Tough defense awaits Destrehan at Mandeville

John Emery Jr. turns the corner for yardage while at Destrehan.

Just as top-seeded Destrehan comes off of a dominant effort in its opening round game of the Class 5A playoffs, so too does its second round opponent.No matter which team walks off the field with a loss at Mandeville this Friday night as the Skippers host Destrehan, one of them will be doing so earlier than they’ve been accustomed. Destrehan has made appearances in the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship game  over the past three seasons, while Mandeville has made three state semifinals and a quarterfinal over the past four.

The Skippers (7-4) are the  No. 17 seed and riding high after trouncing Thibodaux last week, 42-0. Mandeville was on the road in the opening round and will thus host this week’s game.

Their attack is centered around quarterback Darren Steele, who has passed for over 2,000 yards this season. In last week’s victory over Thibodaux, Steele tallied 216 yards and a pair of touchdown passes.

“He has a strong arm,” Destrehan coach Stephen Robicheaux said. “He can extend the play and gives his receivers a chance to get open, but he also does a tremendous job of getting the ball out quick.”

Steele has weapons at his disposal. Wide receiver Lovelle Williams Jr. is the lead playmaker among pass catchers, while three different backs (Fritz Walker, Charles Quinn and Taron Jones rushed for more than 50 yards, scoring three times between them (Jones earning two touchdowns). Walker leads the backfield.

“I’m very impressed with their wide receivers ability to run routes well,” Robicheaux said. “They’re tall guys. They’ll run it with Walker, who’s a big, tall kid himself. They move the chains.”

Those players are key reasons Mandeville has averaged 27 points per game this season. But the Skippers perhaps shine even more defensively, allowing just 18 points per game. The Mandeville stop unit has shut out three teams and allowed no offensive points to another.

Defensive linemen Demoni Boyd and Malcolm Johnson present tough assignments on the edge, while Sawyer Poulson mans the middle. Robicheaux pointed to this group as where it all starts for Mandeville, though he said the Skippers’ back seven is also something to be reckoned with, with fast, physical linebackers and defensive backs who have limited the big play.

“Every snap, those guys are where they need to be,” Robicheaux said.

“They play extremely hard. They’re physical and cause havoc with your offensive line.  You have to be patient. (Boyd and Johnson) do a tremendous job on the edge, and (Poulson) is so active.”

Mandeville dominated a Thibodaux team reeling from injury. The Tigers were without star Amik Robertson, as well as several defensive starters.

“It doesn’t take away from Mandeville. They’ve won plenty of big games in the playoffs for a reason,” Robicheaux said. “We’ll have to perform extremely well at their place this Friday.”

Were Destrehan (10-0) to win, the Wildcats would advance to the quarterfinals and face the winner of Hahnville/John Ehret, setting up a potential rematch of the archrival Wildcats and Tigers.

For the second time this season, Destrehan scored a decisive victory over Terrebonne — this time to advance in the Class 5A playoffs with a 47-7 victory at home over the No. 32 seed.

Destrehan scored on its first three possessions of the night, the first two by Kristian Mosley. Mosley capped an 11-play drive on the Wildcats’ first possession with a 2-yard scoring run. Destrehan’s second drive ended with a 12-yard Mosley run.

The Wildcats’ third touchdown was a significant one, as Kohen Granier’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Carl Lewis with 8:08 remaining in the first half was Granier’s first touchdown pass since Week 4 against Hahnville, in which the senior quarterback injured his knee and was sidelined for almost the entirety of the rest of the regular season. Granier saw action last week against Thibodaux, while this week he alternated series with sophomore J.R. Blood.

“We wanted to get Kohen some more reps and see how his knee responds,” Robicheaux said. “I thought he did a good job. He threw it well and he also ran it well a few times there to pick up a couple firsts. J.R. played well, too. We wanted to see Kohen get after it, but we also know we can count on J.R., so we feel pretty good.”

Rob Hall’s interception ended Terrebonne’s next drive. Destrehan added a 53-yard Mosley touchdown run to make it a 28-0 lead.

The Wildcats led 47-0 before the Tigers (4-7) scored late.

Mosley finished the game with 186 yards rushing, while John Emery added 174 yards. Freshman Kyle Edwards added 60 yards on the ground.

 

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