RESERVE- East St. John and head coach Brandon Brown seemed to come into the season with a new mindset this year. The Wildcats and their high-powered offense have what it takes to compete for the District title and possibly a deep playoff run.

Last year, the Wildcats lost four games by a total of eight points. The defeats included losses of 16-12 to McDonogh 35, 7-6 to H.L Bourgeois, 35-34 to Destrehan and 17-13 to East Ascension in the playoffs.

Brown made some big moves in the offseason by bringing back Larry Dauterive, the former ESJ head coach, as the offensive coordinator. Another change was moving 2018 First Team All-District linebacker Calvin Garner back to offense as a running back. The moves seemed to pay dividends right away as the East St. John offense demonstrated some big-play ability during the first half of the season.

Reflecting on the first half of the season, Brown said, “I feel pretty good. I just think we have to finish strong. We’ve been inconsistent from game to game. I think if we clean some of the mistakes up a bit, we’ll be in good shape. I feel we’re actually primed to have a good run toward the end of the season. We just need to clean some things up.”

Brown is especially pleased with the performance of the receivers this season. Markel August, Rydell Jackson and Dontae Fleming are playing well. Brown also mentioned quarterback Sean Shelby as a standout on offense this year. “Defensively, I’ve been very pleased with our guys,” Brown said. “We talk about Waylon Williams, Jackie Marshall and the whole gang up front. I think we played well defensively. Our linebacker Cory has done well. Devontay Morgan, Travion Hampton, and our entire secondary has played well.”

East St. John had to deal with the injury bug in the first half of the season. The Wildcats lost their starting linebacker. Dominick Paul was out for a good portion of the season, and Raydell Jackson has also been injured and hasn’t played in a game yet this season. “We’re starting to get some of those guys back,” Brown said, adding the injuries have given younger players the opportunity to get some valuable experience.

On the remaining schedule, Brown said, “Playing in our district is almost like the SEC. Coming to our final stretch, we have the likes of Destrehan, Thibodaux and Terrebonne. All those guys are all strong. Thibodaux is still undefeated right now. Destrehan has only lost one. Central Lafourche only lost one. Then we have a non-district game coming up with Helena Cox, and they are looking strong as well. We’ve got our work cut out for us, but we’re in a prime seat for a good run. We have some guys coming back, and we should be in full swing.”

Brown saw last week’s loss the Hahnville as an eye-opener for the team.

“We didn’t play well. However, I think our guys are okay,” Brown said. “They are in good spirits. They are shaking it off. We only have to finish strong. I’ve been pleased with our guys. I think we just need to focus on teamwork and get better.”