Destrehan and Terrebonne each took the field in their regular season finale Friday night knowing that a victory would likely cement a strong seed in the Class 5A postseason — and thanks to a suffocating defensive effort and balanced offensive attack, those spoils will go to Destrehan, 28-7 winners on the road.
The Tigers brought a high-scoring offense into Friday’s game, but Destrehan’s defense seems to be peaking at just the right time. The Wildcats were able to contain Terrebonne quarterback Ja’khi Douglas most of the night, and it resulted in THS scoring a season-low seven points. Terrebonne’s previous low this season was 28.
“One thing I thought was in our favor was that our defensive linemen aren’t the biggest guys in the world, but we’ve got a few who can run like linebackers,” said Destrehan coach Stephen Robicheaux. “A few times (Terrebonne) got outside, but for the most part, we were able to contain them.
“Douglas has done a tremendous job making good plays out of bad situations all year long, but tonight we were able to limit him from doing that. We played tremendous defense tonight. I thought that was the key.”
Two touchdown passes from J.R. Blood to Carson Rieder gave Destrehan (8-2, 5-1) a 14-7 lead at halftime.
But it was yet another splash play from standout defensive back Macon Clark this season that gave the Wildcats some breathing room. For the second straight week, Clark scored on special teams, this time blocking a punt and scooping the ball for a score to make it a 21-7 DHS lead.
Terrebonne (7-3, 3-3) stayed within closing distance until Kyle Edwards landed a finishing blow for the second straight game, his 30-yard touchdown run making it a 28-7 lead in the fourth quarter.
Winners of six straight games, Destrehan now awaits their first round playoff opponent. DHS is likely to draw a top 10 seed and a first round home game. Brackets are scheduled to be released by the LHSAA Sunday evening.
“The win tonight, I think it’s enormous for us,” Robicheaux said. “They’re pretty high up (in the power point rankings). We needed to get this one, and it should put us in good position for the playoffs.
“We’ve played really well for three games in a row now. We made some mistakes, had some turnovers, but we forced three or four turnovers on their part and those plays kind of halted them when they were building some momentum. We’re playing extremely well defensively, and when you can also run the ball like we have been, you have a great chance.”
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