By RYAN JONES

On the day of former head coach Larry Dauterive’s departure, East St. John hardly looked like a team distracted. The Wildcats put together a dominant albeit sloppy performance against Destrehan, scoring all of their points in the first half en route to a 49-14 road victory.

“I can’t ask for anything more than what they did,” newly promoted head coach Ronald Barrilleaux said. “They came out here with a mission to play hard, and they did. They had great practices all week, a great review today and obviously, it showed tonight.”

East St. John (8-0, 3-0) lost its head coach Friday morning after Dauterive resigned following his controversial remarks at a New Orleans Quarterback’s Club meeting Monday but the team racked appeared unfazed, racking up 252 total offensive yards in the first half. The team’s proficient performance however was mired with penalties. The Wildcats committed 18 fouls for 109 penalty yards.

“Some of them were alignment penalties like offsides, so it’s alright,” Barrilleaux said. “We can handle that.”

East St. John’s offense, which averages over 40 points per game, didn’t waste time lighting up the scoreboard. Senior wide receiver D’haquille Williams returned the game’s opening kickoff 65 yards to the Destrehan 34-yard line and quickly capped off the two-play drive with a leaping 26-yard scoring catch via junior quarterback Darion Monroe. The ensuing extra point gave the Wildcats a 7-0 lead with the game less than 30 seconds old.

Williams, an All-State performer last season, enjoyed a relatively quiet contest, posting only two catches, though both went for long touchdowns. He also saw action at the quarterback position in the third quarter with the game well in hand.

The Wildcats first-half display was paced by the running of senior tailback DeChris Strong and junior Andrew Taylor. Taylor finished the evening with seven carries for a game-high 111 yards and two touchdowns.

“It was a good performance,” Barrilleaux said. “I thought he played really well. Andrew made some great runs, but I can’t say Chris wouldn’t make those runs. Andrew has the power, and Chris has the speed. Our receivers played well too. When you’re getting 20-yard or 30-yard touchdown runs, someone’s making a block down the field.”

Monroe, who sat out the second half, finished the game completing an efficient 6 of 11 passes for 109 yards and three touchdowns. He also threw one interception midway through the first quarter.

The East St. John defense, often pointed to as the squad’s primary area of concern, shut Destrehan (2-6, 0-3) down throughout the night. The Wildcats finished with 177 yards of total offense, including just 18 yards passing and converted seven first downs.

“The defense stepped up,” Barrilleaux said. “For a couple of weeks now, we’ve been having problems. Our defense hasn’t been playing well. Tonight, they stepped up and played really well.”

Destrehan threw one interceptions and fumbled the ball away three times in the first half, including one fumble that was returned for an ESJ touchdown by junior defensive back Davontae Johnson. The Wildcats, however, managed to score twice on long touchdown runs, the first a 57-yard run by junior running back Kevin Smith and the second a late fourth-quarter score by sophomore wide receiver Rickey Jefferson.

East St. John returns to action next week as it plays district opponent Dutchtown