The Woodlawn Panthers traveled to Destrehan in St. Rose, Louisiana on a chilly Louisiana night for a second round battle in the class 5A state playoffs. Woodlawn received the opening kickoff and each offense would trade possessions until the Panther offense got going late in the first quarter. The Panther offense would strike first behind the strong running of senior running back Amani Givens and junior running back Jayveon Haynes. Junior quarterback Rickie Collins completes some crucial third down passes to senior wide receivers Jaylon Henry, Kyle Jones, and junior wide receiver Clayton Adams. Jayveon Haynes rushed for a 5-yard touchdown to open up the scoring for each team with 2:49 left in the first quarter. Woodlawn’s defense led by senior linebacker Jayden Woods, junior defensive lineman, Devin Boyd, Devyn Jones and Mark Fielder would hold the Destrehan offense scoreless in the first quarter.
At the start of the second quarter Destrehan quarterback Jai Eugene Jr had 5-yard rushing touchdown to match the Panthers score at 7. The Woodlawn offense went a few drives without points but the defense held up steady every time. Later in the second quarter driving into Woodlawn territory, Destrehan fumbled on a scramble which gave Woodlawn the ball close to midfield. The Panthers next play on offense they would have the same fate as the Destrehan offense fumbling a handoff, giving the Wildcats the ball inside their own territory. Destrehan would capitalize on the good field position and score a touchdown but tried a fake on the extra point that fail to make the score going into halftime 13-7.
Destrehan received the second half kick and their offense led by junior quarterback Jai Eugene Jr and sophomore running back Shane Lee would go up the field and score on its first drive after the break with a rushing touchdown from Jai Eugene to make it 19-7. The Woodlawn offense would move the ball and then get their drive killed by costly penalties. The Destrehan offense kept it rolling by scoring 22 unanswered points after a made field goal made it 22-7 Wildcats with 6:46 left in the third quarter. On the ensuing drive the Panthers would finally find their stride on offense with some big runs by senior running back Amani Givens and timely throws by junior quarterback Rickie Collins. None more timely than Collins 20-yard touchdown strike to senior wide receiver Kyle Jones to cut the Destrehan lead to 8 late in the third quarter.
The Woodlawn defense would hold Destrehan scoreless to start the fourth quarter after the Panthers offense had gotten them within a score. With the ball in their possession and clock to burn Destrehan went to its strong running game with sophomore running back Shane Lee, but the Woodlawn defense would hold strong and stop the tough running back on fourth down and two to give the Panther offense and junior quarterback Rickie Collins the ball back with 8:45 left in the game. Collins drove the Panther offense down the field with a big third down throw to senior wide receiver Jaylon Henry and some quarterback runs to get deep into Destrehan territory. Woodlawn would then turn to their workhorse in senior running back Amani Givens who would carry the Panthers into the red zone with a 15-yard scamper. Rickie Collins called his own number on the quarterback keeper from the Destrehan half yard line to cut the Destrehan lead to 2 making it 22-20. The Panthers went for a 2-point conversion that was a pass complete from junior quarterback Rickie Collins to senior wide receiver Jaylon Henry for a successful attempt to tie the game at 22 but the referees had a discussion after the play and then ruled the pass incomplete wiping the 2-points off the board for Woodlawn making it 22-20 Destrehan. The Panthers would try an onside kick but weren’t successful in recovery giving the Destrehan offense the ball with good field position. Destrehan would only need 4 plays to close out the game after a long touchdown run from sophomore running back Shane Lee making it 29-20 Destrehan with less than 3 minutes left in the game. The Woodlawn offense drove down the field but was tackled too many times inbounds causing the clock to run and they would eventually run out of time putting their great season to an end.
You must be logged in to post a comment.