By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

EDGARD — West St. John coach Robert Valdez said that he hoped his players would show the maturity to execute in Friday’s district opener against Ascension Christian despite the “dreaded” distractions of homecoming week.

Surely, the coach had little to quibble with after a 47-0 victory, one that saw his defense hold ACHS to minus-13 total yards on the night.

Valdez wanted to see his team establish the run; Kylum Favorite certainly did his part, rushing for 82 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries. Austin Howard passed for two scores and ran for another.

His first passing score came in the first quarter, a quick 20-yarder to Austin Terry on the Rams’ first play that made it 6-0. Favorite tacked onto the lead with an 8-yard score to make it 13-0. Howard scored from a yard away on a rush to make it 20-0 after just a quarter.

Howard connected with Jarius Moll for a 38-yard touchdown. Favorite added two more rushing scores, from 7 and 12 yards respectively, and Jimmy Conner capped things off with a 27-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Ascension Christian dropped to 0-6 this season.

Valdez said that after playing “up” in predistrict, as the Rams (4-2, 1-0) traditionally do against bigger schools and, generally, bigger foes, the game seemed to slow down for his players.

“We played some extremely tough people,” said Valdez. “So when we get into district, it was our first chance to really be the bigger team.

“We did some good things, but we’re still a work in progress. Our skill guys are our strength, and if we can get better in the trenches, and we can, it will make us stronger. But I’m proud of how our kids handled homecoming. He had a community pep rally yesterday, a halfday today, a parade … so to put forth that type of performance and execute, it speaks well of their maturity.”