By GEORGE MAHL

West St. John versus Riverside

EDGARD – After taking a 20-0 lead in the first quarter, West St. John High School played solid defense Saturday and went on to a 34-0 thumping of Riverside Academy in Edgard.

“We just took momentum at the beginning of the game and never looked back,” said WSJ Rams head coach Laury Dupont.

The Rams scored on their first three possessions to jump out to a quick three-touchdown lead. In the game, WSJ quarterback Randall Nicholson completed 11 of 18 passes for 135 yards.

“Randall (only) threw two bad passes that ended up being intercepted. One of them occurred at the goal line,” said Dupont.

Defensively, the Rams held Riverside to 99 yards of total offense and only allowed Rebels quarterback Scott Poirrier to complete three passes.

West St. John racked up 317 yards of total offense in the dominating victory.

Rebels head coach Mickey Roussel said his club consistently gave up good field position to the Rams.

“They started drives at our 30 and our 15, you can’t do that and expect to win,” Roussel said.

When asked to sum up the game, Dupont said, “We did well both offensively and defensively throughout the game. It was a great all-around effort by our kids.”

It was the first time in three years that West St. John shut out Riverside Academy.

Destrehan versus Central Lafourche

DESTREHAN – A terrific all-around game Sunday enabled the Destrehan High School Fighting Wildcats to cruise to a 47-0 victory over Central Lafourche High School in Destrehan.

“We just came out there and executed when we had to,” said DHS head coach Stephen Robicheaux.

The Fighting Wildcats were led by their outstanding quarterback, Demarko Hutchinson, who finished the game 16-17 for 300 yards.

“He (Hutchinson) did what he was supposed to do Sunday,” Robicheaux said.

Junior DHS running back Daniel Bickham led the rushing attack with 141 yards. Robicheaux thought his team’s rushing game performed well under, at times, difficult, storm-related, field conditions.

Before the game started, there were several minutes of hard rain falling and gusty winds throughout the area.

“I thought it could have been a bad situation because I was not sure how our guys were going to react,” Robicheaux said.

Defensively, the Fighting Wildcats held the Trojans to 71 yards of total offense.

St. James versus Amite

AMITE – St. James High School continued its outstanding defensive play Friday with a tough 34-20 victory over Amite High School.

“I thought we played well defensively. We were able to cut down on some big plays that they tried to execute,” said Wildcats head coach Rick Gaille.

With St. James leading 20-6 early in the third quarter, Amite scored two touchdowns quickly to tie the game at 20. However, the fourth quarter saw running back Melvin Dumas score on a two-yard touchdown run to give St. James a 27-20 lead.

Desi Steib added another touchdown late in the game to seal the victory.

“Desi had a good game. He scored two touchdowns, but didn’t do anything spectacular,” Gaille said.

The head coach said the game felt like it was played in a playoff-type atmosphere.

” We just made a couple of big plays. It was a back-and-forth game all night long,” Gaille said.

Lutcher versus Assumption

NAPOLEONVILLE – The Lutcher High School Bulldogs continued to amaze Sunday with a convincing 28-12 victory over Assumption High School in Napoleonville.

The LHS Bulldogs allowed only five first downs and 57 yards rushing.

“Our defense has played this way every time out. I just can’t say enough about them,” said Bulldogs head coach Tim Detillier.

Lutcher appeared sluggish during the first half as the Bulldogs were only able to put seven points on the board.

“I kind of challenged our kids at halftime. I thought we could have played better offensively,” said Detillier.

Starting quarterback Bryce Matherne finished strong by going 16-26 for 250 yards.

The only score in the first half came when Matherne connected with Gerard Landry on a 56-yard pass.

“I thought Bryce had a good outing, but not his best. He makes us go offensively,” Detillier explained.

Bulldogs running back Michael Dicharry gained 108 yards on 17 carries to lead the LHS rushing attack. What was most impressive was that the Bulldogs finished with 473 yards of total offense.

“After seeing the statistics, maybe I was a little too harsh on our guys at halftime,” Detillier said with a laugh.

East St. John versus South Lafourche

The East St. John High School Wildcats put on probably their finest performance of the season Saturday night against South Lafourche High School.

ESJ rebounded from a tough loss to the Hahnville High School Tigers and picked up a 41-0 victory over an out-gunned South Lafourche squad.

“We played about as well as we could have against them,” said ESJ Wildcats head coach Larry Dauterive.

Most of the ESJ starters only played one half. Running back Derron Thomas rushed for 70 yards in the first half.

“I think Derron could have gotten 200 yards if we kept him in there longer,” Dauterive said.

At the end of the first quarter the Wildcats held a commanding 21-0 lead.

Dauterive said field position played a significant part in the game’s outcome. With the Tarpons consistently forced to play on a long field, it was easier for the Wildcats’ defense to make big plays.

At one point, however, South Lafourche was able to penetrate deep into ESJ territory. Dauterive said the Tarpons had about 12 chances to put the ball in the endzone on first down and goal, but the Tarpons had to settle for a field goal.

“I think what happened was that there were a lot of penalties called for face-mask and various other things. I give our defense a lot of credit for hanging in there,” Dauterive said.

Hahnville versus H.L. Bourgeois

GRAY – Hahnville High School continued its unbeaten streak Saturday with a convincing 32-0 victory over H.L Bourgeois High School in Gray.

Lionel Evans led the Tigers’ attack with 22 carries for 135 yards and one touchdown and HHS quarterback Laron Landry finished 10-20 for 81 yards and a touchdown.

“I think more importantly is that Laron didn’t throw an interception,” HHS coach Lou Valdin said.

Under sloppy conditions, Valdin said he was pleased with the offensive output he got from Evans, Landry and the entire offensive unit in the game.

“I think I was even more pleased with our defense. For a defense as young as ours, to come out and play that way is terrific,” Valdin said.

Poor field position for HLB also played a part in their defeat.

“Our kicker (Alex Romero) kicked the ball 80 yards sometimes. It was tough for HLB to get anything started because they were always deep in their own territory,” Valdin explained.