By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

Kenneth Dabney’s 126 yards and three touchdowns led West St. John as the Rams rolled over host North Iberville in a District 9-1A game on Friday, 55-6.

The Rams (4-3, 3-0) clinched at least a share of the District 9-1A championship, marking the second consecutive season that West St. John has netted a district title — and the first title for Coach Robert Valdez, who is a game away from finishing his first regular season at West St. John.

With a win over Ascension Catholic this Friday, West St. John can win the district crown outright.

“It’s huge for us,” said Valdez. “There’s a standard that’s been set at West St. John. These kids love to play, and we know what we’re capable of from here.

“If we can take it outright, that would be awesome. It would put us where we want to be in terms of postseason play.”

It was another dominant performance from the Ram defense, which allowed no offensive points — North Iberville’s only touchdown came on a kickoff return in the fourth quarter, and the Bears (0-7, 0-3) gained only 18 yards of total offense. West St. John also forced seven fumbles, recovering five, and intercepted two passes.

“This defense just continues to make plays for us,” Valdez says. “It’s really the identity of this team.”

But it was truly the breakout game for a Rams offense that has struggled at times this season. West St. John rushed for 392 yards and gained 480 overall.

Dray Joseph opened the scoring for the Rams with a 23-yard touchdown run that put his team ahead 7-0 in the first quarter.

Kenneth Dabney added a 15-yard run later to make it 14-0. The Rams then netted their biggest gain through the air as Joseph connected with Corey Warmington for a 53-yard touchdown. A two-point conversion followed, and the Rams’ rout was on.

“You’ve gotta start early,” Valdez said. “You never want to let them hang around and gain confidence.”

Damone Lewis recovered a second quarter fumble in the Bear’s endzone for a touchdown to make it 29-0. Tyler Lewis and Dabney scored back-to-back touchdowns from 31 and 20 yards away. Daylon Feist, rotating at quarterback with Joseph, threw a touchdown pass to Ravone Owens, and Dabney capped the scoring with a 10-yard scoring run.

“We were able to run it pretty effectively, and we threw for a couple of touchdowns,” said Valdez. “When we run it well, it helps take advantages of more opportunities in the passing game.”