Destrehan kicks off its postseason at Fighting Wildcat Stadium this Friday night with a familiar foe as visitor.
DHS earned the No. 6 seed when brackets were announced this week, and thus hosts No. 27 seed and District 7-5A rival East St. John for an opening round matchup.
It will be a rematch of the regular season meeting between the teams, one Destrehan dominated on the way to a 36-0 victory at home on Oct. 2.
For Destrehan head football coach Marcus Scott and his staff, it didn’t take a lot of digging to find a strong example of how quickly things can change from one game to the next between familiar opponents.
In Destrehan’s 2022 state championship season, it traveled to Reserve for a late season meeting with ESJ and came away with a 49-7 win that was all but over before halftime.
But just a little more than a month later, East St. John gave DHS its biggest scare on the way to the championship – the Fighting Wildcats survived for a 21-20 state quarterfinal victory, one that came down to Travon Thomas’ pass breakup on ESJ’s attempt at a potential game-winning 2-point conversion.
“We barely got out of there alive,” said Scott.
That Destrehan team finished the season undefeated, yet was a play away from heartbreak.
“We showed (the game) to the kids because our seniors were in 8th grade when it happened,” Scott said. “We wanted to make sure they knew the history behind it and how East St. John plays us traditionally through the years.”
Destrehan takes to these playoffs as a very hungry team. DHS (8-2) has established a tradition of deep playoff marches – nine of the past 13 years have seen the Wildcats reach the state semifinal round or beyond.
But last season, the Wildcats fell in Round Two to eventual state champion Ouachita Parish. 21-19, for an uncharacteristic early playoff exit.
“We’ve constantly talked to our guys about being prepared to play a four-quarter game and understanding the importance of it,” said Scott. “The season is going to be over for somebody on Friday night. And for a lot of kids, they won’t play again after this game, whether that’s on their side or on our side.”
East St. John is 3-7 this season, but behind the record has been a team that, as Scott alluded to, has played in plenty of games that were decided in the fourth quarter. Four of the team’s seven losses have been by two points or less, including ESJ’s past three losses.
ESJ has gotten healthier as the season has gone on, and defensively it brings what Scott noted as one of the better front seven’s his team has faced this season. Alvin Williams and Jayden Johnson attack off the edges. Khalil Green-Gathers is stout at linebacker.
“Those kids come off the ball and create some real problems for you,” said Scott. “. Their guys in the secondary have picked off some passes over the past few weeks as well … I think as a whole, that team has improved a lot since the first time we played against them.”
Offensively, the biggest change has been the shift of the backfield to Stanford Jenkins, who moved to running back from the defensive side of the ball and has taken the bulk of the carries for East St. John down the stretch.
“It adds another dimension to their offense because he’s a bigger kid, probably about 220 pounds at running back, and that can be hard to contend with,” said Scott.
Deontae Fleming, meanwhile, is one of the most dangerous offensive players in the state at wide receiver. The Nicholls State commitment creates explosive plays and makes tough, contested catches on a weekly basis.
“When you don’t have to play against him, watching him is entertainment,” said Scott. “He can score from anywhere and at any time … he doesn’t have to be open. It’s something that I think he and (Destrehan wide receiver Jaylan Ash) have in common. Some kids have to be open to catch the ball. They’re able to go up and compete for the ball and make the play.”
