By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

Unlike last week’s battle with South Lafourche, which East St. John entered against an opponent that pushed it to the limit in a 35-34 Wildcats victory last season, this week’s road clash with Central Lafourche comes against a team ESJ beat handily a year ago.

ESJ coach Phillip Banko said his team isn’t about to have a letdown performance, though. The Trojans have put together a 3-1 record behind a tough running game and a defense that has allowed 14 points or less in three of their four games this season. 

“They run the ball really well with those backs, Thunder and Lightning they call them,” East St. John coach Phillip Banko said, referring to CLHS running backs Da’Quan Gray and Thomas Wesley. “We’ve had some gap integrity issues at times. We need to do a better job against the run, and between those two, it needs to start Friday.”

Central Lafourche (3-1, 1-0) bounced back from a decisive loss at home to Mandeville, beating H.L. Bourgeois on the road last week, 28-14. 

The Wildcats (2-2, 1-0) made short work of CLHS last year, beating the Trojans 48-14 in Reserve. Quarterback Xavier Lewis put on a dominant — and versatile — effort that night, scoring four times in the first half — one passing, one rushing, one receiving and one on a punt return. 

Gray and Wesley, combined for 199 yards rushing and four touchdowns in the Trojans’ win over H.L. Bourgeois. The team leaned on those two backs for heavy usage, needing only 51 yards of passing offense to nail down the win. 

CLHS rallied from a 14-0 deficit to best the Braves.

“Those two (running backs) are big and nifty, strong, tough … everything you’d want in a 5A running back,” Banko said. “And they’ve got two of them. You can’t key on just one and expect to have success.”

While Central Lafourche will no doubt hone in on Lewis and running back Nigel Anderson, both wide receiver Jarrod Jackson and fullback Shedrick Colbert are proving that teams who focus too much on the Wildcats’ leading rushers leave themselves open to get burned. 

Jackson set up a touchdown with a long catch Friday, scored on a two-point conversion and converted a key fourth quarter fourth down via a 17-yard catch. Colbert, meanwhile, put a cap on the Wildcats’ night when he got loose down the seam for a 71-yard touchdown reception.

“We think (Jackson)’s a great player,” Banko said. “He’s really playing well. He converted some huge plays for us Friday, for sure.

“Shedrick’s an unsung hero. That play he went the distance on was just designed to pick up a first down, and he gets it on third-and-8 and turns it into a touchdown. 

“People are seeing if they focus on just one or two guys, these guys will get you.”

Banko spoke plenty of creating explosive plays this preseason. Three plays of 70-plus yards or more in Friday’s fourth quarter suggest his team was listening intently.

“You look at Ahmani Martin’s interception in the fourth quarter, and that was another explosive play,” he said. “If you can generate four or five of those plays in a game, it’s hard for somebody to beat us.”