BY KEVIN CHIRI

Publisher

LAPLACE – The best way to describe the magnitude of Friday’s state quarter-final playoff game between East St. John and Evangel is to say this:

“Get to the game early!”

A crowd that may be the biggest in Wildcat football history is expected at the LaPlace Stadium on Friday night, as East St. John continues its big season in the playoff run for what may be the first state championship in over 20 years.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., but head coach Larry Dauterive urges anyone who wants a seat to get there real early.

“We won’t sell it out and keep people from coming in,” he said with a laugh, obviously loving the excitement surrounding the game. “But it will be packed, that’s for sure. We guessed there may have been something like 6,000 or so when we played Hahnville last year, and this game should rival that kind of crowd.”

So back to the game.

The Wildcats have already turned state football heads with their playoff run. In the opening round of action, East St. John won a high scoring game against St. Amant 54-13, then they knocked off unbeaten Jesuit last week, 20-14.

That has moved the Wildcats into Friday’s state 5A quarter-final game, where they play the Evangel Eagles, a team which is known as the cream of the crop when it comes to winning Louisiana football championships.

“This team isn’t just state known, they are nationally known,” Dauterive said. “They have a program that is practically like a pro team. They roll in here in their big bus, roll out golf carts with football helmets on them to carry their equipment, and intimidate teams just with their appearance. It’s all part of their psyche.”

But Dauterive didn’t seem the least bit scared, and he said his team is more excited than intimidated.

“We’re just thrilled to be playing Thanksgiving week,” he said. “This is what we play for, a chance to be in the playoffs at this level, and to be playing in a state championship atmosphere. That’s what it has seemed like this week, as if we are in a state championship game.”

It has been many years since the Wildcats have been in this position.

You have to go back to 1980 to find the last time East St. John moved this far into the playoffs, and that turned out to be a year when the Cats won the state crown.

Do they have the stuff to do it this season?

“Our kids are really coming together right now. We’ve made some key changes on defense that has helped us a lot, but also we have some guys on defense who have been stepping up and playing well,” he said. “That has kept some of our offensive players, who we switched to play defense also, from being on the field all the time. That is really important.”

Evangel has an 8-3 record this year, which may not look too impressive. But Dauterive pointed out that the three out-of-state teams that Evangel has lost to are now a combined 36-0.

The team is known for its high scoring offensive machine, which has averaged 50 points a game in the last three contests, two of them being in the playoffs.

The team is led by quarterback Denny Duron, who actually began the year at wide receiver. Since taking over at QB, he has completed 158 of 270 passes for over 2,200 yards and 20 touchdowns. He has also rushed for 12 more TD’s.

Running back Billy Barefield, who began the year at QB, has turned into a strong compliment in the backfield as he has run for over 1,000 yards and has 15 TD’s on the ground.

“They like to throw it about 45 times a game, but they are not all about passing,” Dauterive said.

The East St. John coach said that there are two keys to slowing down the potent Eagle offense.

“Teams that line up and drop eight, and rush three, just don’t do well. You can’t play them straight because they will pick you apart. We’ve got to mix things up, try to put pressure on their quarterback, but also we’ve got to just keep the ball away from them with our offense,” he explained.

Speaking of the Wildcat offense, quarterback Ryan Perrilloux has led one of the best scoring machines in the state as he rushed for over 1,300 yards and scored 34 touchdowns on the ground, while passing for over 3,000 yards and 27 more touchdowns.

Just last week in the win over Jesuit, Perrilloux had what some called his best game ever by rushing for 220 yards and two touchdowns, while passing for 22 of 29 completions for 258 yards and a TD.

“Our offensive line has a great challenge since they have a front five on defense that is as big as Hahnville,” Dauterive remarked. “The key for us this week is to get protection from our line.”

A victory for the Wildcats sends them to the state semi-finals next week, one win short of making the state championship game in the Superdome.