Bonnabel traveled to Destrehan in Week 2 of last season, but unlike that game this contest will be played this Friday night at Wildcat Stadium and not on a Sunday, as the 2024 edition was – knock on wood, of course.
That game last season was postponed due to Hurricane Francine, ultimately a 31-0 Destrehan victory. It was a game Bonnabel hung tough in for much of the first half before the Wildcats pulled away – and that may have been an early hint of a Bruins team with a lot of fight in it, as Bonnabel won its final three games to finish the regular season 5-5 and qualify for the state playoffs where the Bruins fell in round one to East Jefferson.
This year’s Bruins team is under a new head coach in former LSU defensive end Andre Anthony, who guided Bonnabel to a 36-0 win over Sophie B. Wright in the season’s opening week.
Destrehan head coach Marcus Scott said it’s clear in watching Bonnabel that it’s a program that’s made strides.
“Well you can tell right off that they’re much improved,” Scott said. “The kids are playing hard, they’re in the right spots and Coach Anthony and his staff are doing a really good job. Those kids played hard last year as well when we saw them.”
Scott said Bonnabel brings athleticism and some very solid skill weapons on offense – and team speed in general across the board – and that leading the way is a quality quarterback in Karl Perkins.
Last week, Perkins generated several big plays, throwing touchdown passes of 32 and 43 yards and reeling off a 77-yard touchdown run to lead his team past Wright.
His favorite target in the game was Jonathan Martin, who scored twice on passes from Perkins.
“(Perkins) is a really good player,” Scott said. “I think their skill guys overall are formidable. There are four different guys who can make plays. (Perkins) is a dual-threat guy so he can throw it and he can run it. He doesn’t put the ball in harm’s way a whole lot, which is a really good quality for any quarterback to have.”
Defensively, Scott said the Bruins are fast and that the secondary stands out, particularly at cornerback.
Destrehan took a tough loss last week at Catholic-Baton Rouge, 32-23, and Scott said the Wildcats will look to take what they learned about themselves against another top contender and build upon it while making necessary corrections.
Despite the loss, that game saw Destrehan’s rushing attack – and junior running back Malachi Dabney – pick up right where it left off last season. Dabney piled up 221 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries and DHS rushed for 272 yards total as a team.
If that 200-yard mark sounds like a trend for Dabney – there’s a reason for that. Over Destrehan’s past nine games – including its three playoff matchups and regular season games with Central Lafourche, Thibodaux, Hahnville and Captain Shreve last season – Dabney has topped 200 yards in five of them. The games he was held under that mark include two he was lifted early in blowout wins; in one of those, he rushed for 146 yards on just seven carries.
Scott said Catholic played a lot of two-deep safety coverage in order to limit the Wildcats’ passing attack and in particular to bottle up LSU committed wideout Jabari Mack, who finished with two catches for 66 yards.
Mack made an impact regardless, however – he also plays on defense, and he intercepted a pass and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown in the first half of Friday’s game.
“That’s one thing about good players, they always find a way to make big plays,” Scott said.
The defensive side of the ball for the Wildcats is seeing a lot of new faces in the starting lineup. One of those is defensive back Ryan Montague, who made 13 tackles and one for loss in his first start for the Wildcats.
Scott said there’s a lot to be excited about with the junior’s game.
“We put an emphasis on tackling and technique, and Ryan has the potential to be one of the better tacklers that we have. When he executes, he’s one of the best tacklers on the team by far.”
Two players up front, Aiden Schwab and Khylan Rousseau, made an impact by getting into the Catholic backfield. Schwab had a pair of tackles for loss while Rousseau had a sack to go along with eight total tackles.
Scott said given the fact the defense is working in several new players into larger roles, games like the Catholic opener – against another recent champion and a team that’s annually in contention – gives the Wildcats’ coaching staff a fast look at who is ready to excel in the spotlight of a big game.
