Friday, October 18th
With temperatures in the low 60s, fans and players could not ask for a better night for high school football. East St. John High School edged pass Destrehan High 14-13 in a game filled with wild special teams play, a handful of turnovers, and a missed PAT which would end up costing Destrehan the game.
Destrehan picked up the first score of the night when a bad snap from East St. John’s special teams unit sent the ball well over the punter’s head with Destrehan recovering near the redzone. Destrehan workhorse back and Alabama Crimson Tide commit Kyle Edwards took a 2nd down handoff for 26 yards, breaking multiple tackles as he found the endzone with 7:33 remaining in the 1st quarter.
East St. John answered the Destrehan score with a touchdown of their own on their ensuing offensive drive. Quarterback Sean Shelby found East St. John standout wide receiver Dontae Fleming on a crucial 3rd and long, picking up 16 yards and 1st down to extend the drive. East St. John continued its march downfield with chunk plays with running back CJ Gardner, eventually finding themselves inside the Destrehan 10 yard line. East St. John would continue to pound the football, with Gardner picking up a touchdown through the ground on a 2nd a goal from the 2 yard line.
East St. John would pick up the last score of the first half, set up by a huge interception by their defense when senior safety Antonio Sanders Jr. picked off Destrehan QB Jai Eugene. Sanders took the ball down to the Destrehan 38 yard line, setting up an East St. John touchdown with Sean Shelby finding Dontae Fleming in the endzone and giving ESJ a 14-7 lead at the half.
Destrehan looked to score with under a minute remaining in the half following a blocked punt inside the 20 yard line, but East. St. John’s defense came up with a huge sack following the turnover as time would expire in the 2nd quarter.
Only one scoring drive occurred throughout the remainder of the game, with Destehan’s senior signal caller Damarius Jackson finding Wildcat receiver Quincy Brown on a 22 yard touchdown toss. Unfortunately for Destrehan, the Wildcats failed to score on the PAT, leaving East St. John with a 1 point lead.
Destrehan seemed like it was poised to make a late 4th quarter comeback. Kyle Edwards exploded for the biggest play of the night with a 36 yard run, flipping the field for the Wildcats. Eventually, East St. John’s defense forced Destrehan into a 4th and 4 inside the redzone, but their stout defense prevailed giving them a 1 point victory over the Wildcats of Destrehan.
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