It’s perhaps a testament to the kind of run Destrehan has been on for more than a decade that the team’s 2-3 start to this season carries such an unfamiliar feel around the program.
Prior to this season, Destrehan had not lost a regular season game since Week 1 of 2020. The last time the Wildcats had three losses after five games came in 2012 – it’s been awhile.
Nonetheless, anyone eager to discount the Wildcats based on a slow start might be wise to hold off on that judgment for the time being. Destrehan’s three losses came to Catholic-Baton Rouge, Alexandria and Terrebonne. Those teams represent what would be the No. 7 and 8 seeds in 5A non-select and the No. 9 seed in 5A select, respectively, if the playoffs started today.
Several inexperienced, but talented, players have been pressed into action due to injuries at very key positions – and players are only inexperienced until they gain experience, a process well underway.
All of that said, one group that refuses to cite any of the team’s hardships thus far as a reason for any of those losses –that’s the Wildcats themselves, who are aiming to break loose over the second half of the season, starting with a trip to H.L. Bourgeois this Friday night.
“Whenever you have a disappointing loss, you want to get out and play again,” said Destrehan head coach Marcus Scott. “We’re back to work. We’re cleaning up some fundamentals and ready to put our best foot forward this Friday night … we can’t use youth or injury as an excuse. We have to go out and figure out a way to win games each and every week. I think this team is learning that … we’ve dealt with adversity, and this is the first time (in Scott’s tenure) we’re in this position.”
Though 2012 does represent the last 2-3 start, Scott and the DHS coaching staff have reminded their team of a more recent time a Wildcats team has had to shake off a tough stretch – the 2019 Wildcats.
That team, the last guided by then-head coach Stephen Robicheaux, lost three times in a four-week span from Week 4 to Week 7 that season. All three of those losses came in district contests.
But that Destrehan team was not finished by a long shot. Destrehan won its final three games of the regular season – besting Hahnville in the final week of the regular season, 23-21, and carried the momentum into the playoffs. The Wildcats finished as 5A state runner-up that season.
“We’ve reminded them alot about that team. They had a rough patch, and then went on to finish the season strong and reached the finals,” Scott said. “We have to understand that everything we want to accomplish is still in front of us and possible. We have to focus every week on taking care of our business and getting better.
H.L. Bourgeois absorbed a tough loss at Hahnville last week, 42-0, but 2024 has nonetheless represented a leap for the Braves’ program.
The team is 3-2 thus far this season, already having secured more victories than in 2023 – when HLB went 2-8 overall – and as many wins as the Braves have had the past two years combined.
The Braves won three in a row, including a 42-0 win over Patterson at H.L. Bourgeois. another over Assumption and another over Central Catholic, 39-27 and 36-19, respectively. The team’s lone loss came in its opener, a 19-15 score to Ascension Catholic.
This is the third season at the helm of the Braves program for head coach Sterling Washington.
“I know Coach Washington has put a lot of hard work building up that program, and we’re starting to see all the effects of his hard work and dedication. They’re certainly playing a lot better and we’ll have to be at our best on Friday,” Scott said.
Running back Malik Myles was the offensive key to his team’s win over Assumption, piling up 156 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Another is fellow running back Kadar Mitchell, who tallied over 156 total yards and a touchdown in the team’s opening night loss to Ascension Catholic. Quarterback Conner Wallace can hurt a defense as well.
“(Myles) is a big back and he played a little quarterback last year. He’s a handful,” Scott said.
Defensively, Bourgeois primarily runs from the 3-3 Stack and plays heavy zone.
Destrehan has looked to lean on the run this season and despite the 31-20 loss, the team tallied three rushing scores in last week’s game at Terrebonne.
Sophomores Malachi Dabney and Tony Crump have been pressed into extended duty perhaps earlier than planned with the injury to senior running back Shane Ward, but they’ve made the most of their chances and are making more plays by the week.
“I’m very proud of those guys. (Quarterback) A’ushai Smith has done a great job filling in for (injured quarterback) Jackson Fields, and our two sophomore backs have done everything we’ve asked them to do. They’ve been very productive. And beyond those two, Michael White has given us good carries, as well as Damien Richard, who doubles as cornerback and comes over to offense to give us a change of pace as well.
“It’s a team effort piecing it together every week, figuring out the best way to move forward. Just plugging in and playing – I’m proud of the kids for being resilient. We didn’t get the desired result last week, but there’s no shortage of effort.”