By RYAN ARENA
Sports Editor

East St. John opened district play with two of the toughest foes it will see all season, and it’s added up to an 0-2 start in District 6-I.

The Wildcats fell 8-0 to Dutchtown (12-3-2) on Friday and 9-0 to East Ascension (7-7-2) on Tuesday, leaving ESJ still in search of its first win of the season.

“It’s just tough to compete on the level of those teams right now,” said East St. John Coach Jason Beber. “He had a couple shots here and there (against Dutchtown), and had some success defensively. But they are pretty loaded.”

Beber says that his team doesn’t lack for athleticism, but the experience gap between his team’s first two district foes and the Wildcats (0-5, 0-2) is split miles apart.

“We’ve got athletes, talented players, but they’re still learning how to play the game,” Beber said. “These other girls, a lot of them have been playing since they were six and seven. It takes a long time to develop that kind of game skill.”

He hopes that the team can get into the win column this week. If so, it would be in style – the team was scheduled to face rival Destrehan yesterday, weather permitting, and then rival Hahnville this Friday.

A win in either game would be a feather in the Wildcats’ cap.

“Playing these teams early on has made us stronger. That should help us in these two upcoming games,” Beber said.