By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

RESERVE — At any level of football, it’s going to take a little while to build chemistry between a new quarterback and wide receiver combination.

But East St. John quarterback Darion Monroe and receiver D’haquille Williams already look like they’ve played together all of their lives.

Then again, there’s a reason for that.

“That’s my cousin right there,” said Monroe of his imposing 6-foot-3-inch downfield target. “We already have a feel for one another. I know where he’s going to be on every play.”

East St. John entered last season in supposed rebuilding mode, an offense-driven team with only two returning offensive starters. In District 6-5A, it was expected to be tough sledding.

But the Wildcats shocked many by winning seven games, challenging for a share of the district championship (falling just short) and taking St. Augustine to the limit before bowing out in a bi-district playoff game.

A major part of that surprise season was Williams, who was a revelation in his first season at ESJ. Then a junior, he had not played prep football in two years at Liberty Christian Academy, a non-LHSAA school with no football program.

But Williams caught 39 passes for 1,014 yards and 17 touchdowns in 10 games and established himself, as Dauterive put it, as “the find of the century.”

“I don’t know where we would have been without him,” Dauterive said.

The team enters this season in less transition, with 14 starters returning. But some key spots were vacated by departing seniors, including last year’s quarterback, Kalen Henderson, a three-year starter.

Enter Monroe. The junior has drawn rave reviews from Dauterive already based on his accuracy and feel for the game.

“What he does so well, he keeps plays alive,” said Dauterive. “It’s like Ryan (Perrilloux) to an extent, you almost can’t call a bad play because he’ll get you out of a bad result. Everything I tell him, he soaks up, he processes and doesn’t forget it.”

Monroe did not get much time at quarterback last season, with the experienced Henderson pulling the trigger in all 11 regular season games. He instead started at defensive back and intercepted six passes.

“He’s a bright eyed kid who looks like he’s 12-years-old, but it belies his ability,” said Dauterive.

But while the pads aren’t on yet, it certainly looks like the Monroe-led Wildcats have the potential to be one of Dauterive’s highest scoring squads.

Last month, East St. John faced St. Augustine in a 7-on-7 passing game in a pseudo-rematch of last season’s bi-district playoffs. The Purple Knights were fresh off a national championship victory in 7-on-7 play, winning the Red Bull Gamebreakers tournament in Texas, one that started with 72 teams.

But ESJ’s passing game was unstoppable in a 94-36 victory.

“We were expecting a good game, but we knew we were coming out with intensity,” said Monroe.

Said Williams: “We’ve had a number of guys step up for us, first or second year players who we need to make big plays, and they’ve done that so far.”

Both players also credited the team’s defensive performance in the game. The Wildcats allowed only three touchdowns to the St. Augustine first team.

Dauterive said that while his offense has a chance to be as explosive as it has ever been — high praise coming from a coach whose seen his teams average almost 50 points a game at the peak of his tenure — defense will determine how late into the season his team remains alive.

Led by a number of standout athletes including defensive back Floyd Raven, a senior Division I recruit, that side of the ball brings back eight starters.

“Clearly, that’s going to be the key for us,” said Dauterive. “We’ll be tested right off the bat against Patterson and maybe the best running back in the country (Kenny Hilliard).”

But Dauterive’s anxious to see his team answer that challenge and all those thereafter.

He’s not the only one.

“I think we’re a better team this year, “said Williams. “We’ve got great chemistry, no jealously. Every day we go hard at practice. We know we’re explosive on offense, and our defense will dominate.”