By LEONARD GRAY

DESTREHAN – Destrehan High’s Fighting Wildcats took a 34-10 homecoming victory over the H.L. Bourgeois Braves, who stayed in the game throughout, giving Destrehan a rough first half.

“I thought we played well, offensively,” Coach Steven Robicheaux commented afterward, “but we’re still making silly mistakes.”

In fact, the Braves took first blood in the matchup, leaping to a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.

Destrehan knotted the score early in the second quarter and pushed to a 21-7 lead, holding that until late in the third quarter.

At that point, H.L. Bourgeois managed a field goal and the Wildcats pushed back and snared two more touchdowns to lock up the win.

Destrehan took the opening kickoff and held on for four minutes until giving up the ball on downs at the HLB 26-yard line.

From there, the Braves pushed back until senior quarterback Chris Detillier scored on a sweep left from three yards out and 4:42 remaining in the first quarter. The PAT by Carlos Navarros posted the opening 0-7 lead.

Destrehan’s next possession, plagued by an offensive pass interference call, prompted a punt to the HLB 20.

However, the Braves managed a minus-two yards offensively and gave up the ball on a punt to their own 45, from where Destrehan mounted their first scoring drive under junior quarterback Demarko Hutchinson.

Helped by a 30-yard reception by senior wide receiver Fred Smith and a 24-yard reception by junior wide receiver Aaron Sylvain, Destrehan found themselves at the Braves’ 3-yard line.

From there, it was a quick hop for junior running back Daniel Bickham, who scored with 11:24 on the second quarter clock. Richard Rogers’ PAT tied the score at 7-7.

HLB’s next drive came up two yards short, crippled by a toughened Wildcat defense and the Braves finally punted. Here, Destrehan mounted a scoring drive which ate more than three and a half minutes from the clock.

Mostly on the back of Bickham, Destrehan pounded upfield until Bickham scored from one yard out with 4:08 left in the first half. Rogers’ PAT bumped Destrehan to a 14-7 lead, their first in the game.

Destrehan tried another scoring drive on their next possession, and they drove to the Braves’ 26-yard line, where a field goal try fell short with four seconds remaining to the half.

H.L. Bourgeois took the kickoff reception and began a drive which ended with senior defensive back Jemarcus Smith’s interception with 9:20 remaining in the third quarter.

That drive launched the Wildcat offense into high gear which, helped by a personal foul call on the Braves, soon bumped Destrehan to the HLB seven-yard line. From there, Smith hauled in a quick seven-yard pass for the touchdown with 7:02 remaining in the third. Rogers’ PAT was again on the money for the 21-7 lead.

Possession changed hands several times in the third quarter, with both teams struggling for dominance. Finally, with 11 seconds left in the quarter, Navarros scored on a 28-yard field goal for the Braves, briefly narrowing the gap to a 21-10 lead for Destrehan.

It didn’t take long for the Wildcats to respond, though, and their next possession was a 66-yard scoring drive, which ended with a nine-yard pass reception in the corner pocket by Sylvain with 10:54 remaining in the game. Rogers’ boot made it a 28-10 lead for Destrehan in the early minutes of the final quarter.

HLB’s next possession managed just inches from a first down before they punted back to the eager Wildcats, who started at the Braves’ 32-yard line.

Four plays later, senior quarterback Rustin Rebowe connected with senior wide receiver Ashe Ricks for the 22-yard touchdown with 4:15 remaining in the game.

A two-point conversion pass try failed, but Destrehan accepted with 34-10 win, as HLB’s drive after the kickoff reception fizzled while the clock ran down.

“The Bourgeois coaches got their team ready,” Robicheaux said afterward. “Hats off to them.”

Next week, Destrehan travels to take on the rival East. St. John Wildcats in another district contest.