Destrehan may or may not have been left for dead by many prep observers after the team fell three times in four weeks during a midseason swoon.
True or not, all that matters these days — and the bad news for opposing teams — is the Wildcats are playing like it is, inspired and with something to prove. Such was the case Friday night at Wildcat Stadium as Destrehan rolled by Central Lafourche, 38-15.
It was a big game for both teams, each entering the game with three losses. But the Wildcats (6-3, 3-2) shook off a couple of early mistakes—a pair of bad snaps resulted in a turnover on downs and an early Central score, and the Wildcats missed an early field goal—to dominate the night, particularly along both lines of scrimmage. It was a similar tale a week prior in a one-sided DHS victory at Thibodaux, suggesting Destrehan may be peaking at the right time.
“This is the time of year you want to be playing well, for sure,” said Destrehan head coach Stephen Robicheaux. “I think we’re starting to play with a little chip on our shoulder … the bottom line tonight was, I think we won the battle up front on both sides of the ball and that was the difference.”
Chief among Destrehan’s concerns was finding a way to slow Deon Jenkins Jr., Central Lafourche’s standout running back and one of the state’s most productive players. He found little traction Friday, with Destrehan’s speed closing off the edge and its active front knifing into the backfield to make tackles for loss.
“He got some yards late, but overall, I think we did the job,” Robicheaux said. “Our guys up front got into the backfield before he could really get started … that’s a team that’s been scoring a lot of points all season. But, you know, our defense has been playing pretty well.”
Central Lafourche (5-4, 1-3) went for two and converted on its touchdown following a Destrehan turnover on downs due to a snap error on special teams, taking an 8-7 lead on Ashtrein Duncan’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Titan Verdin on a fourth down.
Kyle Edwards put Destrehan back ahead on a 19-yard scoring run to make it 14-8 later in the first quarter. Razan Keller punched in a 3-yard touchdown to make it 21-8, the score that stood at halftime.
Edwards scored his second touchdown of the night from two yards out to make it 28-8. Destrehan blocked a punt, followed by a Will Bryant 28-yard field goal to make it 31-8.
Then Edwards scored touchdown number three – and his eighth in the past two games — on a short run to make it 38-8 and round out the DHS scoring.
Destrehan’s momentum seemed stalled only three weeks ago. Now, the Wildcats are one win away—with Hahnville on deck to close the regular season—from heading into the playoffs on a tidal wave of it.
“All you want is to be playing well right now. We made some mistakes tonight, but our kids played with a lot of enthusiasm, got after it and played hard. It’s where you want to be, not just because it’s Hahnville week coming up, but because we’re in the final stretch.”
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