Destrehan goes on the road this week to take on a rising Terrebonne program, which is facing its fourth River Parishes opponent this season.
This is the second of a two-week set against St. Charles Parish alone for Terrebonne, which suffered its first loss of the season last week at Hahnville, 51-32. This time, the Tigers will be at home as Destrehan visits.
THS (3-1, 1-0) won in the season’s opening week, 48-42 over Riverside. It won via forfeit against Ellender and edged St. James 24-21. The Tigers are 2-1 against the River Parishes thus far.
Terrebonne went 7-4 last season, bowing out in round one of the playoffs as a 17 seed to No. 16 Westgate. It was the first time in four seasons the team made the postseason, and Terrebonne appears to be continuing its upward trajectory.
The Tigers’ Quincy Adams is a big, strong runner with breakaway speed – evidenced last week by his long distance 83-yard touchdown run to cap the third quarter in last week’s game with Hahnville. Adams, a junior, is a rising player. Terrebonne’s Alvin Celestin is an explosive playmaker who can take over a game, as he did in his team’s shootout win over Riverside this season – he accounted for 254 yards and four touchdowns in that one.
“They’re a very good one-two punch. They move the chains with those guys,” said Destrehan head coach Marcus Scott. “They’re both nice-sized kids with a lot of ability.”
Both players, however, are aided by a very big, very physical offensive line. Terrebonne’s size sets it apart from most teams in the state, and Destrehan will have to meet the physical challenge the Tigers present up front.
Linebacker Zyon Simmons is a playmaker for Terrebonne. And on the front line, the Tigers are as big and dangerous as they are along the offensive front. Nose guard Julian Coleman, at 330 pounds, can be a force and a deterrent to the inside run. Hahnville found avenues last week to big yardage, however, in a rushing attack that piled up more than 200 yards.
“They run to the ball very well … they play assignment sound. They’re very active – when they get blocked, they don’t stay blocked,” Scott said. “We’ll have our hands full … the defensive line is probably the strength of that unit. When you have a nose guard that’s a dominant player, it makes it tough with him right in the middle.”
For Destrehan (2-2, 1-0), A’ushai Smith continues to grow into his role as quarterback, as starting QB Jackson Fields has remained sidelined with an injury. Smith completed 11-of-16 passes for 153 yards, a touchdown and an interception against East St. John.
Fields is one example of how the injury bug has hit the Wildcats hard in 2024. Starting running back Shane Ward, the team’s lone experienced ballcarrier that returned from 2023, has been sidelined in each of the first four games for Destrehan. In last week’s win over East St. John, safety Jhase Thomas was forced to miss the game due to injury as well.
“Every coach’s goal is to have a program, not just a good team,” said Scott. “And programs are able to sustain adversity, as it pertains to injury, staff turnover, whatever it may be. So it’s a credit to the staff and players to be able to hang in there and stay together during some tough times.”
