After Destrehan failed to score in the first half against winless St. Amant, many in the stands wondered if this was a nightmarish flashback to last year, when the Wildcats needed a blocked field goal to keep their undefeated season in tact.
But the Wildcats quickly focused after halftime, scoring three touchdowns in the final two quarters to give them a 24-0 win over the Gators. That victory moved Destrehan to 6-0 on the year and 2-0 in district play. It has now been 21 straight games since the Wildcats last suffered a loss.
“We didn’t play well in the first half and we made a bunch of mistakes,” Destrehan head coach Stephen Robicheaux said. “It was a coach’s worst nightmare because we had exams and homecoming last week, which are both big distractions. Fortunately, we were able to get it going in the second half.”
The Wildcats finished with 344 yards of offense in the game, with a majority of that coming in the second half. Quarterback Wynrick Smothers connected on 12 of his 25 passes for 223 yards and the Wildcat backs combined for 121 yards.
Robicheaux says there was one simple reason why his team performed better after halftime.
“We stopped making mistakes,” he said. “Everything that could go wrong went wrong in the first half. Our team realized that it was 0-0 and St. Amant had a chance to beat us. They just came out focused in the second half.”
While the offense didn’t regain their focus until the final two quarters, the Destrehan defense was at the top of their game throughout the contest. The Gators had put up 121 points in their previous two games, but couldn’t get into the endzone against the Wildcats and were held to only 154 total yards.
“We matched up real well with them defensively,” Robicheaux said. “Our defensive line was able to control their offensive line and that was key.”
With that win behind them, Destrehan must now travel to East St. John to take on what Robicheaux calls the “best 2-3 team in the state.”
East St. John has had one of the toughest schedules in Louisiana this season, beginning with back to back games against Acadiana and Bastrop. Though they lost both of those contests (by only 11 combined points), Robicheaux knows the experience they gained from them is paying off in district play.
“I’m impressed with their speed and athleticism,” Robicheaux said. “They played a lot of tough games early on against Bastrop and Acadiana and there is no doubt that has helped them.”
The player responsible for keeping East St. John in those tough games is running back Alex Singleton, who rushed for 89 yards on 12 carries and scored three touchdowns in East St. John’s 38-25 loss to Dutchtown last week. Robicheaux says stopping him is a priority.
“We have to stop Singleton, because their whole offense revolves around him,” Robicheaux said.
But Robicheaux knows that his offense must also step up to the challenge.
“We have to play better offensively,” he said. “Our offensive line needs to give Smothers enough time to get the ball off and we have to establish our running game.”
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