive to passing.
But with less than a minute left, Graves heaved the ball down the left sideline – and found Amari Clayton, whose falling catch set Catholic up at Destrehan’s 5-yard line with less than 30 seconds left.
Miles took the ball on the handoff and scored to lift Catholic to a 23-20 lead after the Bears added the two-point conversion with 18 seconds left.
Catholic recovered the ensuing short kickoff and kneeled out the rest of the clock.
“There were some other things we could have done at a little bit of a higher level to not have it come down to one play,” Scott said. “There’s always a lot to learn … I am very happy with our kids’ effort and how hard they played tonight. But there’s certainly a lot to look at … obviously, there’s always something you can do better. We’ll start on that (Saturday) morning.”
