Destrehan handed Thibodaux its first loss of the season Thursday night, earning a 32-20 road victory – and spoiling the Tigers’ Homecoming in the process.
Malachi Dabney’s breakaway run in the fourth quarter put Destrehan firmly in control – it was Dabney’s second touchdown of the night. The Fighting Wildcats’ defense stood tall in several big spots throughout the game, including a number of fourth down stops and a fourth quarter interception by Ryan Montague.
Destrehan led 19-0 early before Thibodaux fought back in a big way.
Damien Robertson’s touchdown pass to Carlton Ingram brought the Tigers within five late in the third quarter, making the score 25-20. Then the Tigers recovered an onside kick, giving Thibodaux a chance to take its first lead of the game.
But the Wildcats (5-1, 3-0) held firm in the fourth, and that late third quarter touchdown represented Thibodaux’s last points of the night.
“Well, we made it hard on ourselves,” said Destrehan head football coach Marcus Scott. “They had something to do with that, of course. It was a game that was chippy, in front of a big crowd, and I was happy with the way our kids responded. They fought back into the game and we had to hold them off. We made the stops that were necessary to preserve the victory. We got some huge stops on defense.
“It was a great environment, especially for a Thursday night, and certainly a hard fought win. We both got better tonight.”
Destrehan led 22-14 at halftime.
Ian Arcenaux made a field goal to extend the lead to 25-14 in the third quarter.
The Wildcats got off to the fastest start possible when Jaiden Williams returned the opening kickoff of the game for a touchdown.
“We had a good night in the kicking game,” Scott said. “Ian Arceneaux made several field goals for us and all of his extra points. Ryan Comeaux and Ben Hall did a really good job with the operation on punt team. And Jaiden Williams takes the opening kickoff for a touchdown – I thought the kicking game was the difference for us tonight.”
